The Department for Education (DfE) describe Applied General qualifications as follows:
Applied General qualifications are rigorous advanced (Level 3) qualifications that allow 16 to 19 year old students to develop transferable knowledge and skills. They are for students who want to continue their education through applied learning. Applied General qualifications allow entry to a range of higher education courses, either by meeting the entry requirements in their own right or being accepted alongside and adding value to other qualifications at Level 3, such as A levels. Higher education providers, such as universities, have pledged support for all approved Applied General qualifications listed.
The UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma and Extended Diploma in Art & Design provides post-16 students with the skills, knowledge, and understanding necessary to progress into further or higher education and training. The skills developed throughout these qualifications may also support students to progress into appropriate entry level roles in employment, and training programmes or apprenticeships in the creative industry. They provide an opportunity for those who have an interest in the visual arts to explore, develop, and test their creativity within a qualification structure which is stimulating and demanding, and provides a supportive transition from further to higher education.
The content of the qualifications was developed collaboratively with experts from universities, further education colleges, and sixth form colleges.
There are no formal entry requirements for these qualifications. However, it is recommended that students have a minimum of four GCSEs, at grade 4 or grade C or above, at least one of which should be in an art and design subject, or the equivalent Level 2 qualification in an appropriate subject. There are no age restrictions for these qualifications. The majority of students are 16 – 18 year olds, but some are 19 and over. The UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma and Extended Diploma in Art & Design are not currently available as part of an apprenticeship.
Who supports the qualifications?
Letters of support can be found on the UAL Awarding Body website at: www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/awarding-body/qualifications.
Awarding the qualification grade
UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma in Art & Design
The final grade for the UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma in Art & Design is determined entirely by the grade achieved in Unit 1. The final grade for this qualification is based on a structure of Fail, Pass, Merit, and Distinction.
UAL Level 3 Applied General Extended Diploma in Art & Design
The grades for Unit 1 and Unit 2 are based on a structure of Fail, Pass, Merit, and Distinction. The final grade for the UAL Level 3 Applied General Extended Diploma in Art & Design is determined by aggregating the grades achieved in both units on a 50/50 basis, to be awarded one of five grades Pass, High Pass, Merit, High Merit, or Distinction.
Both units are weighted equally, due to their significance in developing competence in art and design practice. The table below shows how both units are aggregated to form the overall grade of the qualification.
|
Unit 1 (weighted 50%) |
Unit 2 (weighted 50%) |
Qualification grade |
|
Distinction |
Distinction |
Distinction |
|
Merit |
Distinction |
High Merit |
|
Pass |
Distinction |
Merit |
|
Distinction |
Merit |
High Merit |
|
Merit |
Merit |
Merit |
|
Pass |
Merit |
High Pass |
|
Distinction |
Pass |
Merit |
|
Merit |
Pass |
High Pass |
|
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
As noted in 'Education context', to be classified as an Applied General qualification, the qualification in question must meet certain criteria. This includes:
- a minimum of 40% external assessment
- a minimum of 60% mandatory core content
- an element of synoptic assessment
- there is a single resit opportunity
The above are the minimum requirements set out by the Department for Education.
Assessment and moderation
Assessment is the process of measuring students’ skills, knowledge, and understanding against the standards set in a qualification.
The assessment for the UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma in Art & Design consists of one type of assessment:
- External assessment – tasks are set, assessed, and graded by UAL Awarding Body, and are taken under controlled conditions
The assessment for the UAL Level 3 Applied General Extended Diploma in Art & Design consists of two types of assessment:
- External assessment – tasks are set, assessed, and graded by UAL Awarding Body, are taken under controlled conditions, and are completed at the end of Unit 1
- Internal assessment – students produce a portfolio of evidence, which is assessed and graded by centre staff, and externally moderated by UAL Awarding Body at the end of Unit 2.
External assessment
The single external assessment (Unit 1) is:
- 100% of the grade of the Diploma
- 50% of the grade of the Extended Diploma
The design of this assessment ensures there is sufficient stretch and challenge, enabling the assessment of knowledge, understanding, and skills at the end of the learning period. The external assessment is synoptic and is based on set tasks that require students to demonstrate that they can identify and use an appropriate selection of skills, techniques, concepts, theories and knowledge from across Unit 1 in an integrated way.
Setting the assessment
The external assessment is set and marked by UAL Awarding Body, and assesses students’ skills, knowledge, and understanding of the learning undertaken in Unit 1 – Diagnostic Investigation in Art and Design. The external assessment is in the style of set tasks. UAL Awarding Body requires students to demonstrate their understanding and application of knowledge and skills, through the completion of a series of tasks, and in response to a set theme. Students must have a thorough understanding of unit content prior to commencing the external assessment. Work produced prior to external assessment must not be used as evidence in the external assessment.
Conducting the assessment
The external assessment will involve:
- A preparatory period (ten hours recommended), following receipt of the set brief, students will conduct initial research, planning, and prepare their response to a series of tasks.
- Supervised time (173 hours), following the preparatory period, students must complete 173 hours of work under supervised conditions, and undertake further research, experiment with a range of materials, processes, and techniques, and produce their final outcome or series of outcomes, informed by their preparatory work. The first three hours of supervised time must be consecutive, and should be used by students to complete their project proposal. Preparatory work and the rest of the work produced in the supervised time must be stored securely in between sessions of supervised time. The work produced during the supervised time must be clearly identified as such.
- Invigilated time (12 hours), students must complete a number of specific tasks in a set time, under invigilated conditions, and prepare their work and complete their final evaluation. Further instructions on how to administer the external assessment, and the conditions under which it must be sat, are issued with the external assessment materials.
Internal assessment
The single internal assessment is 50% of the grade of the Extended Diploma. The internal assessment is also synoptic, and requires students to demonstrate they can identify and use an appropriate selection of skills, techniques, concepts, theories, and knowledge from across the entire qualification in an integrated way.
Setting the assessment
The assessment approach is set by UAL Awarding Body, and is designed to assess students’ skills, knowledge, and understanding of the learning undertaken in Unit 1 and Unit 2. Students must develop a self-initiated project within the parameters set by UAL Awarding Body.
A student’s achievement will be assessed through their portfolio of evidence. The portfolio of evidence must include:
- a completed project proposal
- records of planning, research, and ideas development
- records of analysis and reflection
- records of project development and realisation
- records of presentation and communication
- setting final evaluation
Students should be encouraged to develop the most appropriate evidence to demonstrate their achievement of the unit learning outcomes and grading criteria. However, recommended forms of evidence could include:
- records of planning, research, and ideas development presented in workbooks, digital format, notebooks, or personal reflective journals
- records of analysis and reflection presented in workbooks, digital format, notebooks, or personal reflective journals
- records of project development and realisation presented in workbooks, digital format, visual development work, images, designs, media, artefacts, notebooks, or personal reflective journals
- records of presentations and communications presented in workbooks, digital format, notebooks, or personal reflective journals.
UAL Awarding Body has created a template and supporting guidance for the project proposal which must be used for Unit 2, and must form part of the assessment evidence. UAL Awarding Body maintains quality oversight of assessments through the process of external moderation, whereby trained external moderators sample assessment and grading decisions to ensure they are in line with the required standards.
Preparing for assessment
Students must have a thorough understanding of unit content prior to commencing the assessment. Centres will need to ensure that they specify times in which all students must complete specific tasks, or guide their independent working over a number of weeks. With both approaches, tutors must give students formative feedback on their progress at defined points. UAL Awarding Body also requires centres to set controls for the time, resources, supervision, and opportunities for collaboration.
Applied General qualifications are advanced (Level 3) qualifications, mainly taken by 16 – 19 year old students who want to develop transferable knowledge and skills.
The popularity of Applied Generals has risen over recent years. The entry rate for the combined BTEC only and A level and BTEC groups was 6 per cent in 2016, up from 5.8 per cent in 2015.
There are a number of key considerations for HEPs when reviewing Applied General qualifications that meet the full DfE criteria from 2018:
- These qualifications are fundamentally different to their predecessors, and likely to result in students developing different skills and aptitudes. HEPs should review their understanding of these qualifications to ensure it remains uptodate.
- The reformed qualifications include both external and synoptic assessment, as well as changes to resit processes. These changes are likely to result in fewer students passing the qualification. Equally, it is likely that grade distributions will change. In light of this, HEPs may wish to review their entry requirements, offer-making, and decision-making strategies in relation to these qualifications.
- The reformed and interim reformed qualifications will be delivered by schools and colleges at the same time (see ‘Education context’). Therefore, HEPs may wish to consider their approach to setting and listing entry requirements for the specific qualifications.
- The dual running of the qualification may result in applicants declaring the incorrect version on their application. UCAS will be working to support applicants and advisers in this area.
- A larger mandatory core means HEPs who that require certain levels of achievement in particular units, or ask for specific units to satisfy subject knowledge requirements that should familiarise themselves with the new content specifications to ensure these requirements are still valid. It should be noted that not all students will be able choose their optional units, and these may be prescribed by the school or college, therefore HEPs should be cautious if requiring achievement in optional modules as part of their entry requirements, offer-making and decision-making strategies.
View DfE’s technical guidance.
UAL Awarding Body website: www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/awarding-body
Qualification specifications:
UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma and Extended in Art & Design