Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, and qualification frameworks

The Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

The Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (known as CATS) enables academic credit (or ‘CATS points’) to be transferred between higher education institutions.

Many Oxford Lifelong Learning courses carry CATS points, including those leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate award, as well as courses that can simply be taken for academic credit.

Transferring credit between institutions

Credit points may be transferred to other higher education institutions and other universities offering modular programmes.

Although an institution may accept and ‘count in’ transferred credit, students have no automatic entitlement to this. Admissions decisions, including any exemption from part of a programme, will depend on the institution’s rules. If you are considering transferring your CATS points, you should check this with the institution directly.

CATS and credit frameworks within the UK

You can find fuller details through the following links:

England: Higher Education Credit Framework for England: Advice on Academic Credit Arrangements.
Wales: Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales
Scotland: Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
Northern Ireland: Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment and Regulated Qualifications Framework.

CATS and credit frameworks outside the UK

Europe: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). To convert CATS to ECTS credit, divide the CATS points by two. For example, 120 CATS points equates to 60 ECTS credits.
Other countries: Please check with the national body responsible and/or the overseas institution.

If you have a question…

… about your course (such as the number of CATS points it carries), check the course web page, or contact the course administrator;

… about transferring credit at another institution, please contact them directly;

For any other enquiries relating to CATS points, please contact student.support@conted.ox.ac.uk +44(0)1865 280355

Find out more

Applying for award-bearing courses at Oxford Lifelong Learning

Some award-bearing programmes permit prior academic credit (whether from a course offered here or elsewhere) to be ‘brought in’, and may grant a partial exemption from the full course requirements. The credit could be from a related programme or an external course. Exemptions are not automatic but discretionary, and are subject to limits. Where they are available, details will normally appear on the course web pages.

Applying for undergraduate degrees at Oxford University

While many of our courses carry CATS points, most cannot themselves be used to seek an exemption when applying for Oxford undergraduate degree programmes. You can find out about acceptable qualifications on the University Course admission requirements pages.

Undergraduate level (FHEQ Level 4)

Coursework is an integral part of our Flexible Online Courses, Live Online Courses, Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA) and in-person weekly classes. However, only those who have registered for credit can be awarded CATS points.

Generally, most short online and some in-person courses carry either 10 or 20 CATS points, and the majority are at FHEQ Level 4 (so the level of teaching equates to the first year of an undergraduate degree). As a broad guide, a two-hour taught session plus about 8 hours of private study normally equates to one CATS point.

Certificate of Higher Education (gaining credit in advance)

If (a) you are considering using CATS points gained in advance towards our Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education (Cert HE), and (b) you want to enrol on an in-person accredited weekly class before the Cert HE, then we strongly advise you to register for assessment and accreditation when enrolling on the weekly class.

All students registering for short online courses in the flexible or live formats will have the assessment and credit fee automatically included.

Postgraduate level: short selective courses

Many one-week residential and online modules from postgraduate award-bearing programmes are open to external students, for professional development, or as a ‘taster’ before committing to the full award programme.

Normally, you will be encouraged to take the modules for academic credit, and if you later successfully apply for the full programme, prior credit gained may count towards it and exempt you from taking certain modules again (subject to course rules).

CATS points for modules are awarded proportionally; for example, a single module from a three-module postgraduate certificate (60 CATS points at level FHEQ 7) will equate to 20 CATS points at that level.

In many cases, the course fee already includes the ‘for credit’ element, but in some cases there is a ‘credit/ no credit’ option with corresponding fees.

Summary

While specific course web pages detail particulars of a course, the following section offers general guidance on levels of study, course duration, and CATS points awarded on successful completion of courses taken through this department. More general information can be found in the QAA’s Credit Framework for England.

Undergraduate courses

Undergraduate certificates: Taught at first-year undergraduate level over two years (Certificate in Higher Education two to four years); carry 120 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4.
Undergraduate diplomas: Taught at second-year undergraduate level over two years, carry 120 CATS points at FHEQ Level 5.
Undergraduate advanced diplomas: Taught at third-year undergraduate level over one year, carries 60 CATS points at FHEQ Level 6.

NB. It is not possible to ‘claim’ an undergraduate degree by amalgamating an undergraduate certificate, diploma and advanced diploma, but it may be possible to transfer credit to other university degree courses, as explained above.

Postgraduate courses

The duration of postgraduate courses can vary – see specific course websites.

Postgraduate certificates: Taught at master’s level, carry 60* CATS points at FHEQ Level 7 (*the PGCert in Architectural History is credited at 90 CATS points).
Postgraduate diplomas: Taught at master’s level, carry 120 CATS points at FHEQ Level 7.
Taught master’s degrees: Taught at master’s level, carry 180 CATS points at FHEQ Level 7.
Doctoral degrees (DPhil): These are not credit-rated.