Credit rating agencies

Sir David Watson’s report for the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education is right: there is much work to be done if credit transfer is to become widely used to support lifelong learning in the UK (“Credit transfer ignored as snobs bow to ‘royal’ route”, News, 28 November).

The UK’s higher education culture is built around the primacy of three-year degrees and there is limited demand for greater mobility from students or government (which in the past has disincentivised it through funding and student number controls). However, it should be noted that many universities in this country are committed to credit transfer and are employing its principles to support student mobility and flexible study patterns.

In particular, credit transfer is being used to support progression and to recognise work-based learning and professional qualifications. Through the UK Credit Forum, two major credit consortia in England, SEEC and the Northern Universities Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer, together with their counterparts in Scotland and Northern Ireland, are providing guidance and support to institutions and individuals on this vital subject.

Mark Atlay, chair, SEEC
Leopold Green, chair, NUCCAT