About us
OCN Eastern Region, a not for profit registered charity, is an Awarding Organisation based at the University of Essex in Colchester.
- We work with learning providers and industry experts to design and develop qualifications that work for the learner and the employer.
- We support flexible, responsive and quality assured learning opportunities whether it’s in the classroom, at work, in the community or through distance learning.
- We offer a complete and cost-effective accreditation service for your courses and training.
- We are dedicated to widening participation, social inclusion, employer engagement and lifelong learning for all.
- Many of our qualifications are available for learners from the age of 14. There is no upper limit!
We hold the following licences to operate as an Awarding Organisation:
Ofqual: we are recognised by Ofqual, to design, develop and submit qualifications to the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF). The QCF allows achievements to be recognised and recorded through the award of credits and qualifications. It supports the accumulation and transfer of credits and the easy identification of each achievement’s level and size. In this way, learners have maximum flexibility and range of opportunities and can be reliably recognised for their achievements.
National Open College Network (NOCN): as part of the Open College Network we also offer the more than 300 NOCN qualifications on the QCF that have been developed by OCNs using their 30-plus years’ experience of credit-based learning.
On behalf of NOCN, OCN Eastern Region covers the following areas: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and the unitary authorities within this geography.
All approved qualifications appear on the Register of Regulated Qualifications.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA): we are licensed by QAA as an AVA - an Access Validating Agency – to develop, approve and monitor the Access to HE Diploma, and work with further education colleges and other providers that deliver the Diploma to students.
QAA sets out certain criteria for course approval, which include confirmation by a higher education institution that the course is appropriate preparation for higher education study. A course that has been approved by an AVA in accordance with QAA's requirements is recognised by QAA and listed on the Access courses database.