IARC Standards

RECOGNITION

Any institution which has achieved IARC recognition will have been judged "unanimously" by the committee (comprising representatives from recognised members), to satisfy a minimum of 25 points in each of following four areas.

1.     Administration
2.     Course content
3.     Course delivery
4.     Assessment

In addition, ongoing recognition is reviewed annually, based upon a submission of updated information (annual audit). Any member who is found by the committee to be not satisfying the minimum criteria at a later point in time will immediately have their I.A.R.C recognition suspended.

Administration
Successful operation for 1 or more years* You can claim 1 point and up to 5 per year.	1 point per year (Maximum of 5)
A structured & documented mechanism for dealing with administrative errors, mistakes or non compliance	5 points
References supporting administration(specifically) supplied by two successful past students	5 points
Documented procedures (staff manual, job specifications, etc)	5 points
A Quality Control System that is externally audited and endorsed	5 points
Membership in a reputable professional association and compliance with requirements for membership	5 points
Financial soundness and financial management attested to by a letter from the Organisation’s Chartered Accountant	5 points
** A Provisional Membership option is available for new institutions.
Course content
Documentation of the institution’s courses (e.g. curriculum documentation, study guides or comprehensive outlines). These must be official documents showing the organisation’s contact details and logo.	5 points
Documented procedure for input from industry in course content (Evidence of consultation with industry in course development).	5 points
Documented procedure to continually update course materials (Updating policies; forms for obtaining student feedback, evidence of previous updates).	5 points
Documented procedure to review courses at least every 3 years based upon inputs from students and/or industry (Review policies and procedures; documents that support them)	5 points
Recognition or accreditation of a course by a reputable professional body or articulation established for main courses with another member of this body	5 points
References supporting content (specifically) supplied by two successful past students.	5 points
Documentary evidence that courses are developed by competent professionals with at least 5 years industry experience (copies of their qualifications, references from colleagues, statutory declaration from staff).	5 points
Course delivery
Documentary evidence of physical resources needed to service the quantity and kinds of students being serviced, such as a library, computer data base, classroom facilities.	5 points
Exemplary references specifically supporting delivery supplied by two successful past students	5 points
Exemplary references from two successful employers in a relevant industry attesting to quality delivery (not past or present students)	5 points
All teaching or tutorial staff with 5 years or more continuous and recent industry experience	5 points
All teaching or tutorial staff with a qualification at or above the level they teach plus industry experience exceeding 3 year	5 points
Unrestricted access to staff by students during office hours or class times	5 points
Teaching staff have a teaching or training skills qualification	5 points
Flexibility in the delivery that allows student to choose the location from where they study	5 points
Flexibility in the delivery that allows student to choose the times of study	5 points
Assessment
Flexibility – the student has a variety of ways in which they to prove themselves (e.g. written and practical assessments)	5 points
All Assessors have 5 years or more experience in the areas where they assess, outside of education	5 points
All Assessors have an average of 10 years or more experience in the discipline that they are assessing, but outside of education	5 points
More than one person is involved in assessing a student	5 points
Opportunity is provided for the student to repeat assessments (eg. Supplementary examinations)	5 points
Procedures for assessment are well structured and documented	5 points
Evidence of industry input in the development of assessment techniques	5 points
A mechanism for students to submit feedback for improving assessment which is seriously considered for action	5 points

RULES OF RECOGNITION

By submitting an application for Recognition by the Council, an organization is deemed also to be applying to become a member of the Council, with equal rights and responsibilities as all other Recognized Members.

Before an organization's Recognition and Membership can be official, the following conditions must be satisfied:

Only organizations which are legal entities in their own right may join. Membership is not available to individual persons.
All Recognized Members must adhere to an acceptable, written code of practise/ethics in their dealings with the public, students, and any other organizations; which provides for fair and equitable dealings in line with quality education and training institutions around the world. A sample code can be supplied if requested.
All Recognized Members must agree with and support the Mission Statement of the Council.
All organizations recognized by IARC will be obliged to adhere to a flexible, yet stringent set of standards that ensure a high standard of content, delivery and assessment within education and training courses.
Criteria/Standards will be maintained by simple threat of removal of Recognition if an organization is found, after investigation of complaints, to contravene standards.
Recognized Members must provide documentary evidence that they satisfy minimum requirements with respect to Administration of their institution, Content of the courses provided, Delivery of the courses provided and Assessment of students.
Signatures from two existing Recognized Members, one nominating and the other seconding the application, must support new applications for Recognition.
All organizations must agree to implement the IARC system of complaint arbitration. Where the necessity arises for IARC to act as arbitrator of a complaint, the Recognized Organization and the complainant must accept the IARC's decision as final and binding.
All Recognized Members must agree to make their students and/or trainees aware that they can complain to the Council under certain conditions.
For Recognition to continue, Recognized Members must provide a documented Annual Audit. Audit requirements will be specified by the IARC executive and must be conducted by a person in authority, such as a Justice of the Peace, who is approved by the IARC Executive Committee.
Every five years, Recognised Members are required to submit documentary evidence to the IARC Executive Committee as though making a new application for Recognition. Recognised Members must agree to make such a submission at any other time, at the request of the IARC Executive Committee.
A Recognised Member must also pay the initial joining and registration fee, as specified, at the time of joining.

Any organization accepted as a Recognised Member may advertise their organization as:

Internationally Recognised by IARC.

Organizations which are Recognised Members, will be graded according to a *star award system* and will be entitled to advertise themselves accordingly.

ASSOCIATE RECOGNITION

Organizations that provide a combination of secondary and post-secondary or vocational education and/or training may apply for Associate Recognition by the IARC.

The post-secondary and/or vocational education and training must be less than 50% of the education and training provided by the organization.

IARC Recognition of any organization falling into the category of a mixed provider, as defined above, is limited to Recognition of the post-secondary or vocational education and/or training only.

Thus, any such organization accepted as a Recognised Associate of IARC may advertise their organization as an *Internationally Recognised Associate of IARC, for the provision of post-secondary or vocational education and/or training*.

IARC COURSE ACCREDITATION

A revised IARC accreditation process has been put in place in keeping with general international accreditation requirements. The following revised accreditation requirements are effective from December 1, 2006.

Recognition and Accreditation

Please note that recognition is granted to member schools that meet IARC membership requirements, whereas accreditation is only granted to specific courses that meet IARC course accreditation requirements. Not all of a school’s courses may be accredited. IARC membership does not automatically confer accredited status of the courses offered by that member school.

The Accreditation Process

A school seeking to have a course or courses accredited by the IARC may lodge an application with their application for IARC membership, or separate from their membership application.

An application for accreditation may be made for more than one course, but documentation must be provided for each course.

Accredited courses must meet the criteria listed below regarding course content, duration, assessment, and teaching staff.

When an application for course accreditation is received, the indicated course/s will be assessed by the IARC Executive Committee and IARC International Representatives from the relevant discipline.

Those courses deemed to have met IARC accreditation requirements will be listed as accredited on an IARC webpage, “IARC Accredited courses”. These can then be promoted as IARC accredited courses.

The onus is on each member to promote their courses on the IARC ‘Find a Course’ webpage, and to indicate which of their courses are accredited.

Accreditation Application Requirements

To apply for accreditation for a course, submit the following:

An accreditation application
Relevant supporting documentation for each course, including:

Course details, including course title and level of qualification (Select from the levels of qualification used by IARC, which may not be those used in the systems).
Outline of course content or course syllabus. (An outline must at least include titles and aims for each lesson, module or course).
Course duration and timeframe. (Course duration can include minimal or average class or tutor contact hours, and hours of experience or practice required for graduation).
Names and qualifications of designated teachers for the course.

Please note that course information must be on official school stationary or in the school handbook or course promotional material or on the school website. (Provide the relevant webpage addresses).

Criteria for IARC Accreditation

1. The course content should cover what is generally internationally found in similar level courses in this field.
2. (a). The duration of the course is comparable with course standards for that type of course in well-established and reputable universities and colleges internationally, and in the industry that the course relates to. As a guide, the following minimum standards apply:

Accredited Certificates involve 500 hours or more of study
Accredited Associate Diplomas involve 1500 hours or more of study
Accredited Diplomas involve 2000 hours or more of study
Accredited Foundation or Associate Degrees involve 2 years of full time study
Accredited Bachelor’s Degrees involve 3 years of full time study
Accredited Post Graduate Certificates involve 0.5 years full time post graduate study
Accredited Post Graduate Diplomas involve 1 year of full time post graduate study
Accredited Masters programs involve 1-2 years full time postgraduate study.
Accredited Doctoral programs must meet international academic standards.

(NOTE: Advanced certificates and diplomas are considered higher level variations of the certificate and diploma categories).
(b) A case for variation on these standards can be put to the IARC Executive Committee for case by case consideration, if the courses can be shown to meet local industry standards with reference to international standards. The applicant must provide acceptable documentary evidence from at least three countries showing that their course/s meets general international standard in that industry,
3. Prerequisites for entry into degrees or diplomas are year 12 or equivalent, or mature age entry based on experience.
4. Assessment requirements are clear and appropriate to the nature and level of the course.
5. Qualifications of teachers of vocational courses must be equal to the level of the course being taught, and for teachers of degree or postgraduate programs, higher than the level of course being taught, in most cases. (Variations from this requirement will be considered on a case basis by the committee).

Accreditation Application Fee

If the application for accreditation is made concurrent with the application for membership, or within 30 days from the date that IARC membership is granted, no fee is required.

If the application for accreditation is made over 30 days from the granting of membership, an application fee of $200 must accompany the application.

Accreditation for Existing Members (prior to Dec 1, 2006)

Current members whose courses meet the above requirements and who list them as accredited on the website must notify the Secretary, who will add the courses to the “IARC Accredited Courses page”.

Please note that the IARC does not recognize as IARC accredited any course that has not been listed on the “IARC Accredited Courses” page.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

All Recognised Members will be required to provide students and/or trainees with contact details of the International Accreditation & Recognition Council, and to make them aware that they may lodge a complaint with the Council regarding any dissatisfaction. The complainant should lodge complaints to the Council, only if the complaint remains unresolved after all other avenues of achieving a settlement have been explored.

If a complaint is issued against a Recognised Member, that Member must prove beyond reasonable doubt, within 30 days, that they are still operating within the requirements of the IARC, and show that the unresolved dispute has been properly handled.

If the Recognised Member cannot demonstrate that the dispute has been handled properly, Recognition of the organization will be immediately revoked. Unanimous approval of the IARC Executive Committee will be required before a member's Recognition is revoked. Notice of the revocation of the Member's Recognition will be posted on the IARC Internet web site.

A Member whose Recognition has been revoked will not be entitled to re-apply for Recognition until a period of 2 years has elapsed. Re-application for Recognition does not guarantee that Recognition will be granted.