ASIC Accreditation

I know there have been a number of threads on ASIC. ASIC is an UK government recognized accreditor (quality assurance not degree granting authority). I gather it evolved out of a number of scandals involving foreign students in the UK and subpar schools, as a way to provide oversight.

In terms of value, would a graduate of a school accredited by ASIC find it easier to be admitted to a higher degree or transfer credit in the UK if the school was ASIC accredited? In other words what is the value or transferability of that accreditation.

 

Hello!

I might be wrong, but just my $0.02: accreditation by ASIC, if you could call it this way, is more or less meaningless. As far as I know, this is the case in the UK as long as there is no accreditation by QAA for degree awarding institutes or Ofqual / SQF for vocational training (which may be transferred to a degree).

Best regards,
Mac Juli

 

ASIC is not an a creditor of degrees or universities. They are primarily concerned with demonstrating a school is able to meet the requirements for a student visa in the UK. Such schools either need to steer away from degrees and offer diplomas/certificates etc or hold degree powers from the UK or award degrees of another institution.

Ofqual is a whole different thing for awarding bodies only, officially only those wanting public funding but it has become a stick to beat institutions with. For example the Royal College of Organists has been around since the 1800s and is one of the most respected bodies in the music world. It's diplomas are issued under Royal Charter and are held by some of the best players in the world, let alone the UK. However you can't get UCAS points for university admission as they don't hold Ofqual accreditation and don't need to as its self funded. So officially you could be an FRCO, an accolade held by only a handful but if you don't have the points you wouldn't even get past the initial round at some universities, let alone an interview.

 

If you go through their own materials (and I did as part of my job) it is very clear they accredit you as meeting the business requirements that an institution requires here to legally grant student visas and residency. These are actually pretty tight, you have to be financially sound, be able to demonstrate a very good grasp of the legal restrictions and the reporting procedures. Getting any of that wrong carries heavy financial penalties. They don't actually claim to accredit awards, solely that the institution is meeting specific government demands, which is what they were set up to do.

Technically any one who claims that a school/college etc is accredited by ASIC isn't lying. What is a lie is saying it accredits their courses and academic standing.

 

Saying your school is accredited because ASIC accredits it is like putting "BSA" after your name because you were a Boy Scout.

 

It reminds me of Red Dwarf where Rimmer, a low level technician with ambition but no ability puts BSc and SSc after his name to signify bronze and silver swimming certificates.

 

Don't they claim and aren't they expected to ensure that the institution's curriculum is what would be expected in terms of degree requirements? I thought that was one reason for their existence (substandard Brit institutions granting educational qualifications and ripping off foreign students).

 

Not so, outside UK. ASIC International does what it wants. At times, they have even accredited (for brief periods) a couple of Axact linked (Pakistani fraud) "schools." E.G. Paramount California U. and a cyberspace-only Orlando University - not the unaccredited but honest one.

People 'way smarter than me say ASIC has no remit whatsoever outside of UK.

 

They make it clear that ASIC does not confer or augment degree granting permission in any way - and that the institution has whatever degree-granting capability its own country gives it. ASIC makes no claim in its materials (that I have seen, anyway) that the schools' curricula must meet specific degree requirements. They (ASIC) are not arbiters of British degree requirements. That's not within their scope.

Anyway, the bulk of ASIC accredited schools in the UK are not degree-granting. Ones that are - their degree-granting permission does not come from ASIC. The appropriate authorities are in charge of that.

 

I know they do not confer degree granting authority. Here are the areas they claim to inspect:

"In order for ASIC to undertake its quality benchmarking for international schools, colleges, universities, training providers and distance education providers, we have identified 8 areas of an institutions operation for inspection. These are listed below.

The eight Areas of Operation are:
A – Premises, and Health and Safety

B – Governance, Management and Staff Resources

C – Learning, Teaching and Research Activity

D – Quality Assurance and Enhancement

E – Student Welfare

F – Awards and Qualifications

G – Marketing and Recruitment of Students

H – Systems Management and Compliance with Immigration Regulations"

DURING THE STAGE 2 VISIT INSPECTORS WILL NEED TO INSPECT:

• Procedural documentation.
• Quality manual.
• Staff/student handbooks.
• Attendance monitoring systems.
• Sample student feedback forms.
• Marked student assignments.
• Performance monitoring systems (cohort analysis systems, student feedback systems, staff performance systems and research programmes).
• Statutory documentation (health and safety, fire regulations, local Ministry of Higher Education approvals, agreements with external bodies, legal requirements).

DURING THE STAGE 3 VISIT INSPECTORS WILL NEED TO:

• Meet the principal, CEO and if appropriate, the owners of the institution, and the chair of governors.
• Hold an introductory meeting will all staff if possible, or with senior staff, to introduce themselves and outline the nature of the inspection.
• Undertake a detailed survey of the library, resource area.
• Assess research facilities and research outputs.
• Assess the IT provision for staff and students.
• Assess laboratory and audio visual equipment.
• Visit the refreshment areas.
• Meet a representative group of staff without senior managers being present.
• Observe a number of teaching sessions (and provide informal feedback after the observation).
• Meet a representative group(s) of students without any staff being present.
• Hold a final meeting with the principal to give an informal report of their findings, but not indicating the likely outcomes of the visit and whether or not accreditation would be granted since the final decision will be made by the Accreditation Committee.
• Meet with a select number of research students and research supervisors (Universities only).

 

Any feedback on Distance learning MBA IN HEALTH MANAGEMENT BY RKC CUMBRIA univercity

 

I know a couple of the International schools were not impressive.

 

Well a quick glance says Cumbria is accredited and Robert Kennedy MBA is issued by the University of Cumbria. So, as long as that agreement holds up you should be fine. I have no input on business degrees and did not research cost so cannot say whether it is a good ROI.

 

Thanks

 

I know what it says - and it doesn't say anything about classes meeting degree requirements. Most UK schools under ASIC's purview in the UK are not degree-granting. Those that are, their degree-granting permission authorities are in charge of making sure the courses are to their standards. Not ASIC's job.

Internationally, I can see no reason why ASIC can't say anything it wants regarding quality of a school's courses. It's their opinion - they're not saying the degrees are good in some country where they aren't. I think a lot of this is about people hearing or inferring what they want to hear.

And more than a few of those are "bargain" or "easy" or "no work" degree-hunters. Not all, though. Far from it.

 

I think more than hearing or inferring what they want, people are trying to understand what ASIC is claiming to do which sounds a lot like an accreditation assessment EXCEPT we don't know the depth of it. Some of the schools on the International list make it suspect.

The likelihood of me ever holding an ASIC accredited degree is remote. I see no benefit. If it cannot be evaluated as equivalent to US Institutional accreditation, it is of little use to me. A well respected degree (in some circles) like the Graduate Theological Foundation would be more appealing. But they are smoking dope if they think I would shell out 20,000 plus for their unaccredited degree.

 

ASIC accreditation is like a Good Housekeeping seal. Some assurance of quality, but not an endorsement. Nor does it have anything to do with the legality or recognition of degrees, certificates, or whatever the schools award. It has a legal use, but not an academic one.