Accreditation

CODL accreditation is a well-established, international quality assurance scheme which benefits from years of unrivalled experience and understanding of the independent further and higher education sectors.

It is regarded by students and agencies throughout the world as the most reliable guide in selecting a college in which to study.

Accreditation is increasingly sought by independent education providers across the globe who values the expertise of our inspectors and the mark of quality that it confers, in particular those who offer British qualifications to their students.

We are committed to both encouraging the highest standards of education offered by independent colleges and providing prospective students with an invaluable guide to quality in an often complex sector.

Purpose of Accreditation

In awarding accreditation CODL has four main purposes:

To support and advise independent institutions of further or higher education in the maintenance and enhancement of their quality of provision.

To provide independent guidance to students seeking to undertake further or higher education in an institution outside the state sector.

To provide assurance of the good standing of an institution to government departments and other interested bodies.

To enable an institution to state publicly that it has voluntarily accepted independent inspection and has satisfied CODL that all relevant aspects of its operation are maintained at a satisfactory level.

Accreditation Process

There are three stages in the inspection process for Indian institutions :

Stage 1: scrutiny of documentation.
Stage 2: inspection focusing upon compliance with statutory requirements and BAC's minimum standards. Initial accreditation may be awarded after this stage for a period of up to six months
Stage 3: inspection focusing on the educational provision and the institution's procedures to monitor and enhance the quality of its provision. Full accreditation may be awarded after this stage.
This procedure will be normal for all new applicants, although where a college is clearly well established it may be acceptable to combine stages 2 and 3 as a single full inspection.

In more detail, the stages are as follows:

Stage 1:

Each institution wishing to apply for accreditation will submit an Application Form and required supporting documentation (see Section 6 below).

A formal evaluation process will be undertaken by CODL staff, with further investigation through Companies House, bank and personal references and scrutiny of websites and other publicity material.

Institutions will be contacted if the required documentation is incomplete without reasonable justification, if there are discrepancies in the information or if elements of the provision do not meet CODL's requirements.

There will be no further progress until these matters have been satisfactorily resolved.
A non-refundable fee is required.

Stage 2:

The institution will be contacted to arrange a date for an inspection.
This will normally be a one-day visit by a single inspector, although this may vary according to the size of the institution or the number of sites at which it operates.

The inspection will concentrate on Management and Staffing and Student Welfare (see Sections 5.1 to 5.3 below), as well as making an initial assessment of academic resources in the light of the institution's advertised academic programme.

The report of the inspection will be evaluated by a sub-committee of the Accreditation Committee, and, if successful, institutions will receive initial accreditation for a limited period (normally not more than six months).
An inspection fee will be charged, and the outcome of the assessment of the institution will not be released until the fee has been received.

The sub-committee may require the institution to provide documentary evidence of action taken in response to concerns expressed in the report of the inspection or require a supplementary visit to be undertaken at the institution's expense before accreditation is confirmed.

If an institution does not receive accreditation it will be given the reasons for the decision, and will have the right to ask for its report to be reviewed by a full meeting of the Accreditation Committee.

Stage 3:

The institution will be contacted to arrange a date for a further inspection. Failure on the part of the institution to agree a date within the stated period of initial accreditation will lead to the withdrawal of accreditation unless, exceptionally, the Accreditation Committee agrees to allow an extension.

The inspection will focus on academic matters and quality management (see Sections 5.4.and 5.5 below), but will also involve a spot check of statutory matters covered in Stage 2 and of any other issues of concern expressed in the Report of Stage 2.

The size of the inspection team will depend on the size and diversity of the academic programme, but will normally involve at least two inspectors.

The Report of the inspection will be considered by CODL's Accreditation Committee. If successful, accreditation will be awarded for the balance of a full five-year period (dating from the completion of Stage 2)
An inspection fee will be charged, and the outcome of the assessment of the institution will not be released until the fee has been received.

If the Committee does not consider it appropriate to award accreditation for the full period, it may extend the existing accreditation for a shorter period (not normally more than six months) to allow the institution to respond to the matters of concern expressed in the Report, and will require a further inspection at the institution's expense before taking a final decision.

Alternatively, the Committee may determine that it is not appropriate to award or extend accreditation. In this event, institution would have the right to implement the Appeal Procedure set out in Section 8.

All newly accredited institutions will receive an interim visit within twelve months of the award of full accreditation, following stage 3 of these procedures. CODL reserves the right to make unannounced spotcheck visits to accredited colleges at any time. If either the interim visit or a spotcheck provides reason to believe that the standards observed at the full inspection are no longer maintained, the Accreditation Committee may require a further inspection to be undertaken at the institution's expense and may determine to suspend accreditation until the report of the inspection has been received.

The cost of an inspection varies with the number of inspector-days required. Once accredited, colleges pay an annual accreditation fee, based on the number of students.

Full details of the inspection process are included in CODL's Accreditation Handbook, which can be downloaded from this website and is also available by emailing info@codl.co.in