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Scotland is leading the way in quality assurance for credit-based education through its pioneering national credit accumulation and transfer scheme, SCOTCAT.

The scheme's Quality Assurance Handbook, published this week by the Higher Education Quality Council and the Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals, sets out guidelines for allocating credit points and levels for worked-based learning.

It also gives details for formal learning off-campus, as well as further and higher education credit links.

All Scottish higher education institutions are members of SCOTCAT, and credit links have been agreed between higher education awards and Scottish Vocational Education Council certificate and diploma courses.

Peter Bush, convener of the Scottish advisory committee on credit and access set up by HEQC and COSHEP, said that the guidelines would help institutions and give students, employers and professional bodies a coherent and readily-available frame of reference.