Course Accreditation
Many courses need to work with PSRBs to gain accreditation for their provision, or to enable their course to act as preparation for students post graduation activity in order to gain professional recognition. Other course are able to choose whether or not to seek an accreditation (or even multiple accreditations in respect to different aspects of their course learning and achievement), and sometime can have choices between which PSRB with which to seek accreditation. In making decisions over PSRBs and accreditations, factors teams should take into account include:
- Processes for accreditation can very significantly between PSRBs, some fairly straight forward and others quite involved. One of the major motivations for seeking accreditation is teh ability to use it as a marketing tool for applicants. Some accreditation processes can only be completed once the course has been in operation long enough to have graduates, and thus prevent any marketing gains to be in place for some years following the commencement of the course delivery.
- Accreditation can involve costs associated with both initial registration and accreditation process, and annual fees for continued registration. Where courses have limited numbers of students, this may make accreditation less attractive.
- Where choice of PSRB for accreditation is available, course teams should consult with local employers and other relevant bodies to inform their choice of PSRB.