Total Qualification Time (TQT) is the estimate of how many hours a typical learner needs to achieve a qualification, including both taught, guided learning and independent study. Credit values express the same size in a common currency, where one credit typically represents ten notional learning hours. A qualification's size has to be consistent with the level it claims, and a mismatch between the hours and the level is one of the most common reasons a submission is questioned.
Size, measured two ways
A qualification has a level, how demanding it is, and a size, how much learning it represents. Size is measured in Total Qualification Time, the estimated total hours a typical learner needs. TQT includes Guided Learning Hours, the time learning is directed by a teacher or assessor, plus the independent study, practice and assessment preparation a learner does on their own.
Credit is the same size expressed as a currency, so qualifications can be compared and combined. One credit typically represents ten notional learning hours, so a 30-credit unit represents roughly 300 hours of TQT. Frameworks use credit so a learner can carry and accumulate it.
Guided learning and the rest
| Measure | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Guided Learning Hours (GLH) | Time learning is directed: lessons, workshops, supervised assessment |
| Total Qualification Time (TQT) | GLH plus independent study, practice and assessment preparation |
| Credit value | TQT expressed in credit, where one credit is about ten notional hours |
Why the numbers have to add up
The size has to be consistent with the level. A qualification that claims a high level but represents very few hours, or a large number of hours parked at a low level, does not hold together, and a reviewer will question it. Getting TQT and credit right is not paperwork, it is part of making the level defensible, and it is a common reason a submission is sent back when it is wrong.
- TQT is the total hours; GLH is the taught part of it.
- Credit expresses TQT in a common currency, about ten hours per credit.
- The size has to match the level, or the submission is questioned.
Where we fit
We set TQT, Guided Learning Hours and credit values so they are realistic and consistent with the level claimed, and we map them across a programme so the totals add up correctly. It is part of building a qualification that a body can accredit without sending it back. We are a consultancy, not a regulator or an awarding organisation, and we do not award qualifications ourselves.
Where the hours come from
Total Qualification Time is an estimate, not a stopwatch reading, and it is built up rather than guessed. We start from what a learner has to achieve, break the programme into the teaching, practice, reading and assessment it genuinely requires, and total the notional hours a typical learner would need. The taught, directed part of that is the Guided Learning Hours; the rest is the independent study around it.
Getting the estimate honest matters in both directions. Inflate the hours and the qualification looks larger than it is, which a reviewer will challenge; understate them and the level looks unsupported. Because credit is simply the hours expressed as a currency, about ten hours to a credit, a realistic Total Qualification Time gives a realistic credit value, and the two carry the same story. We set them from the real shape of the programme, so the size a body reads is the size the learner actually does.
Why buyers and funders care about the numbers
Total Qualification Time and credit are not only a regulator's concern. A funder deciding what a qualification is worth, an employer comparing two training options, and a learner weighing the commitment all read the size, not just the level. A qualification that carries more credit represents more learning, and that shapes its price, its funding and how it is perceived.
Getting the numbers honest therefore protects the qualification commercially as well as at accreditation: overstated size invites challenge, and understated size sells the learning short. We set Total Qualification Time and credit from the real shape of the programme, so the figure stands up to a regulator and reads fairly to everyone else who has to judge what the qualification is worth.
Common questions
What is Total Qualification Time?
The estimated total number of hours a typical learner needs to achieve a qualification, including both guided learning and independent study, practice and assessment preparation.
How is TQT different from Guided Learning Hours?
Guided Learning Hours count only the time learning is directed by a teacher or assessor. TQT includes GLH plus the independent work a learner does on their own.
How many hours is one credit?
One credit typically represents about ten notional learning hours, so credit and TQT are two expressions of the same size.
Why does size matter for the level?
Because the two have to be consistent. A size that does not fit the level claimed is one of the most common reasons a submission is questioned or sent back.
Do all frameworks use credit?
Most use credit and notional hours, though the exact terms vary by framework. We set the values to the framework your qualification is going onto.
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