I was informed today that the three new/revised Verification Groups (VGs) had now been created. They are:

288 Information Technology
357 Computer Science
358 Digital Literacy.

I’ve previously explained the rationale behind these changes.

This change will have operational implications for centres (in the sense that verification visits will now be based around these three groups) but, more importantly, it has philosophical implications. It defines a particular view of the subject (“Computing”) with three parts. The first part, Digital Literacy, is foundational, encompassing key knowledge and skills required to work and play in the 21st Century, including the skills needed for participation in modern society. The second part, Information Technology, is more advanced and covers specialist knowledge and skills required for working in the computing industry or supporting users. The third part, Computer Science, encompasses the theory and practice of the science of computing, including computer programming.

I recently assigned qualifications to each of these groups. My portfolio spans all three groups, but particularly IT and, to a lesser extent, Digital Literacy. I also recently renamed the Sector Panel to “Computing”, rather than “Computing & IT”.

This change is about more than nomenclature. It clarifies what we mean by “Computing” and will aid our thinking about the subject area. SQA is pleased to be the first UK awarding body to fully adopt the recommendations in the Royal Society’s report [PDF] (relating to subject names).