Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) | Pearson qualifications
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Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)

The SCQF - Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework - is the qualification reference framework used within Scotland. This page provides information on the SCQF and shows how its levels compare with the Regulated Qualifications Framework, the Credit and Qualifications framework for Wales and the European Qualifications Framework.

Qualifications in the SCQF are allocated a level and credit points through a process called credit rating. To be eligible to be placed on the SCQF, qualifications and learning programmes must be based on learning outcomes and assessed in a valid, reliable and quality-assured way. A number of Pearson's qualifications have undergone this process, and therefore form part of the SCQF.

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Qualification framework

Qualification frameworks are designed to help you make informed decisions about the qualifications you've achieved and the qualifications you may need for the future. Each framework has a set of levels from which you can identify clear progression routes.

The SCQF framework is regulated by the SCQF Partnership to ensure that all qualifications within the frameworks are of high quality and meet the needs of students, employers and higher education.

What are levels?

The SCQF has 12 levels, and the level of a qualification shows how difficult the learning is. Qualifications that share the same level:

  • are broadly similar in terms of the demand
  • can be very different in terms of content and duration.

How do SCQF levels compare with other qualification frameworks?

The table below shows a rough comparison of the levels on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the Credit and Qualifications framework for Wales (CQFW)

SCQF RQF EQF CQFW
12 8 8 8
11 7 7 7
10/9 6 6 6
8/7 5/4 5 5/4
6 3 4 3
5 2 3 2
4 1 2 1
3 Entry Level 3 1 Entry Level 3
2 Entry Level 2   Entry Level 2
1 Entry Level 1   Entry Level 1

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