Next Generation Higher National Qualifications

Every year, learners across Scotland enhance their prospects by undertaking a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or a Higher National Diploma (HND). We are now adapting our Higher National qualifications to give learners the skills they need to thrive in the  modern workplace. 

Our Next Generation Higher National (NextGen: HN) qualifications will:

• be adaptable and flexible to respond to the needs of a constantly changing employment environment
• support life-long learning and multiple career options
• integrate essential meta-skills –transferable behaviours and abilities that help learners adapt and succeed in life, study and work
• develop critical industry and subject-specific technical skills

What will be different?

• NextGen: HNC (level 7) and HND (level 8) are standalone qualifications worth 120 SCQF credit points (equivalent to 15 SQA credits) each.
• Larger and fewer units of learning to encourage more integrated learning, teaching and assessment approaches.
• Opportunity to develop meta-skills – these are the skills that help us adapt and excel in any context the future brings. This are embedded in the NextGen: HN qualification design, adapted from: Skills 4.0: a skills model to drive Scotland's future.
• Significantly reduced assessment load for both learners and staff.
• A new approach to grading – recognising learners’ achievements across the whole course through whole qualification grading.
• Digital technology used across delivery to enhance and support effective, flexible and learner-centred assessment, learning and teaching approaches.
• A new, progressive  process of external  quality assurance based on stakeholder feedback and learners' needs.
• Opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of Learning for Sustainability, engaging with the United Nations Sustainability Goals in sector relevant contexts. This will be embedded in the qualification design.

Developing NextGen: HN qualifications

The development of SQA’s Next Generation Higher National (NextGen: HN) qualifications follows a service design model, focusing on meeting the needs of learners and centres, with an emphasis on continuous improvement and collaboration.

All NextGen qualifications are initially developed as a ‘prototype’, which is then piloted and evaluated. NextGen: HN prototypes are valid qualifications, sitting at SCQF Level 7 (HNC) and Level 8 (HND), carrying 120 SCQF credit points.

This approach allows us to challenge and evaluate aspects such as our design principles, grading models and approach to quality assurance.

Ongoing evaluation and feedback from learners, centres, deliverers, staff and other stakeholders helps us learn lessons and refine our approaches to inform the final model for NextGen: HN qualifications.

This iterative development approach provides ongoing opportunities for reflection, review and change, but also means that some details – such as knowledge, skills and learning outcomes of draft Units; grading models and rubrics – can only be confirmed after these processes have been worked through.

We will provide all stakeholders with as much clarity as possible as the pilots develop and details are confirmed.

NextGen: HN development cycle

The Minimum Viable Product document explains the concept of a minimum viable product and why we are using this approach in NextGen: HN. It also looks at what a NextGen: HN minimum viable product will consist of.