Credit is a means of quantifying and recognising learning whenever and wherever it is achieved. It can be used as a tool to compare learning achieved in different contexts.
Most higher education programmes of study - for example, a BA (Hons) in English - are composed of a number of individual modules (or units). Some programmes of study (normally those which consist of more than one year of study) span a number of levels. Credit can be assigned to individual modules and/or to whole programmes.
A number of credits is normally assigned to each module, which indicates the amount of learning undertaken, and a specified credit level indicates the relative depth of learning involved. Together, these are known as the credit value.
Credit is awarded once you have successfully completed a module in recognition of the amount and depth of learning which you have achieved. Credits are then accumulated towards the total credit required for a programme of study and a qualification (for example, BA (Hons), MSc and so on).
Most institutions that provide higher education programmes of study in England use credit.