There is a clear need for the titles of qualifications awarded by UK higher education institutions to be simplified. There is considerable confusion about the meaning of qualifications awarded by UK higher education institutions. Though half of UK employers recruit employees with HEQs and half of those responsible have qualifications themselves, only a third feel they have a reasonable understanding of HEQs. Many recognise their ignorance, three quarters say it is difficult to understand what the various qualifications mean. Their main criticisms are the use of abbreviations in titles, which are confusing and the lack of consistency across institutions offering awards with the same or similar titles.
Employers feel they are less clear about the meaning of qualifications awarded for science subjects.
Half recognise that it is the Universities themselves which are responsible for the confusion, and correctly believe that it is the institutions themselves who decide on the title each award should carry.