Background This briefing is intended to provide a brief overview on the key provisions of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (thereafter referred to as the Act). The Act gained Royal Assent on the 27 April 2017 following consultation with the sector from the initial Green paper up to the committee, report and ‘ping pong’ stages in both Houses of Parliament. The General Election called by the Prime Minster for [...]
INQAAHE, the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies of Higher Education, holds an annual conference providing quality assurance agencies, universities and governmental educational departments with an opportunity to discuss the challenges of quality assurance in higher education. Held in Bahrain from the 27 February - 1 March 2017, BAC sent Alexandra Carr, Deputy Chief Executive, Diana Morriss, Chief Inspector and Hayley Boyes, Higher Education Manager to the 2017 conference. The event [...]
As providers are looking to confirm the organisation of their summer schools, questions are being asked about what qualifications their English Language Teachers should hold. The following are considered by BAC as acceptable qualifications CELTA DELTA DELTAM TrintyCert TrintyDip QTS in English Language/ESOL It is possible that other TEFL qualifications could be accepted, but the emphasis would be on the training provider to ensure the course content that led to the TEFL [...]
The events of the last year have left the Higher Education sector in a state of uncertainty. As the Higher Education and Research Bill makes its way through Parliament, the result of the 23 June referendum for the UK to leave the EU there is still a lacks clarity on the impact that Brexit will have on the Sector. As universities became increasingly internationalised over the last 5 years the number [...]
BAC was established by the British Council and the Department of Education in 1984 with the remit to oversee standards in independent further and higher education. Today BAC accredits more than 230 institutions across 17 countries. The Accreditation Committee operates under delegated authority from the BAC trustees and holds decision making authority to: Award or withdraw accreditation from an institution To consider and recommend changes to BAC standards Existing committee members [...]
On 5th October 2016, BAC held its annual inspectors’ training day. It was a good opportunity for BAC to update the inspectors on its activities and its future developments. Paul Fear, BAC’s CEO, gave a presentation on the future strategy of the organisation and its current educational initiatives and projects. A lively exchange of ideas took place, which will help BAC to continue to develop its inspection processes to meet future [...]
London, 22 August, 2016 – The British Accreditation Council and the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA), Malaysia’s independent quality and assurance body for the higher education sector, have signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) which seeks to elevate the quality and standards of learning through joint accreditation. The MoC marks a significant milestone for both institutions and its respective countries, where their joint accreditation expertise are expected to craft opportunities for graduates [...]
BAC has released its first BAC Statistics Report. The report includes responses from 206 institutions and as such we believe it to be the most comprehensive of its kind. The report illustrates the vibrancy of the independent sector and demonstrates not only the key role the sector plays in providing choice to students but also its commitment to quality assurance. In the forthcoming years the data collection exercise will allow for [...]
BAC has been operating since 1984 and our success has been down to the exceptional educational providers who seek our accreditation. This year, two of our accredited providers are celebrating their 31st anniversary of BAC accreditation. Both Tante Marie Culinary Academy and Basil Patterson College have been with us since 1985. To celebrate their great achievements, we asked them to write about their organisations and why they feel they have been [...]
