QUIZ -How Credible is Your Qualification?

We all tend to think that the better known, government accredited schools are always the best to study with; but is this really the case?

At the end of the day, the most successful education has to be the one that best prepares you for the future.

Formal recognition and accreditation is certainly nice; but these things like every other aspect of education (eg. course materials, delivery, student support and assessments) will cost the college in time and money. If more money is put into marketing and accreditation; a college may appear better; but this can also mean less money is available to provide quality education.

Consider the following questions.  Institutions an courses that can achieve more points may very well be more credible irrespective of whether they are accredited or not.

Question Points
Do more than 50% of graduates readily find work soon after graduating? 5
Do more than 75% of graduates readily find work soon after graduating? 5
Do over 95% of graduates find work soon after graduating? 5
Does the course provide a foundation that kick starts life long learning? 5

Has the institution been established for over 5 years?

 5
Do all staff have significant industry experience in their discipline and at a level above what they teach? 10
Do all staff have formal qualifications at or above the level they teach? 5
Is the course up to date? (and revised annually or more often) 10
Is the institution or are staff members of credible industry organisations in disciplines taught 10
Are tutors very accessible? (can you get help when needed) 5
Is the institution visible (eg. Is it seen readily in internet searches, magazine ads, at trade shows, known to industry leaders, etc) 5
Does the institution maintain and promote an open and ethical policy of dealing with students (eg. publishing refunds policies, complaints policies, etc) 10
Is the institution or any of it's courses formally recognised or accredited by one or more government accreditation or recognition bodies somewhere in the world 5
Is the institution subject to auditing by an external body (eg. an accreditation body -government or non government; Quality Assurance authority, etc) 5
Is there a formal relationship (eg. affiliation, partnership etc) established with one or more other credible businesses, colleges, schools or universities. 10


How Does a College, School or University Rank?

  • Add up the points.
  • Out of 100 possible points this gives you a % score
  • Credible institutions should be scoring 50% or higher
  • The highest scoring institutions are likely to be the most credible.

 

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