Trust
The British education system behind this programme.
British higher education is organised differently from Japan's.
Here is the whole picture, set out systematically.
1. The British university system — establishment, degree-awarding powers, regulation
British universities are autonomous legal entities, established by Royal Charter or by Act of Parliament. They operate within a framework unlike Japan's division into national, public and private institutions, and a university's public standing is defined by two mechanisms.
The first is the legal recognition of degree-awarding powers. In the UK, degrees may be awarded only by institutions legally recognised for the purpose — Recognised Bodies. Which institutions are recognised can be checked by anyone on the official register of the OfS, the regulator (the destination to which GOV.UK, the UK government's official website, directs you).
The second is the regulation of higher education. Universities in England are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) and operate under its oversight and quality-assurance framework.
The University of Wolverhampton is recognised as a Recognised Body and is registered with the OfS. Its registration can be confirmed on the official OfS Register.
2. Qualifications frameworks — the national scale for levels of learning
In the UK, the level of a degree or qualification is defined by national qualifications frameworks. The principal frameworks are the RQF (Regulated Qualifications Framework), centred on England, and Scotland's SCQF (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework); their levels are mapped to one another.
Master's level corresponds to Level 7 on the RQF and Level 11 on the SCQF. A bachelor's degree sits at RQF Level 6 (SCQF Levels 9–10), and a doctorate at RQF Level 8 (SCQF Level 12).
The Diploma in Business Management completed in Stage 1 of this programme is at SCQF Level 11 — a qualification positioned at master's level on the UK's official scale.
3. Awarding bodies — awarding qualifications under national accreditation
Alongside its universities, the UK has education bodies known as awarding bodies. Accredited by the national qualifications regulators — Ofqual in England and SQA Accreditation in Scotland, among others — they award qualifications positioned within the national frameworks.
EduQual, which awards Stage 1 of this programme, is an awarding body accredited by SQA Accreditation. The Diploma in Business Management (SCQF Level 11) it awards rests on that public accreditation and framework.
4. Top-up courses and Recognition of Prior Learning — how progression works in Britain
British higher education has, built into the system itself, ways of recognising learning and qualifications already completed and connecting them to the senior stages of a university course.
The principal mechanisms are advanced standing — senior entry granted in recognition of prior attainment — and the top-up course. A top-up course is one in which a person who has already completed a qualification at the required level joins the final stage of a university course and completes the degree. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), under which professional experience and existing qualifications are assessed and credited, is also part of this machinery.
The two-stage structure of this programme follows this system. Those who complete a master's-level qualification (SCQF Level 11) in Stage 1 become eligible to apply to the University of Wolverhampton's course with advanced standing. The English wording inside the logo at the foot of each page states this eligibility, in the names of EduQual and the University.
5. Where this programme sits in the system
EduQual Diploma in Business Management (SCQF Level 11 / awarded by EduQual)
→ application with advanced standing
University of Wolverhampton International MBA Top-Up (delivered and assessed by the University / dissertation)
→ completion
Degree conferred: International Master of Business Administration (awarded by the University of Wolverhampton)
Completers of the EduQual Diploma in Business Management (SCQF Level 11) are eligible to apply for the University of Wolverhampton's International MBA Top-Up. The programme is delivered online, and is delivered and assessed directly by the University.
6. What the degree certificate records
The degree certificate conferred on completion records the name of the awarding university (UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON), the graduate's name, and the degree title (International Master of Business Administration); a classification (such as "with Merit") may also be shown.
The operating company in Japan
Shibuya Web3 University Co., Ltd. is a company whose core business is branding, and which itself practises the social implementation of technology. Founded in Shibuya, Tokyo, in 2021, it has worked with more than 100 companies on branding — turning philosophy into organisational strength — and runs Shibuya Web3 University (opened 2023; 3,000 participants in total), a community of practitioners working on the social implementation of blockchain, generative AI and Web3. In 2025–2026, as lead operator of a three-company consortium, it completed Japan's first municipal proof-of-concept combining blockchain (DID/VC) with disaster preparedness, in Iizuka City, Fukuoka. Under the umbrella of SCX Professional Program, it runs in Japan the SCX Professional Program UITM MBA/DBA — professional programmes delivered in Japanese, for which UITM, a university in Poland, provides quality assurance and the curriculum. For this programme, it carries out guidance, student recruitment and application support in Japan, and in Stage 1 independently provides the academic-practice tutorials, in Japanese.
Company profile
- Name: Shibuya Web3 University Co., Ltd.
- Representative: Hajime Kitamura (hajimex), President & CEO
- Founded: January 2021
- Address: Shibuya Scramble Square 39F, 2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
- Business: branding support and consulting; operation of SCX Professional Program, the umbrella of our learning programmes; operation of Shibuya Web3 University, a community for creating innovation