Three announcements were made on 18 December relating to the "value" of the Diploma:
the UCAS tariff for the Advanced Diploma
how the Diploma will be counted in the achievement and attainment tables
the funding formula for the Diploma.
QCA welcomes these announcements, which highlight the robustness of the new qualification.
The UCAS Tariff
UCAS states that: "the UCAS Tariff is a points system used to report achievement for entry to higher education in a numerical format. It establishes agreed comparability between different types of qualifications and provides comparisons between applicants with different types and volumes of achievement."
UCAS has announced that the total potential points score for the combination of Principal, Generic and Additional/Specialist Learning components within an Advanced Diploma is 420.
This gives the Advanced Diploma a "value" equivalent to 3.5 GCE A levels (or 3 A levels plus an Extended Project).
More information is available at the new UCAS Diploma website at www.ucas.com/students/diplomas
School and college achievement and attainment tables
The DCSF states that the achievement and attainment tables "provide information on the achievement and attainment of students…in local secondary schools and Further Education sector colleges, and how they compare with other schools and colleges in the area and in England as a whole."
As for prior qualifications, QCA has advised ministers on the points value of the Diploma at all three levels: Foundation, Higher and Advanced. The DCSF has now accepted the QCA's advice, and publicly announced the points value of the Diploma.
A breakdown of the points value for each Diploma level and grade is available from this page.
In summary, the points value of each Diploma is comparable to:
Foundation Diploma = 5 GCSEs at grades A*-G
Higher Diploma = 7 GCSEs at A*-C
Advanced Diploma = 3.5 GCE A levels at A*-E
General information about school and college achievement and attainment tables can be found at www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables
Details of the Diploma announcement can be found at www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19.