Access to Higher Education
Qualification:
Access to Higher Education Diploma.
Validating body:
Agored Cymru
Agored Cymru, is licensed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education(QAA) as an Access Validating Agency (AVA) to provide the quality assurance process for validating, externally verifying and certificating Access programmes.
Service standards relating to the quality assurance of AHE can be found here.
The Learners
Learners come from a wide range of backgrounds, many from families where there has been no previous history of study at higher education level. Many of those enrolling on Access courses initially will have little confidence or self esteem. The courses are designed to supply considerable study skills support in the early stages, but this is gradually reduced as the course progresses to prepare the learners to cope in an HE environment. Approximately half of Access learners are aged under 30, another third under 40 with the remainder being mostly under 50; approximately 80% of Access learners in Wales are women.
The Courses
Providers of the Access to HE Diploma have liaised with their local higher education institutions (HEIs) to ensure the content of new Access courses accurately reflect the needs of HE study. Working with Agored Cymru, the provider develops an Access course selecting combinations of recognised units set at appropriate levels. All proposed courses, significant changes or additions to courses are submitted to Agored Cymru for formal validation, and all changes or additions must have HEI support.
Access programmes are designed to facilitate entry into higher education pathways. Some validated Access courses prepare learners for particular degree programmes, for example Access to Art and Design, Access to Computing, Access to Health Professions, or Access to Biological Science. Other programmes such as Access to Humanities or Access to Combined Studies are less precisely focused and provide a general preparation for entry to higher education with multiple possibilities for progression. In 2008/9 the most popular subject areas in Wales mirrored national UK trends with learners registered in the greatest numbers on subjects allied to medicine, social studies, biological sciences, education, and business and administrative studies.
Duration of study
A QAA-recognised Access programme will normally involve a year of full-time study or two years part-time study. Courses usually start in September and end in June. Some start in January or February and are completed in the following January/February. The timing of the working day is arranged to meet the needs of those with family or caring responsibilities.
Structure
Each Access programme is made up of a variety of academic subjects supported by a compulsory core element of study skills. The academic subjects will have been agreed with the local HEI and are relevant to the intended progression routes in Higher Education. As adult learners, the learners will have experience in life and in work but may lack experience of study, therefore the compulsory core element will give the essential skills they need for successful learning. In addition to study skills the core element will include Literacy/English, Mathematics; Information Technology and Personal Development.
The courses are credit based and delivered in modules that may represent a five, six or twelve week section of the course. Credits are awarded for work completed at an appropriate standard: units with a maximum value of 3, 6 ,9 or 12 credits can be found in programmes. Each credit represents 10 hours of notional learning time.
Access Diploma programmes are made up of level 2 and 3 (HE level 0) units.
A common credit framework
The Access to HE Diploma has a single credit tariff of 60 credits with no less than 45 at level 3 and no more than 15 at level 2.
Access learners may study units in addition those required for the recognised qualification. All units and credits achieved will be shown on the final certificate.
Illustrative example
Access to Social Studies
Provider A College
Programme Access to Higher Education
Access Pathway Access to HE – Social Studies
Date of Recognition
Credit Targets
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |
| Credits | 15 | 45 | 60 |
Specified Credit Targets
| Substantive | Credits | Agored Level |
| Issues in Sociology | 12 | 3 |
| Psychology | 12 | 3 |
| Behavioural Science | 9 | 3 |
|
Core Skills |
Credits |
Agored Level |
|
Application of number |
3 |
2 |
|
Information Technology |
6 |
2 |
|
Essential Study Skills |
3 |
3 |
|
Communication: Oral |
3 |
3 |
|
Communication: Written |
3 |
2 |
|
Research Project |
9 |
3 |
Grading
For entrants to Access programmes from September 2010 much of the assessed work will be graded as Pass, Merit or Distinction. Universities offering places may then request so many units to be achieved at Pass, Merit or Distinction level. The Access qualification as a whole is not graded,
i.e. learners do not gain an Access Diploma to Health Studies at Merit. The units which contribute towards the achievement of the qualification are graded. This leads to the credit transcript showing which units have been achieved at what grade.
UCAS Reference
UCAS references are written by course tutors. Structured tutorial sessions enable tutors to gain a good knowledge of the learner’s progress and potential. The references aim to describe the learner’s progress to date, give a reliable indication of how the learner is responding to the challenges of the level 3 components of the course and indicate how the learner is likely to respond to the transition to university studies. As full-time Access learners will have only been in college for a few weeks when UCAS references are required a follow-up request for more information from the Admissions Tutors is not unusual with this cohort of learners.
Making offers:
The Access to HE Diploma will ensure consistency of standards across the Country and will be easier for Admissions Tutors to understand. Greater recognition and acceptance of the Access to HE qualification will ensure the flexibility for learners to progress to HEIs outside their immediate locality.
Learner achievement will be described in the same way for all Access to HE courses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so it will be easier to make appropriate offers to Access to HE applicants without having to be familiar with the particular course they are on. If you make an offer based on the achievement of the Access to HE Diploma, you can be confident that it means the same thing – readiness to study in HE in the subject(s) indicated – irrespective of the Access course followed by the learner, or the AVA making the award.
When are results available?
Examination Boards take place at provider colleges on completion of the course. For the majority of courses this is in June/early July. Agored Cymru issues Diplomas to learners within 20 working days of results being submitted to Agored Cymru by providers. Learners’ results are available via the Agored Cymru website to admissions tutors/universities at this time.
Agored Cymru aims to have all Access results confirmed and issued by the middle of August, i.e. prior to ‘A’ level ‘clearing’. Similarly, results of February examination boards are made available to universities as soon as they are available. February start Access programmes include Access to Nursing and Access to Health Science. Results of these will be available for March entry BN students.
For queries about results contact the provider.
Agored Cymru service standards regarding certification of AHE learners can be found here.
Providers’ contact details
To obtain details of individual Access programmes contact:-
Bridgend College:
Eddie Beach and Claire Leakey
ebeach@bridgend.ac.uk, cleakey@bridgend.ac.uk
Cardiff and Vale College - Barry:
Alun Ackerman
Coleg Ceredigion:
Peter Wellings
peter.wellings@ceredigion.ac.uk
Cardiff and Vale College - Cardiff:
Cathy Smith
Coleg Gwent:
Jan Hiscox
Coleg Powys
Jo Ricketts
Coleg Menai:
Alana Roberts
Coleg Morgannwg:
Ian Rees
Coleg Sir Gar:
Jeremy Edwards and Steve Bell
jeremy.edwards@colegsirgar.ac.uk, steve.bell@colegsirgar.ac.uk
DeesideCollege:
Ann Griffiths
Gorseinon College:
Tracey Jones
t.jones@gowercollegeswansea.ac.uk
Llandrillo College:
Moira Jessup
Merthyr Tydfil College:
Nicola Michael
Neath and Port Talbot College
Allison Jones
University of Wales Newport (UWN):
Mike Hodges
Pembrokeshire College:
Jane Quinton
Gower College Swansea:
Suzanne Arnold
s.arnold@gowercollegeswansea.ac.uk
Yale College:
Chris Mitchell
Ystrad Mynach College
Alison Walbeoff and Helen Haines
awalbeoff@ystrad-mynach.ac.uk; hhaines@ystrad-mynach.ac.uk
NOCN Level Descriptors and Approximate Equivalences
|
Level |
Skills |
Equivalence |
|
Entry Level |
Acquisition of a range of initial skills, knowledge and understanding in highly structured and self referenced contexts.
|
Pre NVQ
|
|
Level 1 |
Acquisition of a foundation of competences, knowledge and understanding in a limited range of predictable and structured contexts that prepare the learner to progress to further achievements.
|
NVQ 1 GCSE Grades D and below GNVQ Foundation |
|
Level 2 |
Acquisition of a broader range of competences, knowledge and understanding that demonstrates the extension of previous abilities in less predictable contexts and prepare the learner to progress to more complex, autonomous and critical achievements.
|
NVQ 2 GCSE Grades A-C GNVQ and structures Intermediate |
|
Level 3 |
Acquisition of a more complex range of competences, knowledge and understanding in contexts that develop autonomous, analytical and critical abilities that prepare the learner to progress to further independent achievements.
|
NVQ 3 A and AS levels QAA Access Diploma BTEC National Diploma GNVQ Advanced |
