Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.
What is an external qualification?
Q2.
What does awarded or authenticated by an outside person mean?
Q3.
How does a qualification become approved?
Q4.
Who approves external qualifications?
Q5.
How long does an approval last?
Q6.
How do I get funding for a qualification which isn’t approved?
Q7.
Where do I find out about funding?
Q8.
How often is the list updated?
Q9.
What happened to Schedule 2(a) and section 400?
Q10.
The qualification I want to offer is only approved to 31 July 2008, but it’s a two-year course. Am I still able to offer it?
Q11.
Where can I find the point score for a qualification?
Q1.
What is an external qualification?
An external qualification is a qualification awarded or authenticated by an outside person.
Back to TopQ2.
What does awarded or authenticated by an outside person mean?
A qualification is awarded by an outside person if it is awarded by a person other than the institution or a member of its staff.
A qualification is authenticated by an outside person if it is awarded by the institution and is authenticated by a person other than the institution or a member of its staff.
Q3.
How does a qualification become approved?
Following accreditation the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) recommends qualifications for approval under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, according to specified criteria. Details of the regulatory authorities' accreditation procedures can be found on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's website. Only qualifications accredited by the regulatory authorities will normally be considered for approval by the Secretary of State.
Qualifications are posted on this site once approval is granted.
Q4.
Who approves external qualifications?
The Secretary of State approves external qualifications with advice from the QCA. The approval procedures and principles are set by the Secretary of State.
The central criterion for approval is that the qualification has been accredited by the QCA, or the regulatory authority in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.
Q5.
How long does an approval last?
The length of the approval varies. In the database you’ll see that each qualification is given an approval start date, an approval end date and a certificate end date.
Candidates may register for the qualification at any time between the approval start date and the approval end date. Any candidate registered for the qualification at its approval end date may complete their course up to the certificate end date.
Q6.
How do I get funding for a qualification which isn’t approved?
For learners under 19, only courses leading to qualifications that have been approved are eligible for funding.
Funding, if it leads to more informal certification or is not certificated, is for the funding authority (the Learning and Skills Council or the local authority) to decide.
Q7.
Where do I find out about funding?
Funding matters are for the relevant funding authority to determine. They are the Local Education Authorities and the Learning and Skills Council. Consult the Yellow Pages for your local education authority.
Q8.
How often is the list updated?
The list is updated every two weeks. New approvals are listed under the month they are added to the database in the Additions page of the website.
Q9.
What happened to Schedule 2(a) and section 400?
The Learning and Skills Act 2000 replaces Sections 400 and 401 of the Education Act 1996, Section 37 of the Education Act 1997 and Section 3 and Schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
Q10.
The qualification I want to offer is only approved to 31 July 2008, but it’s a two-year course. Am I still able to offer it?
The qualification is approved for any learner who starts their course by 31 July 2008. It can be completed up to the qualification certification end date.
The LSC would normally fund any learning in an individual learning agreement or training plan until the intended outcome was achieved.
Q11.
Where can I find the point score for a qualification?
You can find point scores listed under performance figures for the majority of qualifications on the 'National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ).
http://www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk/
