Qualifications available

Successful completion of our part-time courses allows you to gain credits which can be used towards higher education qualifications.

We offer several qualifications that you can study towards:

Certificate of Continuing Education

This is a departmental award that you achieve when you gain 120 credits in any combination of courses.

Certificate of Higher Education

This nationally recognised qualification is awarded when you gain 120 credits at Level 4 (NQF) from specific subject areas.

We offer Certificates of Higher Education in the following subject areas:

• Art and Design
• Creative Writing
• Field Ecology
• Natural History Studies
• Genealogical Studies
• Modern Languages

Diploma of Higher Education

This nationally recognised qualification is a Level 5 (NQF) award and is awarded when you gain 240 credits (120 of which will have been gained from the Certificate of Higher Education in Field Ecology).

The Diploma of Higher Education is available in Field and Conservation Ecology.

Enrol now on the Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education

How credits works

Credits are part of a national scheme which allows you to work towards a nationally recognised award at most UK universities.

Credits are usually assigned to a unit of study in multiples of 5, 10 or 20. They give an indication of the level at which you are working, the amount of work involved and provide recognition that you have successfully completed a course.

We call each unit of study a course and each course is usually worth 5, 10 or 20 credits.  

All accredited qualifications are awarded a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level, endorsed by the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales. The framework aims to help you make informed decisions about the qualifications you would like to gain.

Lifelong Learning Credits are offered at different levels as follows:

Level 3 - equivalent to pre-degree level study

Level 4 - equivalent to first year undergraduate study

Level 5 - equivalent to second year undergraduate study.

Most of our courses do not require previous qualifications but please note that some Level 5 courses may require previous experience or qualifications.