Higher national students at Scotland’s colleges will be assessed through a combination of estimated grades on the basis of lecturers’ professional judgement and a “reduced external verification model”.

In a joint statement, the Scottish Qualifications Authority and Colleges Scotland, the umbrella body for the country’s FE colleges, said the two organisations have met to discuss and agree on a joint approach to the certification of Higher National qualifications that are delivered in colleges across Scotland.

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Coronavirus outbreak

This follows the closure of colleges for face-to-face teaching as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. 

According to the two organisations, the planned approach is made up of two elements: “Firstly, an estimate model for internal assessment decisions, where graded units are incomplete and further progress with them is not possible. This will enable colleges to use their professional judgement to assess other candidate evidence, including their knowledge of their candidates, their progress and achievements to date.”

They added that given the current situation, the “normal level” of external verification was not possible, and the second element of the assessment approach would there be “a reduced external verification model, that will enable a reasonable level of quality assurance to be undertaken remotely, to support the safe and secure delivery of our qualifications, whilst recognising the current challenges we all face”. 

“The full details of how this approach will work in practice are still being finalised, and we will update you as soon as we can.”

According to the SQA and Colleges Scotland, alternative arrangements for other qualification types that are delivered in colleges, such as National Certificates, were still being finalised.