In 2012, three students who saw themselves as victims of an unaccredited institution, were interviewed on 3rd Degree. What emerged was that they had paid for courses and completed them, but had not received their certificates for months, and in one case it seems up to a year.
One student had received company sponsorship to do a Production Management course, and the other two had paid for themselves (one by obtaining a loan) to do an Office Admin and Computer Skills course.
The short courses, between 12 - 24 weeks in duration, were: "designed to meet the immediate needs of students", according to the representative. The students said that the short courses costed between R8 400.00 and R10 000.00 based on the figures they said they had paid.
This situation raises questions about the validity of unaccredited courses. Some accredited colleges are registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) as a private Higher Education institution and have been granted provisional accreditation by Umalusi (the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training), yet still have courses that are not accredited.
So, if Higher Education programmes have been accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), how can it still offer courses that are NOT accredited, you might ask? The short answer is that, simply put, they can.
In the case of Damelin College, the following reveals how they were allowed to do that:
Damelin offers programmes of other institutions in some instances and recruit students for these programmes, providing them with tuition and facilities for assessment. The other institution whose programmes they offer are called agent bodies, and the programmes are known as agent programmes. These programmes can be National Qualifications or Short Learning Programmes (which are often not accredited).
When it comes to Agent Programmes or programmes originating from a partnership, accreditation often lies with the agency who developed the course and manages assessment of learners. This will also be the entity responsible for providing your certification.
Damelin issued a formal response to the allegations that students were misled with the aim to clarify the accreditation of short courses. It stated that:
- "Short courses are designed to meet students’ immediate training needs and are fit for use in the workplace.
- The short courses that the Brit’s students registered for run between 12-24 weeks.
- It is not a requirement for short courses to be registered with the Department of Higher Education (DHET), but they are quality assured by external specialists and the Damelin Academic Board.
- Students are informed of these facts on registration by our student advisors, lecturers and through our websites. We also encourage students to ask questions before signing up for any course."
Many short courses are designed "to meet students’ immediate training needs", in other words to help employees progress in a particular work environment. Even though employers tend to want to hire employees with recognised qualifications, one might argue that many others value the practical knowledge or know-how that an applicant brings to the workplace, more than accredited courses, per se.
The fact that short courses need not be registered with the Department of Higher Education (DHET) and "are quality assured by external specialists", can be problematic for students who are not sure whether a short course is worth their time and money. In such an instance, please do thorough research online about the course and talk to people who have completed it.
Also, keep in mind what it is exactly that you want to achieve by registering for a short course. Do you want to learn a few new skills to help you get a promotion? Do you want to embark on tertiary studies? Or do you simply want to test the waters of a possible new career path?
If you are not sure whether a course or short course you are or have been registered for is accredited, try phoning the SAQA Helpline on 086 011 1673.
The Career Helpline is also accessible at:
Switchboard: 012 431-5000
Web: Career Help Services
