Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF)

The Qualifications and Credit Framework is the national credit transfer system for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is one of the first National Frameworks to be fully referenced to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). This enables greater transparency and mobility for workers because it will be easier to understand the levels of attainment and the breadth of learning required for a wide range of qualifications operating across many countries.

Every unit and qualification in the new framework has a credit value (where one credit represents 10 hours of learning time).

In addition, each qualification has a level of difficulty from Entry level at the bottom to Level 8 at the top. Level 7 is broadly the level of a Masters degree and Level 8 PhD. There is a description of level 7 in Annexe 1 and candidates need to ensure that the evidence submitted fits to these characteristics.

The IBQH Diploma in Quality Management has 43 credits and each credit is associated with 10 hours of learning. This means that the Diploma will require 430 hours of learning on average. For some candidates it will require more and for others less. In addition, the guided learning hours associated with the Diploma mean that 160 of the 430 total hours will be guided through specific courses that could be classroom based learning in the form of lectures and seminars or through webinars, video-conference or similar distance learning techniques.

Candidates successfully completing a Level 7 qualification must be able to demonstrate their ability as independent learners and candidates should maintain their own e-portfolio with minimal external support. They should demonstrate the capacity to keep up to date with evidence based good practice associated with healthcare and to apply newly learned methods and knowledge in their place of work. The guidance in this handbook should be used by candidates and assessors to ensure that they are operating at the appropriate level.