Choosing what and where to study is important; particularly if it is a course that will cost you a lot of time and money.

In the past, we assumed formally recognised or accredited courses were a guarantee of quality.  At the time –

  • Fewer people went to university or vocational colleges.
  • Certificates, diplomas or degrees were achieved by attending school, college or university a few days a week for a few months or years.
  • Apprenticeships were gained by working alongside skilled tradespeople.

But the world has changed and the education system has changed with it. Today we have –

  • Fast track courses
  • Microcredentials
  • Microcourses etc

More and more colleges and universities are operating under severe budget constraints or in the red.

Stories emerge today of qualified professionals who are under trained. Employers talk about losing confidence in employing graduates from certain “accredited” courses.

What has Changed?

In education, accreditation and recognition are no more than quality control systems. They do nothing more than measure a course or school against specified criteria. Only the topics in the curriculum materials are measured. Valuable, transferable skills, such as soft skills, are therefore ignored.

Curriculum documentation has always been used to define a course. In the 20th century vocational course documentation would specify-

  • the textbooks used by students
  • how the course would be delivered
  • the number of hours of course delivery involved
  • and many other things including how students would be assessed.

The problems for many course providers offering accredited courses are that –

  • People are changing careers more often also; meaning they have a need to retrain a number of times during their working life.
  • This means that they need to train a higher percentage of the workforce multiple times, and the amount of funding available to do that has not increased proportionally.
  • Compliance costs for accreditation have also increased greatly.

Anecdotally, some “recognised” providers suggest that more than 20% of their operating costs go into maintaining recognition and accreditation.

 To deal with those issues, different colleges have tried different things. 

  • Some maintain their recognition and accreditation, perhaps by increasing fees. Or finding money elsewhere by charging high fees to overseas students; or even local students.
  • Others look for loop holes in accreditation and reduce the services they provide to students; often decreasing the quality of learning provided.
  • Some abandon the accreditation system to save on recognition and accreditation costs. This also gives them the option to operate freely of any restrictions that accreditation and recognition bring.

All of this has damaged the value of accreditation or recognition. Therefore, being recognised or accredited is less and less an indicator of quality.

How do we determine if a course is good or not today?

It is hard to regulate for accreditation, recognition and quality control, if there are a lot of pressures to comprise quality.

Recognition and accreditation systems are often complex and detailed. To change them can take quite a bit of time. This can mean that recognition and accreditation systems are not as up to date as they could be. This means, of course, that the student is not studying a course that is as up to date as it can be. Today, with such massive changes as AI, an out-of-date course is simply obsolete.

How then can we ensure that a course is of good quality without recognition and accreditation?

Firstly, the right attitude towards producing high quality materials can ensure the quality that our students need.  For example, colleges may be under financial pressure but staffed by people who are capable and motivated, they will still deliver.

Secondly, credibility is influenced more by ethics than accreditation.  When considering studying or offering a course, consider -

  • What have past students and current students achieved?
  • What do past and current students have to say about the course or education provider?
  • The quality and experience of the staff.
  • What services are provided relative to the fees that are charged? Are the services offering value for money.
  • How is the school connected with industry and employers? This is not just about memberships of organisations, where anyone can pay a fee to be a member. Consider – have staff served on committees? Do they attend industry meetings? Do they stay up to date with their industry? Do they connect with their industry?
  • Longevity is important. Colleges that have existed a long time are more likely to be credible.

Other factors to consider are - 

  • Does the education provide adhere to ethics?
  • Is the education provider well-accepted by employers and relevant industries?
  • Do they offer good value to employers? Value is not just about money. Does the course offer good value for money? Do students finishing the course come out with useful skills and knowledge? Does it have a good cost-benefit of the employer and/or student?
  • How successful are students completing the course?
  • How satisfied are students and past students?
  • How motivated are they to study the course?
  • How do they control for quality?

The credibility of a course or course provider should not be judged on accreditation or recognition alone. The world has changed and the way that courses have offered are changed. It is important for anyone looking at courses to consider –

 

How useful the course is to the student and employers?

 

Does it offer value for money?

 

Do students come out of the course happy, with high quality skills and knowledge?

 

Is the course up to date?

 

When looking at courses, it is therefore important to consider whether adherence to outdated accreditation and recognition standards is as important as looking at high quality and up to date courses.

 

If you would like more information on reselling our courses, contact us here.



Share this Article

Search the blog


Follow us

What our clients say

We've been working with ACS over the course of the last three years. Being able to mix and match content to suit our students' needs has been extremely useful. With their material in combination with our own in house tutor service we have been able to provide a complete online learning service which has helped us expand our student cohort and advance our teaching techniques! We are thankful that we have had them as a partner throughout our time in the industry and look forward to many more years of growth together.

Jason T - Director, ACS Partner College (Affiliate)

ACS Distance Education have been fantastic to work with over our first 12 months as a start-up online short education affiliate.
They provided immense support in the foundation period ensuring we setup the best support mechanisms for students and engaging quality tutors.
ACS have continued to be receptive to feedback and promptly moved to make improvements wherever required.

David C - Director, ACS Partner College (Affiliate)

Having access to ACS' extensive library of digitalised education content has allowed us to scale our business quickly and efficiently. Their LMS is easy to access and manage, whilst also providing the consumer (student) with a professional and easy to use experience. John and Kate have always been a pleasure to work with and are quick to provide support when it is required."

Andrew O - Director, ACS Partner College (Affiliate)

Looking for more information?

Fill in your details below for an information pack and discussion with one of our friendly affiliate managers

Please note: we are only considering requests from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Europe, North America, the Middle East, South Africa, United Kingdom.