UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
Guidance Notes on Credit and the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme
(CATS)
Credit is a quantified means of expressing and measuring learning equivalence,
awarded for the demonstrable achievement of learning outcomes. The University
recognises credit as a means of measuring, describing and comparing learning
achievement which sets out how much learning is required for each course and at what
level. Warwick uses the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) to
express credit weightings for each unit of learning. Credit is expressed in quantified form
so that achievement in different contexts can be broadly compared in terms of
intellectual depth (level) and relative volume (number of credits).
The Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme is a system which enables learners to
accumulate credit and which facilitates the transfer of that credit within and beyond the
providing institutions. The scheme was established by the Council for National Academic
Awards (CNAA) and adopted by the mid 1990s by 80% of UK HEIs, including Warwick.
The CAT Scheme equates 1 ‘credit point’ with 10 hours of learning effort or notional
learning time, used as a measure of volume. Notional learning time is the number of
hours which it is expected that a learner (at a particular level) will spend, on average, to
achieve the specified learning outcomes. This might comprise a variable combination of
contact time, (lectures, seminars, labs etc.) and self-directed learning time (background
reading prior to classes, research for written assignments, and examination preparation).
Thus, a module allocated 30 credits or ‘CATS points’ should require students to commit
approximately 300 hours of work to achieving the learning outcomes for the module.
At undergraduate level, the University recognises two separate credit tariffs, or
schedules of credit volumes:
either 6, 12, 18, 24, 48;
or 7.5, 15, 30 45, 60.
At postgraduate level, the re-calibration of tariffs which took place in a number of
departments in 2000-01 when the University moved from 120 to 180 credits for Master’s
courses led to the emergence of a further tariff model for these courses of:
10, 20, 30.
In this instance, the following model would be typical:
6 x 20 credit modules + 60 credits dissertation = 180 credits.
It was acknowledged at the time that some courses, especially those with a large
number of modules or in areas where there are national standards for vocational
provision (e.g. MBAs, PGME), were likely to remain outside this pattern.
The University’s module proposal form asks departments to attach a credit weighting
expressed in CATS points to each module. The Course Regulations set out the number
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and combination of modules which students must undertake to accumulate the
prescribed amount of credit for the award of the qualification for which they are enrolled.
There are nationally-recognised volumes of credit for qualifications at all levels of the
QAA’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, although the Framework itself is
formally credit-neutral. None of the nationally-recognised volumes is prescriptive.
Qualification Levels
Credit Levels
FHEQ/NQF
Doctoral D level
Master’s M level
Honours H level
Intermediate I level
Certificate C level
Level 3 Advanced
Level 2 Intermediate
Level 1 Foundation
Entry
FHEQ
NQF
EWNI framework
Level 8
Level 7
Level 6
Level 5
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
Entry
FH/HE
Level M
Level HE 3
Level HE 2
Level HE 1
Level FE 3
Level FE 2
Level FE 1
Entry
FHEQ Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
NQF National Qualifications Framework
EWNI England, Wales, Northern Ireland
Warwick Qualifications
Qualification
Qualification
level
Total
credits
Certificate of Higher
Education
Foundation Degree
C
120+
I
240+
Honours degree
H
360+
Postgraduate Award
M
20 - 40
Postgraduate Certificate
M
60+
Postgraduate Diploma
M
120+
Integrated Undergraduate
Master’s
Master’s
M
480+
M
180+
Professional Doctorate
D
540+
Doctorate
D
540+
Highest
level of
credit
HE 1
EWNI 4
HE 2
EWNI 5
HE 3
EWNI 6
HE M
EWNI 7
HE M
EWNI 7
HE M
EWNI 7
HE M
EWNI 7
HE M
EWNI 7
HE D
EWNI 8
HE D
EWNI 8
Minimum
number of
credits at
highest level
90
Level of
balance of
credit
FE 3 / EWNI 3
90
HE 1 / EWNI 4
90
Total number
120 credits at
HE 1 / EWNI 4
Remainder at
HE 2 / EWNI 5
M
40
HE 3 / EWNI 6
90
HE 3 / EWNI 6
120
HE 3 / EWNI 6
150
HE 3 / EWNI 6
420
M
540
n/a
Some qualifications are deemed to be ‘postgraduate in time but not in level’. The PGCE
is typically cited as such an example. Without exception, the level of an award made by
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the University is set out in the appropriate Course Specification, which should use the
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications as a reference point.
Departments should ensure in the drafting of publicity materials produced for courses
that nomenclature is clear and unambiguous and that terms such as ‘certificate’ and
‘diploma’ are appropriately contextualised so that potential applicants and other
stakeholders are clear about the level of each course.
Assessment criteria should describe how staff will determine whether students have
achieved the prescribed learning outcomes for each unit of study, i.e. by providing
detailed expectations in terms of learner performance. There should be a clear and
demonstrable link between learning outcomes and assessment criteria for each
unit of study, however delivered and assessed. No additional credit can be awarded for
achievement above the specified threshold level, although relative achievement can be
recognised through the award of marks or grades. Credit at a higher level than that
specified for the unit of study concerned cannot be awarded for exceptional
performance.
A clear distinction is made between the number of credits which a student may attempt
in an approved course of study and the credit requirements for the conferral of an award.
The standard is based upon the required number and level of the credits. The number
of credits to be attempted in a course of study leading to an award is a matter for
course developers and the University to determine. However, in recognition that
students’ performance is likely to be affected detrimentally through attempts to
accumulate an excessive number of credits, the University recognises the nationallyaccepted load for a full-time undergraduate courses of 120 credits and recommends that
courses be designed to require the accumulation of 120 - 150 credits per annum.
The adoption of the two different credit tariffs by departments at Warwick means that
there cannot always be direct interchangability of modules between departments
using different tariffs. Thus, whilst students may take options from a department other
than their own, subject to approval from their home department, those seeking to take a
module from a department using a different tariff will find that they will either:

Accumulate more credit than actually required e.g. by taking a module rated at
30 credits where they only require 24 credits, or

Need to undertake additional assessed work or examinations where they
require 30 credits but where the module is typically offered at 24 credits
The University recognises that, notwithstanding the normal load of 120 credits per annum
for a full-time undergraduate degree, with a consequent normal load of 360 credits required
to achieve an award at level H, students may accumulate a higher number of credits than
necessary. This may occur because they are enrolled on a course which carries a higher
credit tariff for the prescribed range of modules, or as a result of their own choice of
optional modules. Staff should advise potential and actual students clearly that the conferral
of an award is dependent upon the accumulation of the prescribed number of credits for
their course, not just the accumulation of 360 credits where their course stipulates a higher
number.
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