FRIDAY 9 JULY

2.15 PM – PAPER SESSION
PRESENTER: MADELEINE JENKINS

The Credit Matrix: Building Bridges between Qualifications

Felicity Dunn, Victorian Qualifications Authority

Victorian Qualifications Authority, 41a St Andrews Place, East Melbourne, Vic 3002

Many universities have policies on non-Year 12 admission and credit transfer which enable students to be admitted to and gain credit towards qualifications on the basis of their previous relevant study. The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) also has guidelines for determining how much credit can be granted from a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification to a university qualification. However, these processes can be onerous for both the admissions officer and the student, particularly where a student has completed a mixture of learning from school, TAFE and previous work experience.

The Victorian Qualifications Authority (VQA) is working on a credit-based framework—the credit matrix—to create a common means for describing and comparing all learning, regardless of where it occurs. In this way, the credit matrix could help improve these processes and overall make it easier for people to re-enter education and training and acquire qualifications throughout their lives. Designed to work with, and enhance the AQF, the credit matrix would work by allocating a level (for difficulty) and points (for volume) to all the units available in the post-compulsory sector. This paper will explore some of the ways in which the credit matrix could be used to improve credit transfer and admissions processes, and some of the issues associated with developing a working model for Victoria.