As approved by Council on 17th February 2000
1. Definitions
“The Company” means The Open and Distance Learning Quality Council Limited.
“The Council” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
“Secretary” means the Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Council.
“Provision” means any structured supply of teaching or educational materials
“Open and Distance Learning” means any provision in which a significant element of the management of the provision is at the discretion of the learner, supported and facilitated by the provider.
“Provider” means any body, corporate or incorporate, offering open and distance learning in or from the European Community.
“Accredited Provider” means a Provider currently accredited by the Council.
“Articles” means the Articles of Association of the Council as amended from time to time.
Other words and expressions used herein and defined in the Articles shall, save where the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in these by-laws as in the Articles.
2. Administration
a. The Council shall alone and in its absolute discretion be entitled to grant or withdraw accreditation to a Provider subject only to these by-laws, the requirements for eligibility and standards set out in these by-laws, and to the Articles.
b. The administration of these by-laws shall be controlled by the Council.
c. The requirements of these by-laws as to all aspects of the standards, quality and reasonableness of any factor relevant for the purposes of these by-laws shall be determined by the Council whose decision shall be final.
d. The Council may amend, by majority vote, all or any of these by-laws, or include additional by-laws. All such amendments shall, subject to the terms thereof, be as valid and effective in all respects as if included herein, and shall have effect from the date when made or at the expiry of such period as the Council may determine.
e. The Council may from time to time issue statements amplifying or interpreting any matter contained in these by-laws.
3. Standards for Accreditation
The Council shall publish those standards against which eligibility for accreditation is to be assessed.
4. Eligibility for Accreditation
To be eligible for accreditation by the Council, a Provider must:
a. comply with the definition of a Provider in paragraph 1 of these by-laws.
b. be separately defined and identifiable by an exclusive name. Any association or common ownership which an applicant Provider might have with any other Provider shall be disregarded, whether or not such Providers are operating from the same premises. Where application is made for accreditation for some but not all Providers in one ultimate ownership, the reasons for such a selective application will be included in the application.
c. have provided open and/or distance learning for such a period as the Council may deem to be reasonable and necessary.
5. Accreditation Procedure
Unless otherwise determined by the Council, the procedure to accredit a Provider shall be as follows:
a. A Provider shall apply to be accredited using the procedures approved by the Council from time to time.
b. On receipt of an application, the Provider shall be informed of:
i. the accreditation fee payable;
ii. the type of submission required from the Provider;
iii. which courses will be chosen for the submission of sample course materials and learners’ marked scripts to a Specialist Assessor appointed by the Council. |
c. On receipt of the fee and submission, the Secretary will arrange for:
i. any additional information required to be submitted;
ii. course materials and learners’ marked scripts to be dispatched to the Specialist Assessors, if any;
iii. questionnaires to be circulated to selected learners and tutors;
iv. references to be obtained from corporate clients or awarding bodies associated with the Provider;
v. a visit to the Provider;
vi. a written report to be submitted to Council. |
d. On the basis of this report, the Council will decide on whether:
i. to grant immediate accreditation;
ii. to grant accreditation subject to certain conditions being fulfilled in a time specified by the Council;
iii. to defer accreditation until certain matters have been settled to the Council’s satisfaction;
iv. to refuse accreditation, when the procedures in by-law 6 will be followed. |
6. Granting Accreditation
a. The accreditation of a Provider shall be at the absolute discretion of the Council. Decisions of the Council to award accreditation to a Provider shall be by majority vote of the Council.
b. The Provider will be informed in writing of the decision, and of the date at which it comes into effect.
c. If the Council proposes to refuse to grant accreditation to a Provider, it shall inform the Provider, stating the grounds for its decision. The Provider shall have 21 days (or more if decided by the Council) to nominate a representative to address the Council before the final decision on whether or not to grant accreditation is taken. The Provider shall have no right to be represented at Council when that decision is taken by the Council.
7. Retention of Accreditation
To secure and retain accreditation, a Provider is required:
a. to pay on demand the application fee and such annual subscription as is set by the Council
b. to sign and agree to abide by the Code of Practice set out by the Council in Annex B;
c. to conform to the Standards published by the Council;
d. to submit an annual return to the Council giving such information as the Council requests;
e. to submit itself to re-assessment for accreditation from time to time as may be required by the Council;
f. to permit duly authorised representatives of the Council upon reasonable notice to have access to the Provider and its personnel at any time during normal working hours;
8. Withdrawal of Accreditation
a. If the Council is satisfied that a Provider, or any individual acting in the name and with the approval of the Provider, has acted in breach of any condition of accreditation, or has contravened any standard set down by the Council, the Council shall inform the Provider in writing specifying the breach or contravention, and requiring the Provider to take such action to correct the matter within such reasonable period as the Council might require.
b. If, in the opinion of the Council, the matter has:
i. not been rectified within the period allowed, and
ii. is of sufficiently seriousness to justify the withdrawal of accreditation, |
the Council shall give the Provider not less than 21 days written notice of an opportunity for the Provider’s nominated representative to attend and address the meeting of the Council at which the withdrawal of accreditation is to be discussed. The Provider shall have no right to be represented at Council when that decision is taken by the Council. Decisions of the Council to withdraw accreditation from a Provider shall be by majority vote of the Council
c. If the Council decides to withdraw accreditation from any Provider, it shall give the Provider written notice of its decision which shall take effect from the date judged appropriate by the Council.
9. Complaints
a) If a complaint by a learner against an Accredited Provider is received by the Secretary, the Secretary shall take such action as is reasonable and practicable to resolve the matter as far as possible to the mutual satisfaction of the Provider and of the complainant. In pursuance of this:
i. The complainant shall be asked to provide full written details of the complaint, if required, and copies of all relevant correspondence
ii. The Accredited Provider shall be asked to provide a statement setting out the Provider’s case; copies of all relevant correspondence and records; and answers to any questions asked by the Secretary, if required. |
b) If the matter cannot be so resolved it shall be referred to the Council, who shall consider the matter and decide whether the Provider has:
i. not acted in breach of the conditions of accreditation; or
ii. been guilty of a minor breach which requires no further action by the Council; or
iii. been guilty of a breach which justifies the Council in requiring the Provider to take such remedial action as shall appear to the Council to be proper in the circumstance. Failure by the Provider to take such action within 28 days, or such longer period as the Council might stipulate, will be regarded by the Council as grounds for the withdrawal of accreditation; or
iv. been guilty of a serious breach requiring the immediate commencement of proceedings to withdraw accreditation as set out in by-law 8 |
The decision of the Council shall be communicated to the complainant and to the Provider. The Council reserves the right to levy a charge on the Provider to cover the costs of dealing with the complaint.
10. Fees
a. The Council shall set fees to cover the process of accreditation and re-accreditation. Such fees may be varied from time to time at the absolute discretion of the Council.
b. Fees to cover the accreditation or re-accreditation process must be paid in full prior to the decision of Council whether or not to grant accreditation. Such fees are non-refundable.
c. The Council shall set annual subscriptions each year to be paid by Accredited Providers. The amounts of such fees shall be communicated to the Annual Meeting of Accredited Providers in the year before such fees come into force, as set out in Article 35.
d. Annual subscriptions are payable quarterly in advance. Failure to pay such subscriptions for two or more quarters in succession will be brought to the attention of the Council who reserve the right to withdraw accreditation from such a Provider.
11 Publicity
a. All Accredited Providers are asked to include a statement of the ODL QC Guarantee in their prospectus or equivalent publicity material.
b. Providers may use the Council’s Quality Mark, or state that they are accredited by the Council, in their advertisements, prospectuses and other publicity material, and on their stationery.
c. Providers who wish to include an explanatory paragraph on accreditation in any of their printed materials will seek the prior approval of the Council for any wording. The Council may issue guidelines from time to time on such wording.
d. Providers may not make statements which imply that ODL QC validates individual courses.
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