What is NICATS?

a set of principles and guidelines which allows all learner achievement to be recognised and recorded on a personal Credit Transcript
a system which allows small blocks of learning to be assessed and given credit
credit provides the basic language for recognising achievement
credit is a measure of the level of demand of the learning and the amount of learning achieved.

The Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) is a framework which has been developed to allow learning to be recognised in all its shapes and forms, no matter how it is acquired. It is a set of principles and guidelines which should allow us to value, describe, measure and recognise all learning. This includes learning in traditional settings such as schools, colleges and universities and also learning within the community and in the workplace.

Most people when they think of learning achievement think of qualifications like RSAs, GCSEs, GNVQs, A levels and NVQs. When you apply for a job you usually have to provide proof that you have these qualifications, normally in the form of certificates. Many people do other learning for which certificates aren't provided, e.g. in the community and in the workplace.

NICATS has produced a model for designing programmes of learning that places less emphasis on qualifications and more emphasis on credit for smaller blocks of learning. It doesn't replace qualifications but it does allow programmes of learning to be offered to learners in smaller blocks for which credit at a specified level is then given.

Learners can build these credits towards a qualification. So, someone with an A level in French will be recognised as having achieved a certain number of NICATS credits at a particular NICATS level. Another person holding a very different qualification, such as a NVQ in Business Administration will also be seen to have achieved a specified number of NICATS credits at a particular level. This means that people who aren't familiar with A levels and NVQs, some employers perhaps, will be able to compare and contrast these two different awards because each will be described in terms of NICATS credits and levels - this is the common language for learning which NICATS offers.

When all learning is expressed in this way, people will be able to hold a transcript of all the NICATS credits that they have accumulated in their learning career.

NICATS is not an awarding body. However, it is working in partnership with the awarding bodies to prescribe guidelines for the recognition of credit. In addition, these same guidelines enable training and education providers to devise programmes that are compatible with the principles and guidelines recommended by NICATS.

The NI Government, through the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), is funding NICATS for 3 years in the first instance (1999 to 2002) and wants the NICATS credit framework to be in place in Northern Ireland by September 2002.

NICATS, University of Ulster, York St, BELFAST T. +44 (0)28 9026 7250 F. +44 (0)28 9026 7253 nicats@ulst.ac.uk

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