Membership in IAPCC includes the option to obtain IAPCC industry-based quality assurance accreditation. IAPCC audits courses and institutions to assess, measure and certify quality standards which leads to IAPCC endorsement. This mechanism facilitates quality education and provides for industry endorsement for having met these standards.
IAPCC Quality Assurance Accreditation is achieved via two types of voluntary audits:
IAPCC Quality Assurance Accreditation is achieved via two types of voluntary audits:
- Audit of courses: Quality assessment audit of specific courses and study programs.
- Institutional audits: Quality assessment audits of an institution. These will cover all educational programs offered and will require verification of what is known as the 29-Point Audit System across the key areas of administration, course content, content delivery and assessment:
Administration:
- Main premises and facilities of the institution (Only relevant for classroom-based providers)
- Educational technology and systems (Only relevant for distance education providers)
- Academic Staff, qualifications and work relations
- Evidence of commitment to educational values, good customer relationships and business practices. This is covered by becoming an Institutional IAPCC Member
- Documented procedures (staff manual, job specifications, etc)
- Financial soundness and financial management attested to by a letter from the Organization’s Chartered Accountant
- Main premises and facilities of the institution (Only relevant for classroom-based providers)
- Educational technology and systems (Only relevant for distance education providers)
- Academic Staff, qualifications and work relations
- Evidence of commitment to educational values, good customer relationships and business practices. This is covered by becoming an Institutional IAPCC Member
- Documented procedures (staff manual, job specifications, etc)
- Financial soundness and financial management attested to by a letter from the Organization’s Chartered Accountant
Course Content:
- Documentation of the institution’s courses (e.g. curriculum documentation, study guides or comprehensive outlines)
- Documented procedure for input from industry in the course content (Evidence of consultation with industry in course development)
- Documented procedure to continually update course materials (Updating policies; forms for obtaining student feedback, and evidence of previous updates)
- Documented procedure to review courses at least every 3 years based upon inputs from students and/or industry (Review policies and procedures documents that support them)
- Recognition or accreditation of a course by a reputable professional body or articulation established for main courses with another member of this body
- Documentary evidence that courses are developed by competent professionals
Content Delivery:
- Documentary evidence of physical resources needed to service the quantity and kinds of students being serviced, such as a library, computer database, and online LMS or classroom facilities
- Exemplary references specifically supporting delivery supplied by two successful past students
- Exemplary references from two successful employers in a relevant industry attesting to quality delivery (not past or present students)
- All teaching or tutorial staff with 1 year or more continuous and recent industry experience
- All teaching or tutorial staff with a qualification at or above the level they teach plus industry experience exceeding 3 year
- Unrestricted access to staff by students during office hours or class times
- Teaching staff have a teaching or training skills qualification
- Flexibility in the delivery that allows the student to choose the location from where they study
- Flexibility in the delivery that allows the student to choose the times of study
Assessment:
- Flexibility – the student has a variety of ways in which they to prove themselves (e.g. written and practical assessments)
- All Assessors have 1 year or more experience in the areas where they assess, outside of education
- All Assessors have an average of 1 year or more experience in the discipline that they are assessing, but outside of education
- More than one person is involved in assessing a student
- Opportunity is provided for the student to repeat assessments (eg. Supplementary examinations)
- Procedures for assessment are well-structured and documented
- Evidence of industry input in the development of assessment techniques
- A mechanism for students to submit feedback for improving assessments
The cost of a specific audit will be determined by the size of the institution, the nature of the course or courses, and the geographic spread of support delegations. Membership of IAPCC is a prerequisite for audit requests.
In addition, the audit process examines internal processes of review of the provision of services to students.
Institutional audits will run on a 5 year cycle. The process will require a high degree of openness, transparency and trust in the partnership between the IAPCC and the candidate institution.
For further inquiries, please contact the IAPCC Secretariat.
The cost of a specific audit will be determined by the size of the institution, the nature of the course or courses, and the geographic spread of support delegations. Membership of IAPCC is a prerequisite for audit requests.
In addition, the audit process examines internal processes of review of the provision of services to students.
Institutional audits will run on a 5 year cycle. The process will require a high degree of openness, transparency and trust in the partnership between the IAPCC and the candidate institution.
For further inquiries, please contact the IAPCC Secretariat.
