University-based certificate programs for students with intellectual disabilities have grown in number since the passing of the Higher Education Opportunities Act (HEOA) in 2008. The Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP) designation and Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) grant were created…

Career technical education plays an important part in the mission of community colleges--providing educational opportunities needed by members of their communities. Career technical programs prepare students for entry into the workforce. Accountability standards for career technical programs, from local, state, and federal bodies, monitor…

Career and technical education (CTE) has been at the forefront of engagement, change, motivation, and high school reform since the early 20th century. However, the focus on tracking students into 4-year universities has significantly reduced the number of quality CTE programs that exist within the high school setting. With the release of the new…

This bulletin describes the use of new qualifications, the General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ), which have been developed in Great Britain to qualify students for admittance to higher education through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The first part of the bulletin discusses the suitability of GNVQs as a route…

This report proposes a coherent national framework for Great Britain that covers all the main qualifications and achievements of young people at every level of ability. It recognizes achievement outside the main formal qualifications as part of a restructured National Record of Achievement. The report proposes a national framework based on the…

Two models of skill standards development and skill certification--the professional model and the skill components model--have been developed. Their development follows analysis of the skill standards movement and the 22 U.S. Departments of Labor and Education pilot projects developing skills standards for various industries. These two models…

A credit-based qualifications system within the framework proposed in the Dearing "Review of Qualifications for 16-19 Year Olds" could enhance the United Kingdom (UK) qualification system in the 21st century. The United Kingdom currently has over 14,000 qualifications and more than 100 awarding bodies, which makes it difficult to compare…

The procedures currently used in the 12 European Community (EC) member countries for certifying the employment qualifications of graduates of full-time vocational education and training programs and/or apprenticeship programs were compared. The comparison, which was based on information obtained from 12 national studies of EC members' education…

This booklet presents the concepts of essential and generic skills and issues raised by their incorporation in New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The first section discusses the concepts of essential and generic skills. The second section addresses three major reasons for wider understanding and discussion of these concepts:…

This report presents papers on the vocational qualifications systems in Sweden, France, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, and England and Wales. An introduction (Russ Russell) looks at common themes. The paper on Sweden (Gun Cardell) addresses vocational education opportunities, curriculum and standards, costs, youth and…

A certificate of occupational competency is now given to vocational students in several Wisconsin high schools along with their grades. The certificate provides documented skill ratings for employers and other educators, and should be useful in articulation with postsecondary vocational schools. A sample certificate and rating form are shown. (MF)

Russell states that Britain's General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) enable women to have paid, volunteer, and community achievements recognized and accredited. Kilminster argues that GNVQ health and social care courses are too strongly driven by ideology. Tiernan shows how women's community groups use NVQs with volunteers. (SK)

A project examined how General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) are evolving and how far their development is in line with the objectives originally set out for them by the government. Information was collected from institutions in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which began offering GNVQs in 1993-94. The survey examined the five…

This booklet explores the idea of quality and its management as it applies to providers of education in particular, but also as it applies to national standards bodies and workplaces offering on-the-job training. It explores the focus on quality in industry and education and defines quality in terms of the features of quality and their…

This document explains the objectives, principles, standards, and protocols of the Australian Recognition Framework (ARF), which is a comprehensive approach to national recognition of vocational education and training (VET) that is based on a quality-assured approach to the registration of training organizations seeking to deliver training, assess…