University students who volunteer with a charity or complete work-placements during their studies could earn marks towards their degrees, under a new nationwide credit-based system.

Under a new credits system, to be introduced in England from September 2009, students will be able to build up credits, or points, for the number of hours of work put in to their study and the level of achievement attained.

If they switch courses or university they will, in many instances, be able to take the credits with them and put them towards their new qualification.

The new credit framework guidance, published by Universities UK, GuildHE and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, could also enable students to build up credits for “experiential learning” they have done in the work-place or while volunteering, during or prior to their studies.

Although credit systems are already in operation in most universities, there is no single system operating the whole of the country.

Professor Muriel Robinson, Chair of the Credit Issues Development Group, which has drawn up the framework said she hoped it would “foster a common approach and provide a reference point for those wishing to embark on, or build on, the use of credit across the full range of their higher education provision.”

The guidance document for the framework states that one credit, or point, represents ten notional hours of learning. This includes not only formal contact hours, but also preparation for these, private reading and study and the completion of formative assessment tasks and revision.

A Bachelor’s degree would require a minimum of 300 credits, while a Bachelor’s degree with honours would require 360.

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