Re: EOCred: Identify the level of a credential

For what it is worth, dcterms:educationLevel
<http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#terms-educationLevel> has been
in the DCMI terms namespace since 2002 with the addition of
education-related properties.  It's defined as a subproperty of
dcerms:audience <http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#terms-audience>
with a range in of dcterms:AgentClass
<http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/#terms-AgentClass> and defined
as follows:

"A class of entity, defined in terms of progression through an educational
or training context, for which the described resource is intended."



On Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 8:43 AM, Phil Barker <phil.barker@pjjk.co.uk> wrote:

>
> Comments in line
>
> On 16/02/18 15:32, Fritz Ray wrote:
>
> 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.
>
>
> Thanks Fritz. Tricky thing is that definition doesn't really say what the
> "set levels, ranking or scale" relate to. But it's a start. Perhaps it's
> obvious. That certainly wouldn't be the vaguest definition in schema.org
> :)
>
> ----
>
> 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.
>
> Yep.
>
> 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).
>
> Yes, I think so. In practice, it kind of works the other way round, Higher
> Ed degree levels such as Ordinary Degree, Honours Degree, Masters,
> Doctorate are defined by being at a certain SCQF levels. This is related to
> a thing called the Bologna process which is part of making sure that a
> university degree from Scotland can be considered equivalent to a
> university degree from Germany.
>
> 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.
>
> not sure about this... they may levels of accomplishment they just don't
> say what the accomplishment is in?
>
> 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.
>
> ...and by here I think something is definitely wrong. To pick a close
> match to your example, the Accounting NC Course at Edinburgh College
> <http://www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/courses/Business,-Finance-and-Legal-Services/Accounting%20NC/TH1NCACF18>
> is stated by them to be at SCQF Level 5, and the Credential awarded to
> those who are successful is the SQA National
> <https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/58062.3806.html> Level 5 Qualification for
> Accouting
>
>
> Levels of performance don't come into play it appears for SCQF or EQF.
>
> Correct. That's a separate issue.
>
> Phil
>
>
> 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;
>> information systems for education.
>> CETIS LLP: a cooperative consultancy for innovation in education
>> technology.
>>
>> PJJK Limited is registered in Scotland as a private limited company,
>> number SC569282.
>> CETIS is a co-operative limited liability partnership, registered in
>> England number OC399090
>>
>
>
> --
>
> Phil Barker <http://people.pjjk.net/phil>. http://people.pjjk.net/phil
> PJJK Limited <https://www.pjjk.co.uk>: technology to enhance learning;
> information systems for education.
> CETIS LLP: a cooperative consultancy for innovation in education
> technology.
>
> PJJK Limited is registered in Scotland as a private limited company,
> number SC569282.
> CETIS is a co-operative limited liability partnership, registered in
> England number OC399090
>



-- 
Stuart A. Sutton, Metadata Consultant
Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Washington
   Information School
Email: stuartasutton@gmail.com
Skype: sasutton