Please note: The following funding changes affect centres in England only. Centres in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are wholly unaffected.
Department for Education (DfE) and Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) have recently announced that they will be defunding 163 qualifications from 1 August 2020. The list of defunded qualifications includes many mainstream qualifications, and qualifications from a range of awarding organisations.
The following two UAL Awarding Body qualifications are on the list and will be defunded (these are the only two affected):
QAN: 60028270 / UAL Level 3 Diploma in Art and Design (externally moderated)
QAN: 60028269 / UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design (externally moderated)
The defunding in August 2020 means that students who are registered on only the Diploma in Autumn 2019 will not be able to ‘top up’ to an Extended Diploma in Autumn 2020 (or at least they will not be funded by government if they do so).
UAL Awarding Body therefore strongly recommend that centres register all Level 3 Art and Design students on the full two-year Extended Diploma this Autumn - QAN: 60028269 / UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design (externally moderated). This will ensure that these students are fully funded should they continue to study on this qualification to completion in 2021.
ESFA have confirmed that should any of these students wish to exit in Summer 2020 with a Diploma, rather than continue to the Extended Diploma, this will not affect centres’ qualification achievement rates (QAR) or ESFA’s audit of your centre. Please see the full ESFA guidance on their website.
Following on from the defunding of these qualifications in August 2020, UAL Awarding Body intends to offer two options to its centres:
1. Migration to the UAL Level 3 Applied General Diploma and Extended Diploma in Art and Design (externally assessed) which are on DfE Performance Tables and remain fully funded. We are investing in systems and processes to ensure a smooth transition for centres onto this qualification from Autumn 2020. This will ensure that all centres will benefit from process enhancements and a full support package.
2. UAL Awarding Body is currently developing alternative Level 3 qualifications which will enable students to explore creative practice, combining the best of art school tradition with an innovative practitioner and industry focus. More information regarding these qualifications will be available at the start of 2020.
If you have any questions regarding any of this information, please get in touch by emailing comms.awarding@arts.ac.uk.
