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.