Award and Assessment of the Access to HE Diploma 2022-23 - Information Poster for Students
Publication date: 03 Aug 2022
Access to HE students can find all the latest information about the arrangements for the award and assessment of the Access to HE Diploma in 2022-23 in this section. A summary of the key information for students is provided in our poster. You can also refer to our frequently asked questions.
Access to HE providers should visit the Access to HE section of the QAA website for support and guidance.
Information for students
Each year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, QAA has employed an Extraordinary Regulatory Framework which has shaped the award of the Access to HE Diploma. These arrangements have helped to ensure that every Access to HE student had an equal opportunity to successfully complete their Diploma.
The experiences of the pandemic have demonstrated the continuing importance of ensuring that:
- every student studying an Access to HE Diploma has every opportunity to learn and be assessed and to achieve the award of the Diploma to facilitate progression into higher education
- all Access to HE Diploma students are dealt with consistently through a national approach that ensures parity of experience.
Arrangements for the award and assessment of the Diploma for 2022-23 have been designed with the following key principles in mind:
- to support students, providers and Access Validating Agencies (AVAs) in meeting the opportunities and challenges to learning and delivery presented post-pandemic
- to work in collaboration with AVAs, the Department for Education (DfE), Welsh Government and other regulatory bodies to build on the strategy for Access to HE post-pandemic, focusing on sustainability and protection of the Access to HE Diploma.
The arrangements for the award and assessment of the Diploma in 2022-23 will be as follows.
Students starting their course from 1 August 2022
An Extraordinary Regulatory Framework will not apply. It will no longer be permissible:
- for AVAs to approve adaptations to the method of delivery, units delivered or assessment tasks in response to the pandemic
- to apply the Extraordinary Regulatory Framework arrangements relating to the principles of quality assurance.
Access to HE Diplomas must follow the validated rules of combination and be delivered and assessed in accordance with the method and schedule for which a provider has been approved. This means that insofar as possible students should be assessed in accordance with the information provided to them upon enrolment.
Continuing students
A continuing student is defined as a student who was registered on their course before 1 August 2022 and will continue with their studies into the following academic year (1 August 2022 - 31 July 2023). This will also include any students who took a break in learning and are returning to their course from 1 August 2022.
It will no longer permissible for AVAs to approve adaptations to the method of delivery, units delivered or assessment tasks in response to the pandemic on or after 1 August 2022.
However, arrangements relating to the principles of quality assurance under the Extraordinary Regulatory Framework will apply where:
- adaptations to the method of delivery, units delivered or assessment tasks on the Diploma in response to the pandemic have been approved and commenced prior to 1 August 2022, and/or
- students (and/or providers) have experienced extenuating circumstances due to the pandemic, prior to 1 August 2022.
Award through Extenuation
An Award through Extenuation was introduced into the Extraordinary Regulatory Framework from 2020-21 academic year, in response to the pandemic. These arrangements have now been in place for two academic years and have ensured that in those exceptional cases, where a student could not be assessed, due to the pandemic, the student had the opportunity to be awarded unit(s) that made up the Diploma, through an Award through Extenuation.
QAA recognises that outside the pandemic, there may be particular circumstances where students, or a provider, are significantly affected in the delivery or award of the Diploma through no fault of their own. Therefore, in such exceptional cases, an ‘Award through Extenuation’ will continue to be made available to providers and AVAs when awarding units on the Access to HE Diploma, from 1 August 2022.
In those exceptional cases where a student cannot be assessed, due to no fault of their own, the student may still be awarded unit(s) that make up the Diploma, through an Award through Extenuation.
In addition to the Award through Extenuation, other support arrangements will be available to students from their course provider if they are finding it difficult to learn or be assessed during their course of study. The support arrangements will provide flexibility so that providers can work with their AVA to ensure a suitable awarding arrangement is put in place to fit local needs and meet the individual needs of students.
These arrangements will help to ensure parity of experience for Access to HE students meaning that a consistent approach is applied in responding to extenuating circumstances that arise for students or providers.
Further information on the arrangements for an award through extenuation will be available from your provider.
Support information
If you have any questions about the arrangements for assessment and awarding of the Access to HE Diploma, please contact your provider to discuss individual support needs.
You can also read our FAQs for Access to HE students.
From 6 September 2022, we will be running a series of webinars on the arrangements for the award and assessment of the Access to HE Diploma in 2022-23. Please go to our event page for further details and to book.
We will continue to provide updates on the Access to HE website.
Frequently asked questions
We have also published a list of frequently asked questions on this website to answer any questions you may have.