UCAS announces Tariff for diploma

18 December 2007

UCAS has today announced the points to be awarded to the Diploma within the UCAS Tariff.

The Principal and Generic Learning elements, which together constitute the Progression Diploma, will attract a maximum score of 300 points.

A further 120 points will be available for the top grade achieved in the Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL) which, when combined with Principal and Generic Learning, enables candidates to be awarded the Advanced Diploma and a combined total of 420 Tariff points.

Anthony McClaran, UCAS Chief Executive, welcomed the inclusion of the diplomas within the Tariff: "Today's announcement is the result of many months' hard work by a large number of UCAS staff and members of the Tariff Advisory and Expert groups. The recognition of the Diploma within the UCAS Tariff places the new qualification firmly within the spectrum of routes for entry to higher education.

"Decisions on individual applicants remain, as always, a matter for the HE institutions themselves and it is encouraging that many are beginning to signal an acceptance in principle of the Diplomas.

"The awarding of Tariff scores to qualifications is a rigorous process that measures the demand of an award and its utility for progression into higher education. All qualifications within the Tariff are subject to regular review in the light of admissions decisions taken by universities."

UCAS has launched a section of its website dedicated to the Diploma. It aims to explain the background of the new qualifications and act as a portal to other key sources of information on the web. More information is available here.

Media contacts

Byron Price, Communications Executive
Telephone: 01242 544987
Email: communications@ucas.ac.uk
Out of hours: 07768 740 461

Notes to editors

What is the UCAS tariff? The UCAS Tariff is a points system used to report achievement for entry to higher education in a numerical format. It establishes agreed comparability between different types of qualifications and provides comparisons between applicants with different types and volumes of achievement.

The Tariff works in the following ways:

  • Points can be aggregated from the different qualifications included in the Tariff
  • There is no ceiling to the number of points which can be accumulated
  • There is no double counting - applicants cannot count the same or similar qualifications twice
  • Achievement at a lower level will be subsumed into the higher level, e.g. AS points will be subsumed into the A level points for the same subject

What are the diplomas?
Diplomas (formerly known as Specialised Diplomas) are new qualifications offering a blend of theoretical study with practical and applied learning with employer involvement. They are being developed as an alternative to the traditional GCSE and A level route. They will offer a learning route for all 14-19 year olds to both employment and higher education.

The points attributed to each grade within the Diploma will be as for A levels of equivalent size and are reliant on assurances from the QCA, as regulator, that the grading will be pegged with that of A levels.

What is Principal Learning?
Principal learning - is the core of the Diploma and is the main compulsory section covering the necessary skills and knowledge of the chosen Diploma. Applying these skills and knowledge in work scenarios is a part of the course with some learning occurring in an environment that could be more like a workplace than a classroom.

What is Generic Learning?
Generic learning comprises functional skills in English, Maths and IT; Personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS); work experience and an extended project.

What is Additional and Specialist Learning?
ASL is where students can choose additional or specialist qualifications to study. There are many hundreds of learning opportunites for ASL and these include A levels. A maximum of 120 points will be available for qualifications that qualify as ASL that are already within the UCAS Tariff.

How was the Tariff for the diplomas determined?
Six Expert Groups met at the end of October to undertake the work necessary in order to make recommendations for a Tariff value for the Diploma.

Membership of the groups comprised academic subject specialists from member institutions (numbering five in the majority of instances), and examiners for both the Diploma, and in most cases, two benchmark awards.

In addition, the groups were joined by a number of observers from QCA, DCSF, Diploma Delivery Partnerships, and the Sector Skills Development Agency.