SAQA

Difference between a qualification and a learning programme?

What is the difference between a qualification and a learning programme, and can a programme be registered on the National Qualifications Framework?

The essential difference between a qualification and a learning programme is that a qualification is a learning outcome, and a learning programme is the process that one embarks upon in pursuing that outcome.

A qualification means the formal recognition of the achievement of learning. A learning programme, on the other hand, is the process which one embarks upon in order to fulfil that achievement.

Subject to SAQA approval, a qualification can be registered on the National Qualifications Framework. A learning programme is a provider-specific course or programme offered to learners against a particular qualification, and is subject to quality assurance by an accreditation body. Learning programmes, then, cannot be registered on the National Qualifications Framework.