The Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) is encouraging all Barbadians seeking to pursue tertiary education, to utilise the services of the BAC to look into the tertiary institutions and the programmes they offer, before embarking on their studies.
The advice has come from Valda Alleyne, Executive Director of the BAC, as she spoke yesterday morning during an interview with The Barbados Advocate on the sidelines of the BAC’s Quality Assurance Open Day at their new offices in Manor Lodge. Alleyne made the point as she indicated that while to date there has been quite a high demand for the recognition of qualifications, and the recognition of institutions is also growing, she wants all persons to ascertain such information and not waste time and money on a programme that effectively could be worth nothing.
“It can be a stressor where you go and pursue a programme of study, only to find out that the programme of study or institution is not recognised or accredited in its home country. Global recognition is important and so it is important that persons do their research, because people are going to be moving not only regionally, but extra regionally as well,” she said.
Alleyne added, “Therefore, as long as you are going to pursue studies, please seek the assistance of the Accreditation Council to ensure that before you go to study, everything is OK.”
She made the point as she issued a word of caution to persons about being duped by diploma mills – fake universities which sell diplomas rather than the actual educational experience. She said that these bogus institutions are also often supported by accreditation mills which, she explained are quality assurance bodies with low standards.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director indicated that “quite a few” local training providers have been seeking to become registered, so that their organisation is recognised at a minimum standard. She made the disclosure as she noted that accreditation by such entities is also growing, though slowly. She said that accreditation usually depends on the “public push”.
“Registration is the first step, but accreditation this is global recognition… We are still seeking to enhance the quality culture, not that it is not here, but there is a need for some areas of improvement in our tertiary institutions. At the end of the day it is the student we protect and we want to ensure that there are certain things in place such as tuition policies and that the programmes do meet the learning outcomes,” she said. (JRT)