Accreditation has its own vocabulary, and much of it changes by country. The UK has four qualifications regulators and three frameworks, Malta has the MQF referenced to the EQF, and CPD sits outside all of them. This glossary defines each term in plain English and links to the guide that explains it properly.
36 terms
A
- Accreditation
Independent recognition that a course or qualification meets a defined standard. For a training provider, three types matter most: CPD certification, regulated UK qualifications and MFHEA accreditation in Malta.
- Accredited, certified and approved
Three different promises. Accredited means a recognised body has formally recognised provision or a qualification against a published standard. Certified means a certificate has been issued. Approved means a body has given permission to do something, such as deliver its qualifications.
- Approved centre
An organisation that an awarding organisation has approved to deliver and assess its qualifications. Most providers reach a regulated qualification this way rather than becoming an awarding organisation themselves.
- Assessment criteria
The written standard an assessor marks against. Good criteria let two assessors reach the same decision on the same piece of work.
- Awarding organisation
A body that a qualifications regulator has recognised to develop and award regulated qualifications. In England that recognition comes from Ofqual, and each of the other UK nations has its own regulator.
C
- CCEA Regulation
The regulatory arm of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, which regulates qualifications in Northern Ireland. Many qualifications there sit on the RQF where the awarding organisation is recognised by CCEA Regulation.
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
The learning professionals keep doing after they qualify so their skills stay current. Most professional bodies set a yearly amount, usually counted in hours.
- CPD certification
Confirmation by a CPD certification body that a course meets its standard, so professionals can log the hours. It is voluntary and not regulated, and it does not give a course a level on a national framework.
- CPD hours
The time a learner spends actually learning. Taught sessions, activities and assessment count; breaks, registration and travel do not. Where a body uses points, one point is normally one hour.
- Credit
A way of stating the size of a qualification in a common unit. On the UK frameworks one credit typically represents ten notional learning hours.
- Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW)
The framework Wales uses to place a qualification at a level with a credit value. A qualification regulated in England does not automatically apply in Wales.
- Credit rating (SCQF)
The process that places a programme at a level on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, with credit points. It is open to any provider that owns its programme and is carried out by an approved credit rating body.
D
- Degree awarding powers
The legal right to award degrees in the UK. A private provider cannot award its own degree without them, and reaching them runs through the Office for Students in England over several years.
E
- ECTS
The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. Programme size in Malta is stated in ECTS credits, and MFHEA charges for programme accreditation per credit.
- European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
The European reference framework of eight levels. National frameworks such as Malta's are referenced to it, so a level issued in one member state can be read across the EU.
- External quality assurance (EQA)
The independent check that an awarding body or regulator carries out on a provider's assessment and quality system, usually through a visit and sampling.
- External verifier
The person who carries out external quality assurance. They sample assessment decisions, review internal quality assurance and follow the thread from an outcome to a learner's evidence.
I
- Internal quality assurance (IQA)
A provider's own routine for keeping delivery and assessment consistent: sampling decisions, standardising how assessors judge, observing delivery and acting on what it finds.
- Internal verification (IV)
Sampling assessors' decisions to confirm they are valid, fair, consistent and safe. It is usually the first thing an external verifier looks at.
L
- Learning outcome
A statement of what a learner can do by the end of a course, written so someone could check it. Outcomes that say understand or be aware of are hard to assess.
- Level descriptor
The wording a qualifications framework uses to describe each level, mainly by how complex the task is and how much independence the learner shows. Outcomes are placed at a level by weighing them against it.
M
- Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA)
The authority that licenses education providers and accredits programmes in Malta, placing them on the Malta Qualifications Framework.
- Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF)
Malta's framework of eight levels, referenced to the EQF. Further education covers Levels 1 to 4 and higher education starts at Level 5.
- MFHEA provider licence
The licence a provider needs from MFHEA before it can offer accredited programmes in Malta. Applicants generally need a body corporate registered in Malta.
- MFHEA programme accreditation
The process that places a specific programme at an MQF level and confirms that its outcomes, content, assessment, staffing and learner support hold together. It is separate from the provider licence.
O
- Office for Students (OfS)
The regulator for higher education in England. A private provider can register with it and, later, apply for degree awarding powers.
- Ofqual
The regulator for qualifications in England. It regulates, it does not award: regulated qualifications are awarded through awarding organisations that Ofqual recognises.
Q
- Qualifications Scotland Accreditation
The body that accredits qualifications such as Scottish Vocational Qualifications. It replaced SQA Accreditation on 1 February 2026.
- Qualifications Wales
The regulator for qualifications in Wales. It runs its own approval and recognition routes, separate from Ofqual's.
R
- Recognition (Ofqual)
Formal permission from Ofqual for an organisation to award regulated qualifications in England, granted against Ofqual's criteria. Each qualification is then regulated separately.
- Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF)
The framework for regulated qualifications in England, and in Northern Ireland where the awarding organisation is recognised by CCEA Regulation. It runs from Entry Level, split into Entry 1 to 3, through Levels 1 to 8.
S
- Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)
The framework Scotland uses to place qualifications and learning programmes at a level with credit points. It is separate from the frameworks used in the rest of the UK.
- Self assessment report (SAR)
A provider's own honest evaluation of how its provision performs against the standards, backed by evidence and paired with an improvement plan.
- Standardisation
Assessors meeting to compare their judgements on the same work against the same criteria, so marking stays consistent across the team.
T
- Total Qualification Time (TQT)
The estimate of how many hours a typical learner needs to achieve a qualification, counting both guided learning and independent study.
V
- Validation
The route by which a UK university approves a private provider's programme so that it leads to the university's award.
Common questions
What is the difference between the RQF, the SCQF and the CQFW?
They are the qualifications frameworks for different parts of the UK. The RQF covers England, and Northern Ireland where the awarding organisation is recognised by CCEA Regulation. Scotland uses the SCQF and Wales uses the CQFW. A level on one is not automatically a level on another.
How do the MQF and the EQF relate?
Both have eight levels, and the Malta Qualifications Framework is referenced to the European Qualifications Framework. That is why a programme accredited by MFHEA carries a level that employers across the EU can read.
Is CPD certification the same as accreditation?
Not in the regulated sense. CPD certification confirms that a course meets a CPD body's standard so professionals can log the hours. It does not place the course on a national framework or make it a qualification.
Does Apollo Accreditation award qualifications?
No. We are a consultancy. We build courses, prepare submissions and run quality assurance with you, and the decision belongs to the CPD body, the awarding organisation or MFHEA.
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Sources
Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Apollo Accreditation is a consultancy. It is not a regulator, an awarding organisation or a CPD certification body, and it does not award qualifications itself.