Re: EOCred: Identify the level of a credential

Here goes!

I think it is useful.
I got no better name than educationalLevel.

I can't think of a good second sentence. Here's a candidate for the first
one:

A string, term or URL indicating the position(?) of the credential in a set
of levels, ranking or scale provided by an educational framework.

----

Just checking my understanding against SCQF, it appears to be:

   - A ranked set of levels, whereon each is subsumed by the higher.
   - Formal, not informal, in that it doesn't leave its interpretation to
   the reader.
   - General, not specific, in that while it outlines requirements, it does
   not specify objects that meet those requirements.

I would identify these as 'label' or 'tag' levels where they assist in
describing a credential (and ultimately the capabilities of the credential
awardee) by outlining requirements and showing equivalence to other levels
(such as Higher Ed Degree Levels). I would say that they are factors in
'accomplishment', but as they are levels outside of the definition of any
particular credential, they do not fit 'level of accomplishment' by
themselves.

In subtle contrast, if a College granted certificates at these specific
levels, such as "SCQF Level 5 Financial Management", then each credential
corresponding to the various levels offered *would* be 'levels of
accomplishment' because each certificate specifies the objects that meet
those requirements. This credential would also have educationalLevel
include http://scqf.org.uk/level/5.

Note that the subtle contrast remains if the college granted just "Level 5
Financial Management" -- in that case the link to the SCQF framework would
drop off, but the college would continue to offer 'levels of
accomplishment' in that area.

Levels of performance don't come into play it appears for SCQF or EQF.

On Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 4:29 AM, Phil Barker <phil.barker@pjjk.co.uk> wrote:

>
> On 16/02/18 01:15, Nate Otto wrote:
>
> Unless we can find consensus on what sense of the word "level" we're
> trying to model, maybe we should just leave it out. There are many cans of
> springs that could be opened.
>
> Phil, your draft phrase "Indicates the required level of educational
> attainment, accomplishment, knowledge or experience" doesn't clearly match
> any of the senses of level we've been talking about here. You mentioned you
> had been thinking about the second sense I suggested (the credential
> recognizes achievement of a particular level) and then this draft text more
> closely represents the first (the credential requires a certain level of
> experience or skill in order to participate in or be likely to pass
> assessment).
>
> My wording isn't great.
>
> I think there is some consensus that there are three distinct aspects as
> Fritz outlined: level of accomplishment, extent (amount of credit), ways of
> indicating how well an individual did.
>
> Sorry, I found it hard to distinguish the two senses you mentioned
> earlier: they seem like two different ways of using the same level of
> accomplishment, one to indicate what a course of study aims for, one to
> indicate what is expected before a credential is awarded. So perhaps I
> didn't understand your original question. While the focus of this group is
> on credentials, with a wider view I think that a property representing
> level could have Course, CreativeWorks (learning materials) and
> EducationalOccupationalCredential in its domain. Perhaps that didn't help
> clarity either.
> Talking about Associate Degree / Bachellors degrees etc as equating to
> levels is only half the story. It does make sense colloquially to talk
> about something as "degree level" or "PhD Level", but the actual credential
> category name comprises an indication of both this level and the scope or
> extent or breadth of coverage (roughly, the length of the course needed to
> cover the material / concepts / skills that need to be demonstrated).
>
> To formallize this, in Europe we have a well established, widely used
> (required by regulatory authorities) European Qualifications Framework
> defining levels, [EQF
> <https://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/content/descriptors-page>, wikipedia
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Qualifications_Framework>] and
> European Credit Transfer System [ECTS
> <https://ec.europa.eu/education/resources/european-credit-transfer-accumulation-system_en>,
> wikipedia
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Credit_Transfer_and_Accumulation_System>]
> defining the extent of coverage. These are implemented as national
> frameworks that map to the EQF and ECTS, and I am most familiar with the
> Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, SCQF <http://scqf.org.uk/>.
> So a Scottish Bachellors degree programme is 480 SCQF credits reaching SCQF
> level 10 (which maps to 240 ECTS credits reaching EQF level 6), the
> credential awarded is thus at EQF level 6. I cannot overemphasise how
> pervasive these concepts of level and credit are in formal education and
> training in Scotland, and the rest of Europe.
>
> In the US, I see the Connecting Credentials Framework
> <http://connectingcredentials.org/framework-detail/> (CCF) is defined in
> terms of levels which look very similar to the EQF levels.
>
> The problem I have, is that I don't see in CCF or EQF any short definition
> of what they mean by 'level' that would be useful for a schema.org
> property name and description.
>
> I would really welcome a focus on level as exemplified in EQF, SCQF, CCF:
> - do we have consensus that it is a useful distinct property?
> - is there a better name than educationalLevel?
> - how do we define it in one or two sentences?
>
> Phil
>
> --
>
> Phil Barker <http://people.pjjk.net/phil>. http://people.pjjk.net/phil
> PJJK Limited <https://www.pjjk.co.uk>: technology to enhance learning;
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>
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