access course equivalent in ucas points

hi all, i wonder if any of you guys can help me please.

I graduated from Sheffield uni this summer and am applying for graduate jobs at the moment, however have encountered a bit of a problem. In a lot of cases the larger companies I am applying for have online forms to fill in, and one question that comes up very often is how many UCAS do points you have. Usually there is a multiple choice option such as below:

- more than 26/320
- between 24/300 and 26/320
- less than 24/300

I obtained my access course in 04/05 with 27 credits all at level 3, so I presumed in the case above I'd select the top option.

However when i recently checked my certificate i found they had given me 3 times as many credits (i.e. 81 credits at level 3). I can only presume that they changed the way they marked it halfway through my course as all the tutors talked about it in this way, and the UCAS offers I got asked for between 16 and 20 credits at level 3.

so my question is how many ucas points do I have? if i have 27 credits does this mean i have 330 ucas points? or do i only have 81 ucas points (3 x 27)?!?

I am unable to find a link on ucas or the access to higher education site, or indeed anywhere on the internet, to clarify this matter. does any one have a link to an official site to confirm this or can provide any insight?

any help would be greatly appreciated.
many thanks!
xx :smile:

Reply 1

Celifein

They changed the credit system a couple of years ago. One credit is now three, so if you needed 20 to pass a couple of years ago, you'd need 60 now, but you'd be doing the same amount of work. It came in the first time I did the Access course (think it was 2005).

Anyway, according to this:

http://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/FAQ/default.asp

Q: On their job application forms, employers often ask for the number of UCAS points that Access to HE courses have. However, I’ve been told that Access to HE doesn’t have UCAS points because it isn’t included in the UCAS Tariff - what should I do?

A: It’s true that the Access to HE qualification, like a number of other qualifications, is not yet included within the UCAS Tariff. The reason for this is that the Tariff attributes points on the basis of a calculation, including the level and volume of study and the grade achieved in the qualification. While the Access to HE qualification has a specified level (level 3) and a specified volume of study (shown by the number of credits needed to achieve the qualification), it is currently ungraded. Therefore the qualification is not included in the Tariff as the calculation cannot be carried out. It is probably best to contact the employer directly to explain this situation.

Q: Will the Access to HE qualification appear in the UCAS Tariff?

A: QAA is currently in discussion with UCAS about the inclusion of the new Access to HE Diploma in the UCAS Tariff.

So you can't translate your Access credits into UCAS points yet, but hopefully you will be able to at some point in the future.

ed!son

I am unable to find a link on ucas or the access to higher education site, or indeed anywhere on the internet, to clarify this matter. does any one have a link to an official site to confirm this or can provide any insight?

To quote my mother, "You obviously didn't look very hard." :p:

I stuck "access to higher education credits ucas point" into Yahoo! and this was the first result.

Reply 2

ed!son

To quote my mother, "You obviously didn't look very hard." I stuck "access to higher education credits ucas point" into Yahoo! and this was the first result.

lol. i honestly did try looking, can't believe i didn't come across that page, or perhaps i didn't read it all! thanks for the info by the way.

i actually rang ucas about this, and they confirmed that i do, in fact, have zero ucas points!!! :frown:

However i don't think it's as bad as it sounds, i'll just get in touch with the companies i intend to apply for before hand and let them know the situation.

Thanks again,
Ed!son

Reply 3

Celifein

You're welcome. Good luck with the job hunting. :smile:

Reply 4

AlexP

I would not worry, it will be included at a later date I presume within UCAS and besides its your highest qualification that should matter mate

Reply 5

markmark79

You would think so but some firms are completely inflexible on UCAS points - I have 260 UCAS (BCC), a 2:1 BSc (Hons) and a MSc (Distinction) but there are still some companies that won't even let me apply because they want 280 or more UCAS points.

However, on a more positive note, the majority of companies encourage you to apply even if you do not meet minimum standards and say they will judge each case on individual basis - definitely worth contacting them first to check, before you spend hours filling in an application form.

Reply 6

fever84

Yea i agree, I have a BSc, almost a MSc an most the jobs i am applying for say i need a levels at A. Why am i being judged on when i did alevels 8 years ago. What would the point in getting better alevel results when i could be 2/3 the way though a PHD

i guess its quite competitive atm so everything counts. I guess ill just have to find someone who will look past my poor a levels and GSCE's

Reply 7

Summer241

If you just explain that you took an Access course and passed with 'x' amount of credits, a human should take that in to consideration. I hate automated computer systems!

Reply 8

Afi-532

Original post by markmark79

hi i would like to ask you what course you did as i am having problems finding good universities with only 2 alevels
thx

Reply 9

obsidian24776

I applied for the Bank of England graduate scheme, completed the tests and application but was rejected, no feedback of course so I pushed for it and this is what I got in response on Friday which I think is outrageous and grossly unfair.

"Further to your feedback request on your application for the Graduate All Disciplines programme, please find this below.

Your application has not been progressed due to not meeting the minimum academic requirement for 300 UCAS points.

The access to higher education qualification is not included in the UCAS Tariff and UCAS are not able to convert Access qualifications into UCAS points. The GCSE Maths equivalent also does not qualify for any UCAS points.

I hope this feedback is helpful to you. Thank you in your interest in the Bank of England and we wish you every continued success with your career.

Regards,

The Recruitment Team"

Reply 10

hannah46uk

Go to the BAA (banking association who regulate financial practices in the uk) with that & kick up a fuss. Go to BIS (dept of business innovation & sports) & complain. maybe the finance ombudsman can help?

You might be confusing level 3 being A level/AS level with 3rd year university. Use national careers service.

A level is level 3
university 4, 5, 6

i don't get how you get a degree with "access to h.e" as it is a year 0. in a 4 year degree, you have 0, 1, 2, 3 with the 0 year being the entry year. Some universities have this as a stand alone diploma. Most people take access to h.e as they don't have any formal study after gcse or don't have proper a levels.

I have a business access to h.e & I was able to go on to an HND (1st two years of a degree) or BBA in this case. Definitely complain to some one. Get your local councillor where you live or draft a letter to MP in London. It must be the MP for your residential area of the UK.

Good luck. Hannah