January 6, 2016 - Bobby -
A number of Higher National (HN) awards are currently being reviewed. These are: HNC/D Information Technology (led by Chris Deegan of Glasgow Met.) HNC/D Interactive Media (led by Fiona Murnin of New College Lanarkshire) HNC/D Computer Games Development (led by Gill Flockart of Ayrshire College). Each development is at a different stage but all are well underway. Progress has been slower than I had hoped, mainly as a result of staff changes within SQA. I intend to meet with each of the lead…
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December 14, 2015 - Bobby -
I updated my qualification “portfolio” today. You might prefer to call it my list of qualifications. Look under “Useful links”. This is a live link, which means that it will always point to the latest version of the diagram. So, I won’t keep posting updates every time I change it. Please remember to check the permalink if you want to access it. The main things to look for in the diagram are the awards in bold and italics. The bold ones are…
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December 4, 2015 - Bobby -
The web page for this new qualification is now live. The qualification was validated some time ago, but you can now access a dedicated web page about this revised award. You’ll find the Group Award Specification (GAS) and other information on that page. The GAS defines the structure of the award and contains information about how to deliver and assess the qualification. This new qualification is an ideal introduction to digital skills. It is at SCQF Level 3 and contains three (mandatory)…
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November 16, 2015 - Bobby -
Me and my team receive regular enquiries about changes to qualifications, often asking what has changed and when. We received one this morning. We always give the same advice: check the Group Award Specification (GAS) for each qualification before you offer it. A GAS is produced for every new (or revised) qualification. It contains essential information about the structure of the award (including award codes and unit codes), advice about delivery, and information for learners. You will find the GAS for…
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November 2, 2015 - Bobby -
The training for unit writers involved in the new PDA in Software Development took place on Friday in Glasgow. We’re developing nine new HN Units in total: Software Development: Analysis & Design, Software Development: Implementation & Testing, and Software Development: Project. Each Unit is a double credit Unit and is repeated in each of the three levels (SCQF Levels 7, 8 and 9). The team is a mix of the very experienced, the less experienced and the new. It was…
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October 19, 2015 - Bobby -
I recently announced a new development, which involves the creation of two new HNCs: 1. HNC Computer Science 2. HNC Data Analytics Since then, a Qualification Development Team (QDT) has been created and the first meeting was held this afternoon. The Team consists of representatives of colleges, universities and industry. The University of Strathclyde is represented on the QDT since the new HNCs will be designed to articulate with a number of their B.Sc. courses, through their Digital Academy programme,…
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October 13, 2015 - Bobby -
Since Helen announced last week that the new National Unit entitled Cyber Security Fundamentals (SCQF Level 4) was now available, we’ve had a lot of interest from centres interested in offering the new Unit. There are lots of reasons for doing so. In a sense, cyber security has replaced online safety as an essential online skill since it encompasses personal safety but also explores the need for groups, businesses and nations to protect themselves. Recent media reports about cyber attacks…
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I took the opportunity today to update the qualification portfolio diagram. Regular readers will know that there is a great deal of development work going on right now, so it seemed a good time to update it. You can see (and download) the diagram here. The diagram summarises the vocational awards available to centres. As you will see, the portfolio is growing, particularly the range of National Progression Awards, which are proving to be popular in the school sector. But…
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