Agenda for Change move sees 12 universities lose certification over first-year A-level points
Andrew White
The RICS this week removed accreditation from 12 universities whose entrants failed to meet the national average of A-level points.
Universities were faxed the decision on Thursday following a meeting of the RICS education commission, which decided that 12 centres out of 52 were unable to guarantee 75% of first-year students achieving 17 A-level points or equivalent.
Students from the 2001 intake will not be affected. Colleges will be allowed to appeal.
RICS director of education and standards, Carolyn Slater, said: “The RICS needed to grasp this nettle and it can be a painful process when any business reviews its suppliers. We shall continue to work with those losing RICS accreditation to manage the changes as sensitively as possible.”
The decision comes in the wake of the July 1999 RICS education report, which found that many universities were dropping entry qualifications in a bid to attract students.
The move to toughen entry standards was endorsed under the Agenda for Change proposals, accepted by the membership last March, which called for the raising of standards.
Three other courses face change: the Royal Navy’s hydrographic school will now be accredited through Plymouth University; the army’s College of Military Survey is planned to be accredited through Cranfield University; and courses run by Southampton Institute, which has accreditation until 2006, will be kept under review.
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Where the axe falls |
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Scotland: Abertay and Paisley Wales: Glamorgan and North East Wales Institute of Further Education North West: Central Lancashire and the Bolton Institute West Midlands: University of Central England and Staffordshire University East: Luton University South East: Brighton University London: East London and Westminster |
