As you read University brochures and prospectuses, you will see frequent references to ‘CATS points’.

CATS stands for the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme. CATS is a national scheme which has been established to allow different types of academic courses to be compared and valued and even transferred and traded. CATS points are like a currency that allows us to say how much different courses are worth. For example, most primary degrees in the UK require students to have 360 CATS points and students will have had to take courses or modules that add up to this. The individual courses or modules that represent the building blocks the degree is made up of would typically be worth 20 CATS or 40 CATS or any number that allows the individual blocks to add up to 360 CATS.

All CATS points are allocated to a level that gives an indication of the difficulty of the course or, in positive terms, the intellectual rigour of the course. Level 1 typically equates to the first year of a traditional three year primary degree. Levels 2 and 3 equate to years 2 and 3 of a primary degree course. Level A indicates the level below the first year of a university course. Level M indicates a postgraduate level course – a course at the level of a Masters degree.

The STARTS courses described in this brochure allow students to work towards a Certificate in Personal and Professional Development or to obtain credit associated with other University awards by successful completion of stand-alone modules. The University scheme sets the rate of exchange as 60 CATS at Level 1 for a certificate, so, in line with this, students who successfully complete courses worth 60 points qualify for the Certificate. The short courses in this brochure are worth 5 credit points at Level 1.

All the courses in the brochure offer CATS points, to earn the points, you will have to successfully complete the assessment work set by your tutor. The nature of the assessment task(s) will vary depending on the course but could be an essay, presentation, performance or participation in group-work. Please do not be daunted by the thought of this work as any work that is set will have been planned and designed to suit the level of the course. Equally, importantly, our tutors understand the needs of part-time students and of students returning to education after a long gap or taking their first higher education course.

It is still possible for students to take courses that offer CATS points even if they themselves do not want to work towards a certificate or degree award. Above all, our courses are intended to be enjoyable and tutors are perfectly happy for students to adopt this more leisurely approach. But do think carefully about working towards CATS points as many students find that the challenge adds to their enjoyment of the course and there is a real satisfaction in completing the course and earning CATS points.

If you are inspired by the thought of earning CATS points and working towards the Certificate in Personal and Professional Development and maybe eventually even a part-time degree, our lecturing staff are always pleased to meet potential students to advise about returning to study or about particular courses or career requirements. Do call us or email arts@ulster.ac.uk if you would like further advice and guidance.