What you really need to know before you choose an Educational Institution.
Your education is an incredibly important investment of time and money. The importance of registration, accreditation and licensing of institutions, qualifications and conferring bodies cannot be over-emphasised. However, these things can be fairly confusing – a fact that some institutions will regrettably trade on with misleading communication and even illegal presentation of credentials. In addition to the many highly recognised and accredited higher education institutions in South Africa, there are also unscrupulous providers and poor quality programmes.
Armed with the right information and a few key questions you will be well-positioned to get all the facts you need to be certain you are making wise decisions.
It is important to understand the difference between Higher Education (HE) and Further Education and Training (FET)
We are a Higher Education Institution – that is, we offer qualifications of the same type and level as other Higher Education Institutions like universities.
There are several private education institutions that offer qualifications that are Further Education and Training (FET). The Department of Higher Education and Training manages both these sectors and it also maintains two registers for private education institutions – one for Higher Education and one for FET. One of the first things you need to check is which level the institution is registered on as if what you want is a Higher Education qualification. You can only get that from a registered Higher Education Institution.
Just for information – Further Education and Training Qualifications are “non-school” qualifications at NQF level 1 to 4 (the highest are at the same level as an NSC) and they are accredited and quality assured by Umalusi or the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) (normally done through their Assessment Quality Partners, the SETAs). These are valuable qualifications in trades and occupations but they are not Higher Education.
Higher Education qualifications are accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) for both public and private Higher Education institutions (so that includes universities). They are all post-school level and are on levels 5 to 10 of the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (which is the top part of the National Qualifications Framework).
Academic Partners
At The IIE Varsity College the drive to give our students the very best education and career start is reinforced by the meaningful relationships we have established with our corporate and education partners. These partners allow us to provide students with a range of qualifications and career choices that are vocationally specific, as well as highly credible and recognised as the best in industry specific education both nationally and, in some cases, internationally.
Who is the IIE
Throughout this site and all our communication, you will see reference to The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). So who is The IIE and why are they important?
The Independent Institute of Education is South Africa’s largest registered and accredited private provider of higher education. Varsity College, a brand of The IIE, leads in the provision of these exciting learning initiatives of The IIE. The IIE is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education provider, has more than 57 qualifications accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee and is a subsidiary of ADvTECH Ltd, a public company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This scale and status assures our leading position in higher education.
Working with the academics and the rest of the team at the brands The IIE’s Central Academic Team assures the quality of the work done by all of the brands and manages the curriculum, its assessment, and all certification. A governance structure which includes a Senate, Teaching and Learning Committee and Faculty Boards oversees the development and implementation of academic policies which enables the exceptional quality of the learning experiences on campus and online.
The quality assurance system includes peer reviews of lecturers and tutors, programme reviews involving academics and people from industry and a range of student success and graduate tracking projects.