Regulation

Ofqual, OTHM, Qualifi, LSPM and this site: who does what

Four organisations and one individual stand between a Level 3 diploma specification and you. This page sets out the chain, explains why regulated does not mean Tariff-scored, and shows how to verify every link in it yourself.

The chain, top to bottom

  1. Ofqual regulates. The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation recognises awarding organisations in England, sets the conditions they must meet, and keeps a public register of every qualification they may offer. It does not write, teach or award anything itself.
  2. OTHM and Qualifi award. Both are Ofqual-recognised awarding organisations. They write the specifications, approve centres, sample the centres' marking, and issue the certificates. On this site 13 of the diplomas are OTHM's and 21 are Qualifi's.
  3. London School of Planning and Management (LSPM) delivers. LSPM is the approved centre as OTHM and Qualifi's approved centre. Approval means the awarding organisation has inspected its staff, resources and procedures and permits it to register learners, teach, set and mark assignments, and present work for external verification. LSPM is at Office 7, 35-37 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7JN; its website is lspm.org.uk.
  4. This site advises and refers. ucaspoints.com is published by CogniPath Education, an independent recruitment agent for LSPM. The agent explains the qualifications, answers enquiries and introduces people who want to apply to LSPM's admissions team, and is paid by LSPM when someone enrols. The agent holds no approval from OTHM, Qualifi or Ofqual, because agents do not need one: they deliver nothing.

Only the third link teaches you. Only the second certifies you. Only the first regulates either of them. The fourth, this site, is the one you are reading and the one you should be most sceptical of, which is why it is the one that discloses its interest.

Regulated is not the same as Tariff-scored

People get this wrong more than anything else on the site, so it gets its own heading. Ofqual regulation tells you a qualification is genuine, at the level it claims, and assessed to a standard. It says nothing about UCAS Tariff points. UCAS allocates points only to qualifications whose awarding organisation has applied to have them assessed, and most regulated qualifications have never been through that process.

Every Level 3 diploma on this site is regulated and none of them is Tariff-scored. Both statements are true at once. They are a route to Level 4 study at LSPM; they are not a way of building a points total for a UCAS application.

How to verify each link

  1. The qualification. Take the Ofqual number from the programme page, for example 610/3541/5, and search for it on the Ofqual register. The entry shows the awarding organisation, level, credits, total qualification time and the dates it is available. Compare it with the programme page here; if they differ, tell the publisher.
  2. Tariff status. Search the UCAS Tariff tables. If the qualification is not listed, it carries no points, whatever anyone says.
  3. The centre. Both awarding organisations let you check that a centre is genuinely approved. OTHM publishes a list of approved centres on othm.org.uk, and Qualifi will confirm a centre's status through the contact details on qualifi.net. Look for London School of Planning and Management on those lists. If either awarding organisation cannot confirm it, do not enrol.
  4. The agent. The publisher's name, address and contact details are on the About page and in the footer of every page. LSPM can confirm that the person named there is an authorised agent; ask its admissions team directly.

Levels, credits and hours

Every regulated qualification has a level on the Regulated Qualifications Framework and a size in credits, one credit being notionally ten hours of learning. The diplomas here are all Level 3, the same level as A levels and BTEC Nationals, and range from 44 to 180 credits. Total qualification time is the awarding organisation's estimate of all the hours a typical learner spends; guided learning hours are the part spent with a tutor or on directed activity. Where a specification does not publish a value, the programme page says see specification rather than inventing one.

Who decides what

The awarding organisations set the specification, the assessment criteria and the standard. LSPM sets fees, durations, timetables, study modes and admissions decisions, and employs the tutors. Universities decide, individually, whether a Level 5 diploma holder may join the final year of a degree. This site decides nothing except what to publish. When a programme page states a fee, a date or a study mode, it is reporting LSPM's position, and LSPM's written confirmation is the one that counts.

Links

Not sure which route fits? Ask someone who will tell you straight.

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