It is easier to answer this question by pointing out what a short learning programme/short course is not.

In South Africa any programme of learning that is provided for on one of the qualifications sub frameworks and/or is at least 120 credits of study needs to be accredited and registered as a qualification. Where it is accredited depends on the level. All other courses of study are short learning programmes/short courses. Generally speaking if the study is going to take at least a year it would not be a short course.

The purpose of a short learning programme is to provide – normally already working – adults with new or upgraded knowledge or skill in one particular area. The aim is to improve or update the ability of the person to carry out a particular task or specialist skill.

Some short courses are of a recreational focus (such as elements of digital photography) and are aimed at developing skills which are for personal development reasons rather than related to career progression.

Frequently – particularly after graduation with a full qualification – a short learning programme is a quick and efficient way to get the skills you need to do what you do (or want to do) far better than using up-to-date theory and methods.

There is no mechanism within the South African regulatory environment for the registration or accreditation of short learning programmes. When the NQF was first set up it was intended that all short courses would be registered over time but there has never been capacity to do this. In some unit standard based instances short courses that form part of the learning pathway for a full qualification were registered as a part qualification in their own right but these are few and far between and they have no better status than any other short course.

Some short learning programmes are recognised by professional associations or vendors - where this is the case it will be clearly indicated.

Quality Councils (such as the Higher Education Quality Committee) require that institutions accredited by them apply the same quality assurance arrangements that apply to full qualifications to their short courses and this is why it makes sense to do a short course/short learning programme through a registered and accredited provider.

This is an area of frequent confusion and miscommunication. The short answer is "no" but there are important nuances. Credits are "pieces of learning" earned towards a qualification and therefore one only gets credits in a qualification. However, sometimes the work covered in a short learning programme matches the work required for part of a qualification and one could then get credit in to the qualification for the work done in the short learning programme. Therefore, it is possible for short learning programmes to help you achieve your qualification by enabling you to get credit towards the qualification. 

 There is one area of exception – in the early years of the NQF and in relation mostly to NQF4 and below the pieces of learning for some areas were broken into units and standards written for them. These unit standards were then registered separately on the NQF. In these instances – and still normally as part of the process towards a qualification – you can register with some institutions for one or more unit standards and get "credit" for them but even in these instances that credit is really only to enable you to make progress in a full qualification. 

 Therefore, the value of a short learning programme is not determined by its association with credits but rather by whether or not it enables you to achieve what you want to achieve – new skills or knowledge or a step towards a qualification.

Institutions make their own decisions in relation to the courses (and even qualifications) they will recognise for admission and for credit. Because accreditation of full qualifications follows a national standard process it is more likely that one institution will recognise the learning associated with a full qualification for credit in to their own qualification. It is rare for institutions to accept short learning Programmes from other institutions for credit because there is no way of being sure of quality (as there is no accreditation). It is important to keep this in mind when you see adverts that claim a credit value for short learning Programmes – you need to determine if you will in fact get credit in to a full qualification at the same institution and whether or not other institutions (find out exactly which ones) will give you credit.

We need to reiterate that it is not the credit value that adds value to the short learning programme – so do not be misled in to assuming that because a credit value is advertised that it is a better programme or even that the credits have real value as if they are not recognised in to a full qualification then in fact the credits have no real credit value and are only an indication of the volume of learning.

Short learning Programmes are not normally undertaken for the same reasons that full qualifications are and they have significant value in their own right in terms of immediate skill and knowledge improvement. Assess those on offer to you on this basis – and not on the purported credit value.

This is another difficult area - sometimes you will be told the NQF level at which a programme is being presented.  This is a description of the complexity and depth of the content and does not mean the short learning programme has been registered on that level on the NQF.

This indication is useful when assessing a short learning programme as the NQF level describes the level of the content and assessment – an NQF 5 short learning programme is therefore pitched at a level higher than school leaving whereas an NQF 8 one contains content and assessment normally encountered at Honours level. Remember that in terms of short learning programmes the NQF level only tells you what level of content there is and it does not tell you anything about accreditation or registration or credit value as short learning programmes cannot be registered or accredited (see above).

It is also important to remember that the level of learning does not determine the usefulness of the learning for your purposes. If you need to learn to use a new version of an operating system or a new payroll package the learning may only be at NQF level 5 whereas the impact of having this knowledge on your career may be quite significant – even as a senior manager already holding a qualification at level 9. In other words – remember to assess learning based on what you need to achieve.

There is very little guidance in the law in this regard other than that providers should not mislead the public. Short Learning Programmes do – from time to time – carry a similar name to that of a full qualification (such as certificate or diploma) and this is not a problem if the status (as a short learning programme and not a full qualification) is absolutely clear.

You therefore need to be cautious about institutions that list their short learning programmes on the same list as their qualifications without making clear which is which as you may be being misled in to the impression that a short learning programme is a full qualification when it is not.

High quality providers make clear in their advertising, contracts, course materials and certificates issued what the status of a programme is – if it is unclear you should be cautious. This applies as much to qualifications as it does to short learning programmes.

Remember that if you were able to complete the course of study in less than a full academic year full time it is very unlikely to be a qualification and is probably a short learning programme – be sure of this when you enroll. The course of study may still be very well worth doing but it is not a qualification.

If a short learning programme or a qualification is endorsed by a professional association or any other entity it means that the association is willing to make it known that the quality and content of the programme meets their standards. Sometimes that is all an endorsement is – a public confirmation that the programme is supported. Sometimes an endorsement enables a student who successfully completes a programme to achieve particular membership or credit with an association, but this is quite unusual. For some professions and skill areas endorsements are important but, in some areas, there are no professional associations, so the lack of endorsement does not necessarily say anything about the quality of the programme. In those areas where there are endorsements available having one for the programme you are studying is an additional assurance for you of both industry recognition of the course of study as well as the inherent quality of the programme.

The Independent Institute of Education is accredited by the HEQC which is the quality assurance authority for higher education. Part of our accreditation is linked to a commitment that we will apply the same quality assurance standards to short learning programmes as we do to full qualifications. As long as training done for staff is part of a workplace skills plan and workplace training reports are being submitted it remains possible to claim back spending on any short learning programme from the skills development levy.

It is sometimes erroneously asserted that only SETA accredited courses or those based on unit standards qualify for the refund, but this is not accurate. For training needs in particular occupations at particular levels a SETA accredited or unit standard based short course may be the best training intervention. Frequently though the increased flexibility in terms of content and assessment that is possible through other short courses provides more suitable, effective and immediately applicable training for a organisational need. These short courses/short learning programmes do qualify for claims against the skills development levy if properly recorded and accounted for in plans and reports.

Yes, The Independent Institute of Education is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training. To legally offer higher education qualifications in South Africa you need to be registered with the Department and your qualifications need to be accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee and registered on the NQF.

South Africa has only one quality assurance, accreditation and registration system that applies equally to all higher education institutions – private and public – so being sure about registration and accreditation are important for you as it helps you make wise decisions about this very important investment of your time and money.

The details of registration and accreditation can be confusing and some providers may use that to misrepresent their status. In these frequently asked questions we hope to simplify this for you and empower you to make an informed choice.  The institution that you speak to should be able to provide you with details in relation to the three requirements below for each of the qualifications they offer - you are advised to be cautious if you are not able to get this information easily.

Remember these three things about the legal requirement in South Africa to offer higher education

• Your qualifications need to be accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC)

• Your qualifications need to be registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) by SAQA

• Your institution needs to be registered by the Department of Higher Education and Training and the registration needs to detail all your campuses and accredited qualifications

A higher education qualification is one that has been accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC). Once it is accredited it can be registered by SAQA on the NQF (National Qualifications Framework). Only registered and accredited qualifications can be offered as higher education qualifications.  They can also only be offered by the conferring institution to which they are registered and on registered campuses (or through distance education) of that institution. 

You can find a list of current registered qualifications on the SAQA website.

How do I do this?

Visit www.saqa.org.za, click on 'Qualifications and Part-Qualifications and unit standards' on the right-hand side. Search for the qualification and the conferring body, for example The Independent Institute of Education, UNISA. If you cannot find the registration details on the website ask the institution for proof of accreditation. This should not be difficult to provide.

There are two ways in which your qualification can be verified.  The first is via The IIE Marque which was introduced in 2014 for certificates printed in 2015.

Or if your certificate does not have the URL code, then verification can be done through either PURQ or MIE. Each year, after the graduation ceremonies have concluded, all records are submitted to two verification agencies – MIE.co.za and PURQ.co.za.  Prospective employers are requested to contact either of the two agencies for verifications.

MIE

Jean Park Chambers, Building 1, 252 Jean Avenue, CENTURION, 0157.

Tel.: +27 (0)12 644-4000

E-mail: info@mie.co.za 

PURQ

Rosen Office Park, 8 Invicta Road (corner 3rd Avenue), Erand Gardens x49, MIDRAND

Tel.: +27(0) 21 851 2069

E-mail: info@purq.co.za

This is important as some institutions use this language to mislead. A qualification is only a qualification if it is registered on the NQF, accredited by the HEQC (if it is higher education) and registered for that institution by the Department. It can only be those things if it meets the requirements of all three – that means it is at least a full year of study (120 credits) and is in the format that is required.

Any course of study less than 120 credits (normally a year) is a programme (sometimes called a short learning programme) – these are not accredited and cannot be registered. If what you need is a particular skill for a particular reason (like promotion or upgrade of legal knowledge) a programme may be the right course of study for you – it is just important to know that it is not a qualification and cannot usually be used to gain access to further study at a higher level.

A National qualification or South African qualification then has to be registered and accredited here – by the Higher Education Quality Committee and it needs to be on the NQF.

In terms of non-South African qualifications this can be a little more complicated – most other countries also have an accreditation system and a qualifications framework and sometimes qualifications are registered on these frameworks but tuition is available here in South Africa. Sometimes these are exactly the right things for you to study and meet your career and academic aspirations – just make sure you know which qualifications framework a qualification is registered on and what that means for future study in South Africa.

To ensure that all South African qualifications – offered by private and public institutions – are of the same standard the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) is the body established by law to accredit (quality assure and approve) all higher education qualifications. The SETA's and Umalusi do the same for further education and training. The HEQC is a subcommittee of the Council on Higher Education which is a body established by the government to oversee higher education – particularly its quality.

The HEQC does not keep a register you can access – once a qualification is accredited it needs to be registered by the institution on the NQF so the ways to check the accreditation status of a qualification are:

• Check on the NQF (on the SAQA website) – but remember that there are serious delays here, so the qualification may not appear in the months soon after accreditation

• Ask the institution to provide you with proof of accreditation

• Ask the institution to show you their DHET certificate of registration – the programme should appear on this.

Again, there is a delay in getting items onto the certificate so proof of accreditation for brand new qualifications is the absolute minimum you should require, and the others should be available to you within nine months of accreditation.

You need to check the registration of the qualification and the institution in its country of origin.

You can also approach SAQA to ask them if a particular qualification would be recognised for further study in South Africa and if so at which level – they may need you to get quite a bit of detail from the other institution to do this. They will not be able to do this for you if the other qualification or institution is not registered or accredited by a recognised body in its country of origin.

The conferring body or institution is the organisation that confers or awards the final qualification when all requirements have been met.  At Higher Education level that is always the institution registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training.  At other levels that could be the QCTO or Umalusi.  In our case, it is The Independent Institute of Education.

Some institutions have only one campus and others have many more.  A campus of an institution is a registered space at which contact sessions such as lectures are given and where you will find facilities such as libraries or student support.  Some institutions also have other centres which are not full campuses where support is given to distance students – these are known as support or tuition centres.

In the case of The Independent Institute of Education our campuses are where students get their teaching and learning if they are contact students and where distance students can also get support.  In our case, campuses therefore double up as support centres.

Campuses can be grouped according to something they have in common or one campus can have a specific name because it has a specific function.  For instance the business school of the University of Pretoria is better known as GIBS and it has its own campus in Sandton.  The Michaelis School of Arts is a campus of UCT and so on.  In the case of The Independent Institute of Education our campuses are grouped in to what we call "brands" – these are Varsity College, Vega and Rosebank College.  The IIE is the conferring institution and the campuses that are called by the brand names are campuses of The Independent Institute of Education.

You will therefore not find any of these brands on the register of private higher education institutions just like you will not find GIBS on any list  public Universities.  All the qualifications and campuses are registered to The Independent Institute of Education and this is what you need to look up.

The conferring body or institution is the organisation that confers or awards the final qualification, should all the exams and standards have been passed. This is the institution that is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training.

If an institution has a qualification registered as a distance qualification this means that you may not get your teaching (tuition) from the conferring body but you may register for lectures and student support with a tuition centre.

Some registered institutions (such as The Independent Institute of Education) work through groups of campuses organised under brand names – for instance name of brand and campuses and which campuses are registered under The Independent Institute of Education. (Be sure to check the register for the institution name and not the brand name – and if you are not sure and cannot find your brand on the register check that you are searching for the right thing! You will not find name of brand on the registers as it is a brand of the largest, most accredited private provider being The Independent Institute of Education.)

Please note: Not only do registration and accreditation meet legal requirements but they also provide you, as the student, access to redress mechanisms – including the CHE and the HEQC and the DHET and SAQA – should concerns arise.

Rosebank College, Varsity College, Vega, IIE HSM and IIE MSA are educational brands of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE) which is the largest, most highly accredited private higher education institution in South Africa. This means that these brands and their campuses are the registered sites on which the qualifications of The Independent Institute of Education are offered - they are grouped according to the target market they serve, the qualifications available on their sites and the range of additional services and experiences they offer which are tailor made for their students.  This means that each of these brands is able to offer its students a student focused educational experience that meets the needs of its particular students backed with all the support and stability of being part of The Independent Institute of Education.