Higher education

Higher Education in Scotland

University entrants who have experienced Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) through schools and colleges will have had a different experience of learning and teaching and different pathways through qualifications. 

Maximising the opportunities that CfE provides requires a joined-up approach across sectors, to ensure young people experience a smooth transition, building on prior learning and preparing for future learning.

More specifically, young people will be making subject choices for S4 courses in early 2013 and applying to universities with enhanced skills for learning and new qualifications from 2014 onwards. The first group of young people to have experienced CfE throughout their secondary education will enter university in 2015. 

Flexible pathways

Flexibility in the way in which young people obtain qualifications is key to delivering the personalisation and choice CfE offers. As a result, young people are likely to have followed a far greater range of pathways to qualifications than is currently the case.

Key timelines for Curriculum for Excellence implementation

The timelines for CfE implementation and higher education planning processes are as follows:

This section provides information to assist universities in considering the implications of CfE for their admissions and selection policies and learning and teaching approaches.