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Credit Rating Process

What can your organisation expect from SQA's Credit Rating Service during the credit rating process?

Once you apply to have your qualifications or learning programmes credit rated you will be allocated a dedicated member of staff from our experienced team who will be on hand to provide advice. This member of staff will progress your submission through to presentation to the Credit Rating Decision Group for consideration.

What does the process involve?

Step one

 

If you would like to talk about our credit rating service with someone from SQA please call our Business Development Team on 0303 333 0330 or mycentre@sqa.org.uk

Step two

 

The submitting organisation completes form CRS1 this includes blank unit templates and credit rating scorecards. This, plus any supporting documentation, is submitted electronically to the credit rating service.

Step three

 

On receipt of your completed submission a Credit Rating Officer (CRO) will be allocated to you. The CRO will undertake an initial scrutiny of your submission to ensure that the credit rating criteria have been met. These are:

  1. The qualifications /learning programmes must be based on learning outcomes.
  2. The outcomes must be formally assessed, and the results must be recorded.
  3. There must be a documented process of internal and external quality assurance.
  4. The qualifications /learning programmes must have a minimum of 10 notional hours of learning for the average candidate.

Step four

 

If the submission is ready to progress the CRO will allocate an SQA Officer to carry out a site visit. This is to ensure that the submitting organisation has sufficient procedures and processes in place to meet SCQF guidelines and SQA’s credit rating criteria. The SQA Officer will carry out the visit and raise any issues directly with the organisation.

Step five

 

The CRO will appoint a rater and vetter, who are subject experts, to carry out evaluations of the qualification/learning programme and the level and credit points recommended by the submitting organisation.

Step six

 

The CRO will present a report to the Credit Rating Decision Group who will make a decision on the credit rating outcome.

Step seven

 

CRDG will either allocate a credit rating or determine conditions that must be met before the credit rating can be applied. Once credit rated the CRO will issue the SCQF logo, strapline and guidelines for its use.

Step eight

 

The credit rated qualification/learning programme is added to the SQA credit rating service webpage and uploaded to SCQF’s central database for credit rated provision.

Step nine

 

If you have asked SQA to provide your annual external QA for the qualification/learning programme then you will be contacted annually to arrange the visit. If you have your own external QA in place you will be sent a report form to be completed annually.