Fetacs and BTECs- confused

whatdoicare

Hey everyone - I'm trying to get myself back to college to level up but I'm very confused here.

I have a HND (btec level4) in animation and I have no idea how I work out what fetac level that is or what level I'm at exactly- ie what fetac level/or if there is a fetac level higher so that I can qualify for btea or grants.

I've been searching online and I'm no wiser.
Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance.

Mance Rayder

From what I could gather BTEC is a British award framework although I know it is offered by some colleges in the Republic of Ireland as well.

From Wikipedia :

"A Higher National Diploma (HND) is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the second year of a three year university degree course.

Edexcel describes a HND as "A vocational qualification, usually studied full-time, but can be studied part-time. It is roughly equivalent to the first two years of a 3 year degree level study or to the Diploma in Higher Education"

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the HND is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel and in Scotland is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.[1][2] The attainment level is roughly equivalent to second year of university, a Diploma of Higher Education but in some cases may be marginally below that of a bachelor's degree. An HND takes two years of full-time study, or one year full-time following successful completion of a Higher National Certificate; part-time study takes longer."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_National_Diploma


I know a Fetac level 6 is the equivalent of the first year in a degree course in Ireland, so I assume the BTEC is somewhere between level 6 and level 7. I would say you would be entitled to BTAE (Provided you meet the relevant criteria) to go to level 7.

whatdoicare

CiscoStudent wrote: »

From what I could gather BTEC is a British award framework although I know it is offered by some colleges in the Republic of Ireland as well.

From Wikipedia :

"A Higher National Diploma (HND) is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the second year of a three year university degree course.

Edexcel describes a HND as "A vocational qualification, usually studied full-time, but can be studied part-time. It is roughly equivalent to the first two years of a 3 year degree level study or to the Diploma in Higher Education"

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the HND is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel and in Scotland is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.[1][2] The attainment level is roughly equivalent to second year of university, a Diploma of Higher Education but in some cases may be marginally below that of a bachelor's degree. An HND takes two years of full-time study, or one year full-time following successful completion of a Higher National Certificate; part-time study takes longer."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_National_Diploma


I know a Fetac level 6 is the equivalent of the first year in a degree course in Ireland, so I assume the BTEC is somewhere between level 6 and level 7. I would say you would be entitled to BTAE (Provided you meet the relevant criteria) to go to level 7.

Thank you for that CiscoStudent. Just what I needed to know.:)

paperclip2

Qualifications Recognition is the national agency that deals with international qualifications and what they equate to in the Irish system.

http://www.qualrec.ie

I had a quick look at the section on UK qualifications http://www.qualrec.ie/uk-training7.html and the website does list the HND as comparable to a level 6 higher certificate so if you move on to a level 7 course you should be ok.

You can contact qualrec for more details if you need them.
Hope its of use.

whatdoicare

Thanks for that Paperclip - I'm delighted that the course I'm planning to do is the next level up and that I'll be able to do it with a good chance of getting the BTEA!

whatdoicare

Actually, I just realised something - will I qualify for the BTEA if I already have the HND level 6 and I'm applying for a level 8 Bachelors?
Am I disqualified because of my HND?
This is all very confusing.

Mance Rayder

As long as you are moving up a level in a course relevant to your previous studies you can get BTEA.

whatdoicare

CiscoStudent wrote: »

As long as you are moving up a level in a course relevant to your previous studies you can get BTEA.

Thank you Cisco - I'm totally lost with all this. Delighted now

paperclip2

Just be aware OP that if the HND you have completed is being equated as equivalent to a two year Higher Cert at level 6 you may only qualify for BTEA, etc if you are progressing into a one year level 7 or two year level 8. You may have a bit of a job to get BTEA to do a four year level 8 from the start.

Mance Rayder

paperclip2 wrote: »

Just be aware OP that if the HND you have completed is being equated as equivalent to a two year Higher Cert at level 6 you may only qualify for BTEA, etc if you are progressing into a one year level 7 or two year level 8. You may have a bit of a job to get BTEA to do a four year level 8 from the start.

I don't think it will be a problem myself, it says in the notes section of :

http://www.welfare.ie/en/publications/sw70/pages/abacktoeducationallowancebtea.aspx#qualify

• You must be starting your course at year one.
  However, you can apply if you:
  1. Did not complete your course and are returning to the second or subsequent year of your course.
  2. Are exempt from part of your course because of a qualification you received in a previous course. For example, you have a higher certificate in a course that you now wish to pursue to degree level.
  3. Completed some of your course as a parttime student, but are now getting a jobseeker's payment and will continue your course on a full-time basis.

I personally have gone from a level 5 to a level 6 of which the first year was a level 5. So in effect I have done a level 5 twice. It was the progression laid out by the college itself.

I did have to explain thoroughly to the BTEA officer in writing exactly what my intended progression was but I had no problems getting approved 3 years in a row.

Just write a note accompanying your application clearly identifying your current qualification and your intended progression.

It is at the discretion of the officer but I have found that the 3 BTEA officers I have dealt with over the past 3 years to be fair and amicable.

As long as they can see a clear line of educational progression and you are not flouting any of the rules, there should be no problem. I wish you the best of luck with it.

paperclip2

Hi Cisco Student
If you moved from a FETAC level 5 to a HETAC level 6 then you are considered to have have progressed and therefore be eligible for a payment as the first year of HETAC level 6 courses are not universally considered to be equivalent to a level 5 course but are at a higher level.

If you moved from a FETAC level 5 to a two year FETAC level 6 the letter of explanation that you sent with your application was definitely taken into account.:) As you rightly say the Facilitators have discretion in how they award the payment. Unfortunately its not a given in every situation that logic will prevail. I have had students denied a BTEA to do a full level 5 on the basis of having previously completed 2 or 3 single modules. :rolleyes:

Whatdoicare, definitely apply for the payment and if you run into problems make an appointment with the facilitator for your area. Go in with a clear idea of why you want to do the course and how it fits into your longer term plans.
Best of luck with it.

shanetv175

What is the difference between fetac 6 hetac 6 and what are they equally to in the UK