1.Executive Summary 1.1.Aim of the Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) Project The aim of the Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) Project was to develop a single credit framework across Further Education (FE), Higher Education (HE) and other providers of post-16 education and training in Northern Ireland. This framework would support the operation of a regional credit accumulation and transfer system (CATS). 1.2.Background and context of the Project This report results from a three year development Project (which ran from April 1996 to March 1999) and was funded by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI) as part of the Government's overall plan for lifelong learning provision. Initially the Project was funded for a two year period, due for completion in April 1998. It was subsequently extended for a further year. The Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) Project was established as a result of a meeting between the local universities and colleges of further education, hosted by the University of Ulster, in the summer of 1994. In December 1995 a NICATS Steering Group was formed, funded by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI) under the leadership of the University of Ulster, to examine the possibility of developing a single credit framework for Northern Ireland. With the appointment of the Development Officer in April 1996, thinking developed rapidly around the major credit issues and it was decided that a single post-school FE/HE credit framework would be developed. The underlying rationale was that learners should be able to progress through a series of levels, transferring where necessary, without encountering the barriers caused by a lack of articulation between the different systems of accreditation. In the context of national credit accumulation and transfer (CAT) developments the NICATS Project proposals have been described as 'the most radical proposals of all'. (Times Higher Education Supplement: 16 May 1997). The work of NICATS was perceived as radical because it is one of the first UK networks to develop a single credit framework embracing both the further and higher education sectors. Rather than being regarded as a problem to be confronted at a later date, articulation between the further and higher education sectors lies at the heart of the NICATS Project. The NICATS Project has concentrated on developing and agreeing the architectural features of a credit framework for Northern Ireland. These include a definition of credit; a definition of unit and module; credit value; the basis for the award of credit; the credit levels and the role of credit in defining standards. Within a credit framework academic credit is awarded on the basis of the achievement of sets of learning outcomes at a given level. When the NICATS Project commenced there was no single continuous hierarchy of level descriptors which described achievement and progression. As the Derbyshire Regional Network was the sole functioning example of an integrated credit system across the FE/HE divide in existence in the UK, the NICATS Project team examined its level descriptors carefully. The Derbyshire levels, which built on the Further Education Unit (subsequently reconstituted as the Further Education Development Agency - FEDA) levels (FE levels Entry, 1, 2, and 3) were considered to be so broad as to risk ambiguity of interpretation. Also, the Derbyshire model did not display progressive learning in a continuum of levels; the lower FEDA levels are generic whereas the HE levels are subject related. The link between FE level 3 and HE level 1 required clearer articulation. The development of a single set of levels, and their level descriptors, was seen therefore as a crucial aspect for a single credit framework for Northern Ireland and much effort was expended on this task. The development of the NICATS generic level descriptors involved several major consultation exercises (involving a wide Northern Ireland audience). In September 1997 six curriculum specialists were seconded one day a week for nine months, to carry out detailed consultation on the levels and their descriptors. The specialists consulted on the applicability of the descriptors in selected curriculum areas which incorporated a wide range of qualifications and spanned all the levels. The curriculum areas sampled included Art and Design, the Built Environment, Business Studies, Social and Health Care, Humanities, and Science (Chemistry and Biology). The team gathered evidence about the appropriateness and accuracy of the descriptors from practitioners in educational institutions and related bodies. In the light of this work the level descriptors were revised and subjected to a final consultation exercise. Much effort has also been expended in the NICATS Project in developing, agreeing and producing guidelines on the other architectural features of the framework. All of the aspects of the framework have been subject to full institutional consultation (see Appendix 5 for a list of those institutions invited to be involved in the consultation exercises) but will be updated and augmented as a result of the forthcoming implementation phase and future national framework developments. NICATS Project personnel have networked and collaborated with Projects concerned with credit developments in the UK to enhance the possibility of developing a consistent UK credit framework. Of major significance was the InCCA (Inter-Consortium Credit Agreement) Project led by the Southern England Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SEEC), the Higher Education Credit Initiative in Wales (HECIW) and the Northern Universities Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer (NUCCAT), with the additional involvement of NICATS and the Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (SCOTCAT). The aim of the InCCA Project was "to work collaboratively across the UK for the development, promotion and acceptance of credit guidelines which encompass all forms of learning at higher levels" (InCCA draft interim report, 1997). The final InCCA report to DfEE confirmed agreement on the UK wide adoption of the NICATS summary generic level descriptors. 1.3.Management of the Project The day to day management of the Project has been undertaken by the Educational Development Unit, University of Ulster, through a Project Director and Project Development Officer. A NICATS Steering Group took overall responsibility for the management of the Project and included representation from all the major education providers in Northern Ireland (The membership of this group is listed in Appendix 1). 1.4.Specific Objectives The major objectives of the Project were to: a)develop and agree the essential specifications for a single credit framework for Northern Ireland; b)develop a single continuum of levels across further and higher education; c)draft initial documentation on quality assurance mechanisms for credit; d)disseminate knowledge and promote ownership of a credit framework within Northern Ireland; e)develop NICATS in association with other UK and international credit consortia; and f)make recommendations for future development activity for the implementation and operation of a Northern Ireland credit framework and a system of credit transfer. 1.5.Summary of Project Outcomes The Project has produced appreciable outcomes ranging from specific documentation to those less tangible, such as the generation of awareness, understanding and expertise within the sectors. Major specific Project outcomes are as follows: * Specifications and guidelines for NICATS. * A single continuum of levels across FE and HE. * Guidelines for using the NICATS generic level descriptors. * Guidelines for writing units of assessment. * Guidelines for determining credit value. * Initial documentation on quality assurance mechanisms for credit. * Promotion of the concept of credit-based funding as a suitable mechanism for the resourcing of post-compulsory education. * Links with UK credit and qualification development groups. * Dissemination activities, including awareness raising amongst senior staff in further education and higher education. * Recommendations for future development activity for the implementation and operation of a Northern Ireland credit framework and a system of credit transfer. 1.6.Recommendations arising from the Project The following recommendations are set out in section 8.2. of the report and have therefore been numbered to reflect the numbering in that section. For a precise understanding of the terminology used in the recommendations, please consult the glossary of terms set out in page 7 of this report. These recommendations have been developed as the major outcome of the three year NICATS Project and are viewed as essential to inform the NICATS implementation phase. They are, however, presented in a climate of rapid development in relation to national credit and qualifications frameworks. What is achievable in the NICATS three year implementation phase will be dependent on government policy and national developments. In other words, NICATS can neither impose nor run ahead of practice elsewhere. Given that NICATS has been, in some areas, leading developments in the UK on a single credit framework to underpin both the further and higher education qualifications frameworks, our recommendations are viewed widely as central to informing national credit and qualification framework developments. 8.2.1.Local Implementation 8.2.1.1.It is recommended that the NICATS Implementation Committee take forward the preparation and planning for a single framework for credit and qualifications in Northern Ireland. 8.2.1.2. It is recommended that agreement is sought and secured, from relevant stakeholders, on a process for embedding credit within the post-16 curriculum by April 2002. 8.2.1.3. It is recommended that major stakeholders work collaboratively with the NICATS central unit to agree and endorse: - the NICATS specifications and guidelines for a single credit framework; - quality assurance procedures for the award of credit at each level which meet NICATS specifications; and - an action plan for implementation. 8.2.1.4.It is recommended that NICATS work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland regulatory and awarding bodies to ensure the integration of the credit and qualifications frameworks, the specification for the operation of the agreed credit framework and the systems for meeting the specifications of the credit framework. 8.2.2.The NICATS central unit 8.2.2.1.It is recommended that the NICATS central unit: - continue to work in collaboration with national credit and qualifications framework developments in the UK and adapt in the light of national developments; - further develop and update aspects of the framework; - provide advice, guidance and associated staff development to stakeholders on the operation of the agreed framework; - identify ways in which employers can and will recognise credit; - develop and maintain links with the University for Industry; - establish a web based, unit database, quality assured and controlled by its stakeholders, structured to accommodate units of assessment at all levels (E - 8). The latter would provide:- a directory of units; a reference point against which credit is ascribed; and a curriculum development tool for programme designers; - establish systems for recording learners' achievement which will result in a universally understood credit transcript for the learner; - develop and maintain links and co-operative work with other credit consortia; and - develop and maintain links with international credit consortia. 8.2.3.Quality Assurance 8.2.3.1. It is recommended that primary responsibility for quality assurance remain with the recognised validating and awarding bodies. The NICATS central unit will work with the recognised validating and awarding bodies to ensure the successful operation of the agreed framework. 8.2.4.Curriculum development 8.2.4.1 It is recommended that inter-institutional curriculum groups be established to proceed with pilot curriculum development activities which facilitate testing of the NICATS specifications and guidelines. 8.2.5.Staff development 8.2.5.1.It is recommended that stakeholders work closely with the NICATS central unit to raise the profile of the Northern Ireland Credit Framework through appropriate staff development activities. 8.2.5.2. It is recommended that staff development activities be designed which: - make explicit the agreed credit framework for curriculum planners; identify ways in which learners can understand and use credit; and raise awareness for learners of the opportunities provided by a credit framework. 8.2.6. Guidance 8.2.6.1. It is recommended that the NICATS central unit work closely with relevant guidance agencies to ensure that learners can make effective use of credit accumulation and transfer opportunities. 8.2.7.Collaboration 8.2.7.1. It is recommended that the NICATS central unit work collaboratively with QAA to ensure alignment between NICATS specifications and those which emerge from the QAA benchmarking exercise. 8.2.7.2. It is recommended that the NICATS central unit work collaboratively with QCA and NICCEA to ensure alignment between NICATS specifications and the emergent QCA qualifications framework. 8.2.7.3. It is recommended that NICATS is pro-active in contributing to credit framework developments at a national and international level. 8.2.7.4. It is recommended that NICATS is pro-active in demonstrating the relevance of its developments to the implementation of Government policy in relation to its lifelong learning agenda. 8.2.7.5. It is recommended that NICATS development work be informed by national developments in areas of credit, unitisation and methodologies for funding.