I have read that City & Guilds Institutes senior awards (http://www.cityandguilds.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-8F7CCFA2-F34C7EBE/cgonline/hs.xsl/643.html) are accepted as equivilent to academic degrees in the workplace in the UK and the Commonwealth. I was asked in a private message if an LCGI award could be used as a stepping stone to an accredited engineering degree. I have no experience with this. Does anyone know if an LCGI can be used as transfer credit toward an undergraduate degree or possibly even as an equivilent to an associate's degree? As long as I'm on the subject, has anyone any knowledge of a GCGI or MCGI being accepted as either transfer credit or as an entrance requirement to a higher degree program?
DLG, I have a LCGI in Mech. Eng. and the value of it depends on where you live. I live in Canada and here the LCGI award is equivalent to an Associates degree in the US. In actual fact, it lies somewhere between the Technologists (Associate level) and full BSc Eng. degree in Canada. With sponsorship, I can acquire the C.E.T. title in this country. I belong to several organizations in the US including the ASCET and the ASEM. As for degree credit, I'm not sure how you will convert a title to course level equivalent value. That will be the problem, ... if you completed formal courses for the LCGI, you won't have many problems getting Technology related credits. Some more in formation on your part would help!
Since the LCGI, GCGI and MCGI senior awards do not consist of coursework and are primarily based on thesis and/or portfolio/interview, it might be difficult to get course equivalencies in North America. I think the official position of The City and Guilds of London Institute is that the holders of GCGI is "working at" and "mapped to" a bachelor's degree level and the holder of MCGI is "working at" and "mapped to" a master's degree level. I have heard that some British universities do allow GCGI holders in to master's and/or doctorate programs. The City of Guilds Institute of London has been around for a long time and has earned a good reputation worldwide, so there is that name recognition.
In my case, I had to convert my courses to LCGI (Mech. Eng.) equivalent and then wait about 5-months for City and Guilds to formally accept my course load as sufficient. I went the LCGI route as it was cheaper, took less time and there was no question as to whether I had the course fulfillment to achieve their LCGI title. I thought about applying for the GCGI title next but haven't gotten around to it. They won't just hand you the paper, you need to earn it. I'm pleased with the result and will probably try to leverage it one day. For instance, my MBA would convert to a MCGI in Business if I choose to obtain that title to work in the UK or for a UK based company. Lots of things you can do with degrees and conversion! Good luck. PS. I got the idea from this site!
Thanx for the info. My original query was on behalf of a gentleman who holds an LCGI and wants to continue his studies for a degree. He would like to know if the LCGI can convert to transfer credit or an associates/bachelor's degree. Your post interests me personally as I have been considering the MCGI route for myself. Is a master's degree enough to receive the MCGI by the Fast Track option? They have told me that my accumulated 15 grad credits and professional courses is enough for the other tracks. Thanx again. - DLG
It all depends on a country where one wants to apply their LCGI award. Many if not most universities around the world require a transcript or in EU a supplement to the degree. LCGI has no course list so Universities have a problem with this award even if this is an AS degree equivalent. For employment purposes it has a higher acceptance, its a good award for Sr Technicians or Master Craftemen. What I seen is some people in India trying to use this award to get a job that usually requires Bachelors degree. There is a problem there of misrepresenting the award or elevated expectations and misuse of the award. From what I read in Kashmir holder of LCGI expects to have any Indian DL university to accept it in to advance standing in to degree program. So far without any luck.
To practical with this, not all degrees would allow you continue with degree. Each degrees has pre-requisites and courses that would help you to be successful in pursuing further studies. There is no doubt that the CGLI awards are recognizable as they are. However, I think it's practical to say that it will not automatically help you to complete a first degree with credit etc.. I think if you have GCGI and MCGI, you could get into a Masters or PhD respectively in most countries. While you could lack some required knowledge, its easier to take a single make up course that would help. For example, you could take GMAT or GRE along with these. In any case for work in the US/Canada an equivalency evaluation would do the trick..
I've never heard of an ABET-accredited US engineering program granting formal academic credit for professional certificates, such as the UK City & Guild awards, or even the US Engineer-in-Training or Professional Engineer licenses. However, while such certificates don't translate directly into academic degrees, I suspect that at least some US schools would accept them informally as degree-equivalent. For example, a GCGI or EIT certificate might get you into some engineering MS programs, even if you didn't have an engineering BS.
That may be accurate to say an ABET based school would not give credit to such courses. 1. First of all each school would have their own requirements for specific course credit. In other words even pursue a degree at another institution does not guarantee academic credit from a specific school. 2. Secondly, the awards are based on combination of factors including course work.. For example, lets say someone had a HND which covers learned subjects and then eventually got a Senior Award, that means they could get credit through the HND exam or courses. 3. Remember both ABET and CGLI are vocational. Sometimes I think people confuse academic with vocational. A lot of degrees are more vocational than we want to admit.. 4. CGLI awards are based on competence which is a different approach from simply taking courses. In summary, I would recommend that if someone wants to study further with the awards, they should look at some of CGLI Engineering exams since its easier to translate those into existing courses. Again, the ultimate would be degree/exams then Awards.. This would make you both school and work compatible.
Thanks for the good information about C & G! I happen to have the LCGI (Mech Eng) document, (for lack of a better description!) and I achieved it by submitting my official transcripts for my HND equivalent diploma. I also submitted a great deal of work experience to supplement this formal data. I choose the LCGI because it was cheap, very fast to obtain, and it served its purpose. That purpose was to obtain off-shore credentials to go along with my several degrees. I deal with international businesses and like the idea of having off-shore documents that are readily recognizable outside of Canada. So far, it was a quick fix to add something to my list of credentials. I figure that the LCGI is somewhere between our Technologist (CET) title and a full PE or B.Sc. Eng degree. My take is that all my of degrees etc. are 10% of my skillset, the rest of the formula includes actual knowledge and experience, ... that's what they pay me for! For the record, I belong to the ASEM and the ASCETT, both by utililizing my LCGI paperwork. Cheap source of application/utilization. Thanks again for your followup on the C & G system.
Another point I wanted to make earlier is that the degree structure for most countries are radically different so if you transfer mid-stream it may not work in your favor. Its best to complete in one jurisdiction then pursue advanced degree in the next.. I am sure with say a GCGI and GRE in Engineering its much easier to get into a US graduate program..
