Management of constituent qualification results

Submission of all constituent qualification results1

All of the qualifications that can contribute to the Diploma are referred to as constituent qualifications, and are contained in the Diploma catalogues.2
Centre consortia must ensure that their Diploma learners have an open learner account. The verified ULN is a mandatory part of the learner account.

Additional and specialist learning and functional skills component awarding bodies

The home centre opens the learner account for each learner directly with the Diploma aggregation service.

1. Component awarding bodies must verify the learner details referenced by the ULN and post results only where the ULN has been verified.

2. Component awarding bodies must use the verified ULN to identify each learner with a learner account in the Diploma aggregation service. They must also use the verified ULN to record their results for constituent qualifications of the Diploma with the Diploma aggregation service.

The appropriate centre for each Diploma learner in a centre consortium should open the learner account as soon as they begin their Diploma programme of study. This centre will communicate with the Diploma aggregation service on behalf of the learner.

3. Component awarding bodies are responsible for the accuracy and validity of the results data they submit to the Diploma aggregation service referenced by each verified ULN.

4. Component awarding bodies must submit constituent qualification results to the Diploma aggregation service within agreed timelines3 and in appropriate formats.

Prior achievement claims

Additional and specialist learning component awarding bodies

If a qualification was achieved without a ULN, centres will need to obtain a verified ULN and open a learner account before contacting the relevant component awarding body to verify prior achievement.

5. Component awarding bodies must verify the relevant prior achievement of Diploma learners for the constituent qualifications they offer to enable timely Diploma awards. Prior achievement applies if this achievement was obtained before a learner account was opened in the Diploma aggregation service. Qualifications achieved before 1 January 2005 cannot be considered as prior achievement.

There are no proxies for principal learning, the project and functional skills in the Diploma.
Once a learner account has been opened the Diploma aggregation service accepts all results data for principal learning and project qualifications, and for other qualifications from the Diploma catalogues.

This verification is subject to one of the following requirements:

  • the qualification is a current or expired qualification in the Diploma catalogue

or

  • if requested, the component awarding body proposes that the qualification is an equivalent of a qualification that exists in the current or previous versions of the Diploma catalogues.4
  1. 'Guidance on posting results to the Diploma aggregation service' sets out the detailed requirements of the Diploma aggregation service, and is available at www.qcda.gov.uk/das. [↩]
  2. Awarding organisations that only offer functional skills outside the Diploma do not need to be recognised as component awarding bodies. [↩]
  3. The timelines for awarding are set out as part of the Ofqual-agreed arrangements for component and Diploma awarding bodies that underpin the regulation of the Diploma. Details of these arrangements are available on Ofqual’s website: www.ofqual.gov.uk. They are agreed by Ofqual with component and Diploma awarding bodies and take into account the requirements of the Diploma aggregation service. Timelines for data supplied to the Diploma aggregation service must also be in accordance with the agreed service levels and commercial terms for the service. [↩]
  4. Once a qualification has been recognised against a current qualification in the Diploma catalogue, it will be added to the expired qualifications in the catalogue. [↩]