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Student Alternative 2019/20 - Highest qualification on entry

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Student Alternative 2019/20

Fields required from institutions in All fields

Highest qualification on entry


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valid entries
Typefield
Short nameQUALENT3
Description

This field indicates the highest qualification that a student holds on entry, not necessarily that applicable for entry to the course.

Applicable toEngland Scotland
Coverage

All entry profiles.

Valid entries and labels
CodeLabel
DUKUK doctorate degree
DZZNon-UK doctorate degree
D80Other qualification at level D
MUKUK masters degree
MZZNon-UK masters degree
M2XIntegrated undergraduate/postgraduate taught masters degree on the enhanced/extended pattern
M41Diploma at level M
M44Certificate at level M
M71Postgraduate Certificate in Education or Professional Graduate Diploma in Education
M80Other taught qualification at level M
M90Taught work at level M for provider credit
HUKUK first degree with honours
HZZNon-UK first degree
H11First degree with honours leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)/registration with a General Teaching Council (GTC)
H71Professional Graduate Certificate in Education
H80Other qualification at level H
JUKUK ordinary (non-honours) first degree
J10Foundation degree
J20Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
J30Higher National Diploma (HND)
J49Foundation course at level J
J48Certificate in Education (CertEd) or Diploma in Education (DipEd) (i.e. non-graduate initial teacher training qualification)
J80Other qualification at level J
C20Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE)
C30Higher National Certificate (HNC)
C44Higher Apprenticeship (level 4)
C80Other qualification at level C
C90Undergraduate credits
P41Diploma at level 3
P42Certificate at level 3
P46Award at level 3
P47AQA Baccalaureate (Bacc)
P50A/AS level
P5114-19 Advanced Diploma (level 3)
P53Scottish Baccalaureate
P54Scottish Highers/Advanced Highers
P62International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma
P63International Baccalaureate (IB) Certificate
P64Cambridge Pre-U Diploma
P65Cambridge Pre-U Certificate
P68Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma (level 3)
P80Other qualification at level 3
P92Level 3 qualifications of which none are subject to UCAS Tariff
P93Level 3 qualifications of which all are subject to UCAS Tariff
P94Level 3 qualifications of which some are subject to UCAS Tariff
Q5114-19 Higher Diploma (level 2)
Q52Welsh Baccalaureate Intermediate Diploma (level 2)
Q80Other qualification at level 2
R5114-19 Foundation Diploma (level 1)
R52Welsh Baccalaureate Foundation Diploma (level 1)
R80Other qualification at level 1
X00Higher education (HE) access course, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) recognised
X01Higher education (HE) access course, not Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) recognised
X02Mature student admitted on basis of previous experience and/or admissions test
X04Other qualification level not known
X05Student has no formal qualification
X06Not known
Notes

QUALENT3 records a student's highest qualification on entry to the instance. It should NOT be updated to reflect qualifications gained during the instance.

For guidance on the use of academic qualification codes in QUALENT3, providers should refer to the guidance for Course.COURSEAIM, as it was always intended that the two coding frames be closely linked. For guidance on the use of the vocational qualification codes, colleagues can refer to the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications QAA publication Qualifications can cross boundaries - a rough guide to comparing qualifications in the UK and Ireland.

If the student has not yet received a formal award, but the provider has seen the transcript given by the awarding body of the qualification that contains all the necessary information, this can be reflected in QUALENT3.

If the provider is unsure as to how to code an overseas qualification, because it does not clearly fall into the QUALENT3 categories, they may wish to seek advice from the UK NARIC (www.naric.org.uk) about the relative level, and code the qualification accordingly. NARIC advise on the comparability of a qualification to an equivalent on the UK level system - this information can then be used to assign a generic '(x)80' code at the appropriate level.

Guidance on use of P80 'Other qualification at level 3'

Where a student's highest qualification on entry is a single qualification at level 3, and no other valid entry is appropriate, the valid entry for QUALENT3 can be P80. Consequently, students holding UK qualifications should not generally be allocated to P80 as another "P" valid entry will be applicable. Students recorded as P80 will typically be international students with non-UK qualifications.

Level 3 qualifications - P92, P93, and P94

The following codes are available for the coding of students who may have multiple UK highest qualifications on entry at Level 3:

P92 Level 3 qualifications of which none are subject to UCAS Tariff
P93 Level 3 qualifications of which all are subject to UCAS Tariff
P94 Level 3 qualifications of which some are subject to UCAS Tariff

Level 3 qualifications that cannot be matched to a QUALTYPE will not be subject to UCAS tariff and should therefore be treated as P92, or P94 if the student has another level 3 qualification that does attract tariff.

No hierarchy is implied in level 3 qualifications. If a mixture of qualifications are relevant, then use code P92, P93 or P94 rather than any single qualification included, such as A/AS level. Please be aware that P92 may be used as a filter to exclude instances with no tariffable qualifications from calculations of UCAS tariff. P93 or P94 are acceptable as a general code for qualifications, or mixtures of qualifications, that are subject to tariff (the detail of qualifications should be returned in the QualificationsOnEntry entity).

Code 'P92 Level 3 qualifications of which none are subject to UCAS Tariff’ relates to the type of qualification. This code should not be used in cases where the student holds non-tariff bearing grades for a tariff-bearing qualification. In these circumstances the appropriate P code for the level 3 qualification or P93/P94 should be used in QUALENT3.

Please note that the Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design is a qualification offered at both level 3 and level 4.

Further guidance for specific codes:

P50 'AS/A Levels'

Where a student has an AS Level in the same subject as an A Level, this does not need to be returned. However if the student has achieved any AS Levels, but has not continued these to A Level, we would expect these to be returned as AS Levels still qualify as Level 3 qualifications.

X00 'Higher education (HE) access course, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) recognised', and
X01 'Higher education (HE) access course, not Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) recognised':

A recognised Access to HE course is one validated by an Authorised Validating Agency, licensed for the purpose by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) under the terms of the QAA Recognition Scheme for Access to Higher Education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Relevant Access courses are recorded on the Access to HE Courses Database. QAA does not licence any AVAs in Scotland.

J10 'Foundation degree'

Code J10 covers those programmes providers are running as foundation degrees, which are consistent with the 'Statement of Design Principles' for foundation degrees issued by UUK and GuildHE.

X02 'Mature student admitted on basis of previous experience and/or admissions test'

Code X02 should only be used where the student does not have any formal qualifications at level 3 or above. For students holding qualifications at level 3 or above who are admitted on the basis of APL or an admissions test, the relevant code for their level 3 or above qualifications should be used in preference to X02.

X06 'Not known'

Providers are required to record and return the prior entry qualifications of their students, including when these students are mature or from overseas. X06 should be used exceptionally only when it has not been possible to acquire this information. Frequent use of X06 will lead to validation errors.

Code X06 should not be used as a default. Providers are expected to seek and code the highest qualification on entry.

Full information, where available should be reported in QualificationsOnEntry.

For codes P93 and P94, Office for Students expect to see entries in the QualificationsOnEntry entity.

Honorary qualifications should not be included in this field.

Quality rules
Quality rules relating to this entity are displayed here.
Reason required This field gives information about a student's qualifications on entry to a course. It is also used to identify students with tariff-bearing qualifications and non-traditional qualifications for analyses. To calculate the National Statistic - Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR).
Part of
Field length3
Minimum occurrences1
Maximum occurrences1
Schema components
Element: QUALENT3
OwnerHESA
Version1.1
Date modified2020-03-02
Change management notesGuidance for the use of P80 and for P92, P93 and P94 has been updated.

Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.