QCF - Qualifications & Credit Framework

What is the QCF?

At present, it is hard to understand all the different types of qualification that learners hold - what level they are, how long they take to complete, what content they cover, and how they compare to other qualifications.

The new framework will help present qualifications in a way that is easy to understand and measure.  Click here to view the current IMI Awards QCF offering

For more details on the QCF watch this short video clip

Credit and level

Every unit and qualification in the framework will have a credit value (one credit represents 10 hours, showing how much time it takes to complete) and a level between Entry level and level 8 (showing how difficult it is).

There are three sizes of qualifications in the QCF:

• Awards (1 to 12 credits)
• Certificates (13 to 36 credits)
• Diplomas (37 credits or more).

So in the new framework you can have an award at level 1 or an award at level 8. This is because the qualification type 'award, certificate, diploma' represents the size of a qualification, not how difficult it is.

Each qualification title contains the following:

• the level of the qualification (from Entry level at the bottom to level 8 at the top)
• the size of qualification (award/certificate/diploma)
• details indicating the content of the qualification.

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