Diplomas to exceed three A-levels

This news item was sourced from the 
BBC News website

The new Advanced Diplomas will be worth the equivalent of more than three A-levels in university entrance points, the admissions service has decided.

Diplomas, which some schools in England begin teaching next year, will attract a maximum of 420 Ucas tariff points.

A top grade A-level attracts 120 points and an A grade in an AS-level has 60.

The Diploma points are split with up to 300 for the "principal and generic learning" components, and 120 more for additional and specialist learning.

Ucas chief executive Anthony McClaran said: "The recognition of the Diploma within the Ucas tariff places the new qualification firmly within the spectrum of routes for entry to higher education.

"Decisions on individual applicants remain, as always, a matter for the higher education institutions themselves and it is encouraging that many are beginning to signal an acceptance in principle of the Diplomas."

How this will work in practice remains to be seen.

Mr McClaran added: "All qualifications within the tariff are subject to regular review in the light of admissions decisions taken by universities."

The Diplomas are a mix of theoretical and practical and applied study. The government believes they may in time replace other qualifications including A-levels and, at a lower level, GCSEs.

Getting universities to accept them is crucial to their success.

A survey this summer suggested that fewer than four in 10 university admissions officers saw the Diploma as a "good alternative" to A-levels.

Some vice-chancellors have publicly backed them.

But the Russell Group of leading universities said in a statement in October that they were "concerned to ensure that the Diploma sufficiently equips candidates with the skills and knowledge they need to flourish on our courses".

It added: "Our member universities are in the process of assessing the academic rigour and general suitability of the diploma as a route to higher education.

"Several have already signalled their intention to accept the engineering Diploma, most usually in combination with a maths A-level as part of the required additional specialist learning."

There are various levels of Diploma:

• Foundation - takes broadly the same time to do as four or five GCSEs
• Higher - takes broadly the same time to do as five or six GCSEs
• Advanced - takes broadly the same time to do as three A-levels
• Progression - takes broadly the same time as two A-levels and is aimed at those who cannot complete a whole Advanced Diploma.

The subjects starting next year are engineering, construction and the built environment, information technology, creative and media, and society, health and development.

The plan was that the suite would build up to a full 14 subjects by 2013. But the government is also now proposing three more "academic" ones: science, languages and humanities.