What a credit represents
A CPD credit is a unit of learning time. Most UK schemes treat one credit as one hour of learning, and many use the words credits, points and hours interchangeably.
The important part is what gets counted. On an accredited activity, credits count learning time only. Breaks, meals, networking, registration and promotional content are excluded.
How we set them
The provider proposes a credit figure and evidences it. The assessor tests that figure against the activity: the programme, the time allocated to each outcome, and where relevant a measured read through or run through.
Where the proposed figure counts time that is not learning, it is reduced. This is one of the most common corrections we make.
Why the numbers differ between providers
Two apparently similar courses can carry different credit values honestly, because the learning time genuinely differs. They can also differ dishonestly, where one provider counts the length of the day and the other counts the learning.
That is precisely why a register exists. If a credit figure looks generous relative to the content, check the register entry and see what was assessed.
Recording your credits
Keep the certificate, and keep the accreditation reference with it. The reference is what lets anyone confirm later that the activity was accredited at the time you took it.
A certificate that states you achieved the outcomes is stronger evidence than one that states you completed the activity. Both are legitimate, and accredited certificates have to say which they are.