Often they are influenced by schooling, social background and the level of qualifications students have when they enter university.
But some FE courses can run for more than two years, and this change could reduce the number of qualifications students are able to gain while in the UK.
In contrast, the qualification in full-time vocational schools is widely accepted in the Austrian labour market and enables the acquisition of hybrid qualifications: students simultaneously gain vocational training and a university entrance qualification.
Students with a general entrance qualification, male students, students attending universities, students having had many physics lessons in school and students having participated in preparatory courses in physics achieve better results.
To complete programmes that attract an academic credit or offer a qualification, students may have to pay and pass an assessment module.
It is the result of a decision by ministers in 2007 to refuse funding for anyone who already has a qualification of equal status, referred to as ELQ (equivalent and lower qualification) students.
As part of their final piece of work, in order to gain the forest school level 3 leadership qualification, students have to plan and lead six forest school sessions, one of which is observed and assessed by someone like me – a forest school trainer.
Other medical schools also established interprofessional training wards where pre-qualification students from different professions worked together alongside qualified staff, planning and providing patient care [ 8].
Prior to qualification students had relied on nurses in hospital and community for help with 'log book' skills, such as catheterisation and injections, and they appreciated their patience and enthusiasm.
The measures of quality or performance indicators include the qualifications of student entrants and academic staff; resources available; opinions of academic peers; student completion rates; student appraisal of staff; student employability; and employer and staff satisfaction [ 10].
