SCQF provides a national vocabulary for describing learning opportunities and thereby makes the relationships between qualifications clearer. It clarifies entry and exit points and routes for progression within and across education and training sectors and increases the opportunities for credit transfer. In these ways it assists learners to plan their progress and minimise duplication of learning.
Two measures are used to place qualifications and learning programmes within the Framework. These are the levels of the outcomes of learning and the volume of these outcomes, described in terms of SCQF credit points. The SCQF has 12 levels ranging from school-based qualifications through to Doctorates at the highest level.
SCQF credit points are used to quantify the outcomes of learning and give them value or currency. The allocation of credit is based on the amount of time that an average learner at a specified level might expect to take to achieve the outcomes.
Further details of all aspects of the SCQF can be found at http://www.scqf.org.uk