Scottish Government

National Dossier on Education and Training in Scotland: Summary 2003

6. TERTIARY EDUCATION

The Scottish system of post-school education is best described under three headings: training, further education and higher education. These headings correspond to different kinds of organisation and a different structure of responsibility. There is, however, considerable overlap between training and further education and between further education and higher education.

6.A Non-University Tertiary Education

The main providers of non-university tertiary education and training in Scotland are the 46 further education (FE) colleges which offer a wide range of courses at non-advanced and advanced levels and which provide continuing education beyond school or in preparation for further study.

6A.1 Admission Requirements

FE colleges have a very wide range of students. They admit to their courses students who have just left school at age 16, students who have left school at 17 or 18, with and without formal certification, and also a large and increasing number of older (mature) students. Admission requirements are related to courses, but mature applicants' experience and previous learning are often considered. Non-advanced courses do not normally have formal entry qualifications. Advanced courses normally require candidates to hold formal qualifications, for example passes in the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) or equivalent qualifications.

6A.2 Fees/Financial Support for Students

Since autumn 2000, tuition fees have been abolished for Scottish domiciled students and EU students who undertake full-time non-advanced courses. In addition, some part-time students in receipt of state benefits may also be eligible to have their fees waived.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) has responsibility for providing assistance (through the Students' Allowances Scheme) to students undertaking full-time and some part-time higher education courses in universities or further education colleges. Eligible full-time Scottish-domiciled students following

Higher National Certificate (HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND) and degree level courses at a Scottish institution are entitled to free tuition and living costs support through partly means-tested loans (Student Loan Scheme).

Some students will also be eligible to receive extra help through non-repayable supplementary grants. From session 2001-2002 the Scottish Executive introduced a Young Students' Bursary Scheme and a Mature Students' Bursary Fund. Eligible students attending Scottish institutions can apply for these additional funds.

6A.3 Academic Year

In most FE colleges the academic year largely follows the three-term school year, with many classes beginning in mid to late August and finishing in June.

6A.4 Courses

The 42 incorporated FE colleges vary considerably in size and the range of courses which they offer. They cater for both full-time and part-time students, with part-time students being in the majority. The courses are mainly vocational in nature and include both theoretical and practical work. However, these colleges also offer courses leading to awards recorded on the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) and advanced vocational courses, which are classed as higher education courses, leading to the award of a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or a Higher National Diploma (HND).

The typical further education college offers a wide range of mainly vocational courses at non-advanced and advanced levels. Courses are composed of units, listed in the SQA catalogue, tailored to the needs of particular employment sectors or to individual student needs. Colleges can construct programmes to suit the needs of specific industries, for example the building industry or the particular needs of local employers. The needs of industry and students are met by the provision of a number of different types of course:

• vocational and general education for post-16 students and trainees;
• link courses for school pupils;
• industrial pre-employment training serving specific employer needs or the requirements of the Local Enterprise Companies;
• off-the-job training for employees, including those on training schemes such as Skillseekers, Modern Apprenticeships; and
• vocational and non-vocational evening classes.

Building on well-established links with industry, further education colleges have in recent years increased considerably their provision of updating and re-training courses for local industries.

6A.5 Assessment/Qualifications

Performance in National Qualifications modules is assessed internally by college lecturers, by reference to nationally agreed criteria of success, and their assessments are verified for reliability and validity by the SQA, which employs 'moderators' for that purpose. Achievement in each module is recorded on the Scottish Qualifications Certificate, awarded by the SQA. Since 1999 external assessment has been an additional requirement for the Scottish Group Awards (SGA) which are gradually replacing the General Scottish Vocational Qualifications (GSVQs).

The majority of courses lead to the SQA National Qualifications Certificate or a Scottish Group Award, (or in some cases still a General Scottish Vocational Qualification (GSVQ)). Advanced level courses offered by the further education colleges lead to the award of Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNC and HND) and, in some colleges, to degrees. HNCs and HNDs are long-established vocational qualifications covering a diverse and growing range of employment sectors.

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) currently incorporates all the mainstream Scottish qualifications from National Qualifications Access level to Higher Education Doctorate level. See section 3B.3 for a fuller description of the SCQF.

6A.6 Teachers

Individual colleges appoint the lecturers who work in the further education sector. Programmes leading to the award of the Teaching Qualification in Further Education (TQ (FE)) are offered at the University of Strathclyde by the Scottish School of Further Education (SSFE), part of the faculty of Education; at the University of Stirling by the Institute of Education; and at Aberdeen University and Dundee University. Other teacher education institutions may also seek the approval of Scottish Ministers to provide these programmes, if they satisfy the criteria laid out in the National Guidelines.

Credits which count towards between 50% and 80% of TQ (FE) programmes may be gained by taking professional development awards which are available through approved local providers such as the further education colleges themselves. As the TQ (FE)) is by custom and practice a post-employment qualification, programmes are generally for people who already hold a recognised appointment in further education. The qualifications for admission to training for this qualification are an appropriate specialist degree or, as a minimum, a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or equivalent qualification. Candidates must have appropriate experience in industry or commerce and a basic qualification in English and mathematics. A list of possible equivalences is published in the Memorandum on Entry Requirements.

6A.7 Statistics

NB More statistical data can be found on the Scottish Executive web site at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/publist.aspx?theme=37&pillar=people.

Student Enrolments in non-advanced Further Education, 2000-2001 (in 000s)

Source: Scottish Executive Education Department, 2001.

6B. UNIVERSITY TERTIARY EDUCATION

There are 21 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Scotland, comprising 14 universities (including the Open University) and 7 other institutions. They are funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC), except for the Scottish Agricultural College, which is funded by the Scottish Executive Environment & Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD). Courses at higher education level (mainly HNC, HND or both, but also including degree provision) are also offered by all the further education colleges and there are close links between the FE and HE sectors.

6B.1 Admission Requirements

The usual entry requirement for higher education courses is a group of awards at A-C level in the Higher or Advanced Higher examinations set by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). For certain HE courses entry may be conditional on the candidate holding a group of awards at specified levels. Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Diploma (HND) awards are also commonly accepted and generally guarantees entry to second or third year of degree level study.

Awards in the English General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and GCE Advanced Level (or the equivalent) are also accepted. Alternatively, for an HNC course, which may in turn lead on to a diploma or a degree, a group of appropriate National Qualifications (NQ) awards may be acceptable.

Applications from outside Scotland to pursue a course of higher education are very welcome. These are normally considered on an individual basis by institutions to ascertain the comparability and acceptability of the entry qualifications proposed.

Most applications for entry to higher education institutions in Scotland are processed through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which distributes them to the individual institutions and enables candidates to apply to several institutions on one form. There may be additional requirements, for example, in relation to relevant experience for some courses - such as art & design and social work. These are detailed in the Entrance Guide to Higher Education in Scotland and in the prospectus of the appropriate institution.

Scottish higher education institutions welcome applications from 'adult' learners (defined as applicants over the age of 25) as well as from school leavers. This has led to the development of a range of special courses specifically designed to prepare adults both for higher education in general and for particular courses. Access courses include a range of SQA National Qualifications units and successful completion of these leads to an SQA award. Many access courses carry a guarantee of a place in higher education on successful completion.

6B.2 Fees/Financial Support for Students

Since autumn 2000, tuition fees have been abolished for Scottish domiciled students and EU students who undertake full-time non-advanced courses. In addition, some part-time students in receipt of state benefits may also be eligible to have their fees waived.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) has responsibility for providing assistance (through the Students' Allowances Scheme) to students undertaking full-time and some part-time higher education courses in universities or further education colleges. Eligible full-time Scottish-domiciled students following HNC, HND and degree level courses at a Scottish institution are entitled to free tuition and living costs support through partly means-tested loans under the Student Loans Scheme.

Some students will also be eligible to receive extra help through non-repayable supplementary grants. From session 2001-2002 the Scottish Executive introduced a Young Students' Bursary Scheme and a Mature Students' Bursary Fund. Eligible students attending Scottish institutions can apply for these additional funds.

6B.3 The Academic Year

The academic year in Scottish universities is divided into three terms of approximately ten weeks each, but a number of HEIs, for example the University of Stirling, operate semester systems. Many of Scotland's HEIs are looking at ways of making patterns of provision more flexible to accommodate the varying needs of learners. There are well-developed articulation links between HE institutions and further education colleges (FE colleges provide around a quarter of all HE offered in Scotland). This helps to facilitate the transition of students from HNC/HND to degree level study without the need to repeat work unnecessarily.

6B.4 Courses

Scottish HEIs offer a wide range of general, academic and vocationally orientated courses at various undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The number of subjects studied and the time spent in lectures, tutorials and practical work, in laboratories or in the field, varies enormously from year to year within courses, from course to course within an institution and from institution to institution, for courses which often lead to very similar qualifications.

Lectures, seminars, tutorial groups, project work and, in appropriate subjects, laboratory work and fieldwork are the main teaching methods of most higher education institutions. In some institutions and in some subjects there has been considerable interest in the use of computers in learning and in the use of computer simulations in the teaching of science. In some institutions, there has been growing interest in other forms of provision such as distance learning, open learning and flexible learning.

6B.5 Assessment/Qualifications

In Scotland the normal pattern is for students studying for first degrees in the majority of subject areas to spend three academic years in attaining an Ordinary (i.e. General) degree or four years in attaining an Honours degree which involves greater specialisation. In some faculties, for example in medicine and law, courses are traditionally longer.

Assessment of students is most likely to be by one or more written examinations, traditionally at the end of each academic year; continuous assessment of work submitted during the course; assessment of projects or dissertations done under supervision; and presentations and/or oral examinations on particular pieces of work done under supervision by individual students or as part of a team. In courses where it is appropriate there will also be practical examinations, for example in the sciences or in oral proficiency in languages. The actual assessment is normally carried out by the department in which the student is studying but there will also be one or more external examiners from another institution or institutions who will sample some of the work (course work as well as examination scripts).

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) currently incorporates all the mainstream Scottish qualifications from National Qualifications Access level to Higher Education Doctorate level. See section 3B.3 for a fuller description of the SCQF.

The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has a duty to assess the quality of education which it is funding. It has arranged to do so, since September 2000, through the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education, a UK body established by the higher education sector. A new approach to quality assessment, introduced in session 2003-04, has at its core enhancement of quality, and student assessors are involved alongside internal and external assessors in assessing the robustness and effectiveness of institutions' mechanisms for maintaining and enhancing quality and standards

6B.6. Teachers

As lecturers in higher education are appointed on the basis of their academic ability in their subject, there is no other formal admission requirement for those who teach in that sector. Teachers in higher education are employees of individual Higher Education Institutions. In-Service Training of teachers in higher education is a matter for individual institutions and no national training is offered.

6B.7 Statistics

NB More statistical data can be found on the Scottish Executive web site at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/publist.aspx?theme=37&pillar=people.

Student enrolments in higher education institutions (2000-2001) (in 000s)

Source - Scottish Executive Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Department (SEELLD)