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The UCAS Tariff

The UCAS Tariff points score system was introduced for entry to Higher Education from September 2002 and most of our undergraduate courses now make conditional offers based on the Tariff. As far as we are concerned, one of the main aims of using the Tariff is to allow an applicant as much flexibility as possible to match the terms of an offer in a variety of ways.

The UCAS website at www.ucas.com/candq/tariff/index.html provides more information about the Tariff and how points scores are made up, but we have set out here some of the key features of the way it operates at QMU.

When we use the Tariff to make conditional offers, we may often need to qualify a points score requirement. For example, we might ask for a specific grade in a certain subject, or we might exclude qualifications that we would not want to count towards a points score offer. Equally, we might qualify a points score offer by specifying a minimum level of depth. As an example, we might ask for a minimum of three SQA Highers or two GCE A Levels. Points scores can be made up from different qualifications - for example Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, or GCE A Levels and Advanced Subsidiaries.

Within the Tariff, applicants are not able to double count, or count the same or similar qualifications twice. Scottish Higher scores will be subsumed into Advanced Higher scores in the same subjects. Similarly, GCE AS scores will be subsumed into GCE A Level scores in the same subjects.

The Tariff now encompasses a wide range of qualifications, not all of which would be accepted for entry purposes. For example, a group of SQA Standard Grade qualifications would not be accepted on their own because they would not provide the depth of study we require. Similarly, while we encourage applicants to present Scottish Core Skills or Curriculum 2000 Key Skills, their Tariff points will not normally be counted towards an offer. Because of the spread of the Tariff and the way in which it is calculated, it is not always possible for us to ask for exactly the same points score from applicants taking different types of qualifications. An example of this would be offers for our BA/BA (Hons) in Film and Media where depending on the qualifications studied we might ask for: i) 245 UCAS Tariff points at SQA Higher Grade with passes at Grade C or above, or ii) 220 UCAS Tariff points at GCE A-Level, or iii) 226 UCAS Tariff points at the Higher Level of the Irish Leaving Certificate with passes at Grade C2 or above.

The table set out below has been produced by UCAS and shows how points scores are made up.

(1) The scores shown are for individual key skills units in Application of Number, Communication and Information Technology, which are ungraded.
For the Key Skills Qualification, the individual scores are aggregated, ie a student obtaining the Key Skills Qualification at level 3 in each unit would achieve a points score of 60.
(2) Covers freestanding Mathematics units at level 3, and Vocational A level units over and above those required to achieve the 12-unit award.
(3) The scores shown are for each of the five Scottish core skills.

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