UK universities’ opaque credit transfer rules criticised

Universities have been accused of presiding over an opaque and “disjointed” approach to credit transfer systems used by many mature students.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) analysed 461 credit transfer policies that were publicly available from UK universities, including examining barriers in the current system and making recommendations for providers and policymakers to address them.

The report says credit transfers are “key” to achieving the “fullest ambitions” of the lifelong learning entitlement (LLE), scheduled for introduction in 2026, which would allow people to access up to four years’ worth of loan funding on a flexible basis, so learners can take individual modules across different institutions throughout their working lives. However, the QAA says credit transfers are also “the hardest part to realise”.

While it notes that a transfer process already exists on a small scale, “[in] its present state, the system is disjointed between institutions, discretionary and cloaked in obscurity and consequently happens only in very small numbers”.

The report criticises universities’ approach to recognition of prior learning (RPL) – vital in enabling credit transfers as students move between institutions. The QAA says there are “significant disparities” between institutions’ approaches, making it hard for learners to navigate and compare different policies.

The “biggest” obstacle examined by the QAA was how “difficult it is to navigate providers’ websites to locate their RPL policies”. In most cases, there was no clear signposting on a provider’s website that would indicate the availability of this process to prospective learners “unless they were explicitly looking for it”, it says.

The report adds: “There appears to be little effort to publicise the policies. Therefore, information about how prospective learners can transfer credit to, or have their prior learning recognised by, a new provider is particularly difficult to find.

“While some providers may share information once they are in contact with a prospective learner, there is very little to highlight this process as an alternative route in higher education for those considering taking that first step.”

The QAA recommends that institutions make RPL policies “publicly available and easily accessible” on their admissions pages – including using hyperlinks for easier navigation – and that all RPL policies include clear signposting of the support and guidance available to prospective students to help them meet requirements.

Helena Vine, lead policy officer for England at the QAA, said Labour’s commitment to the LLE “shows that the ambition for learners to move more easily between institutions is not going anywhere any time soon”.

“By taking stock of current practice, we can better understand why transfers only happen in very small numbers and how the sector can deliver a more seamless system and produce the opportunities for lifelong learning, student mobility and student choice which employers and government have long been calling for,” Ms Vine added.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com