Accreditation

Scope

ODL QC accredits providers of educational opportunities:  courses, materials and/or support.

If a provider is accredited, this means that the educational service it offers meets our standards.

You can find out more about ODL QC accreditation by following the link on the left.    This page explores in general what accreditation covers in different circumstances.

Background

Accreditation means, literally, to give credit to something, to acknowledge or certify its value.

In education, the "thing" that is accredited can vary.    Accreditation can be given to providers, courses, qualifications or people.

And the assessment that leads to accreditation may concentrate on processes, or on outcomes.

Processes or Outcomes

For example, a course might be assessed by looking at the process through which it was delivered, at the quality of materials and support and the extent to which they facilitate learning.    ODL QC accreditation does this, by ensuring that it meets our standards.

Or assessment might concentrate on the outcome:  by setting exams for example.    Accreditation then validates the qualification;  says whether it can, for example, be credited towards, or offer exemption from, a more extended course, or from having to sit the exams of a professional body.

Such "outcome" accreditation says little or nothing about the quality of course delivery or the way in which it was taught, any more than "process accreditation" validates the outcome on offer.

Who accredits what

Bodies like ODL QC, BAC, or Ofsted, accredit providers and the courses they offer.    The emphasis is on process, not outcome.    Their accreditation does not validate qualifications.

Awarding and examining bodies, on the other hand, accredit qualifications and the people that hold them.    But their accreditation may say little or nothing about course delivery, about the materials and support, and the extent to which a course helps learning.

Then again, accreditation of an individual may indicate that (s)he is a good teacher.    Or merely that (s)he possesses certain qualifications.

Accreditation & Assessment

This confusion, between process and outcome, applies to accreditation itself, where it is not uncommon to talk loosely of an accreditation process, when what is meant is assessment.

Accreditation is an outcome; assessment is the process by which accreditation is achieved.

Related Terms:

• assessment

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