warnborough college

pathway33

Anybody ever do a distance learning course with Warnborough College UK? They also have an Irish base in Dublin 7.

BuffyBot

From Wikipedia

Wikipedia wrote:

Warnborough College (IE) courses are not recognized by Ireland's Department of Education, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), or the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI). In February 2008, Sean O'Foghlu, chief executive of NQAI told the Irish Independent that because Warnborough College is not a recognised higher education institution or awarding body, the qualifications are "effectively worthless." [1]

In July 2008, HETAC denied Warnborough College (IE)'s application for accreditation because Warnborough failed to agree to quality-control procedures, which was the first step in the accreditation process.[28] Warnborough College (IE) sought leave to take judicial review of the denial, [29]but withdrew its appeal in November 2008 after HETAC agreed to permit Warnborough to submit a new accreditation application.[30],

Warnborough degrees are not accepted in Texas,[31] Oregon,[32] by Michigan civil service,[33] or Maine [34]. A Warnborough degree is not accepted in South Korea for purposes of obtaining an E-2 Visa.[35][36]

PatsyR

Anyone know if this is still the case?

Hobbinvan

Does anyone know if this college is worth doing a degree in?? I am about to start the BA in Applied Science in Psychology.....it's 14grand so if anyone has any feedback as towhether it's worthwhile I'd love to hear it....I haven't paid yet...

thanks,
C

Warnborough College

No qualification is "worthless" if a serious programme of study/research is undertaken with a qualified mentor/tutor and examined externally. Yes, Warnborough is not recognised by HETAC or by NQAI, and neither are these bodies recognised by many other institutions, education or government authorities around the world.

The HETAC claim on Wikipedia is incorrect. Why would the college fail to agree to quality control procedures as part of an accreditation process? Hence, the appeal to the High Court for a Judicial Review, and thus permission granted for the submission of a new application. The college did not proceed because it was evident from documents obtained from HETAC under 'Freedom of Information' that accreditation would not be forthcoming. HETAC did not even have an appeals process!! So much for academic and professional integrity! In any case, with an increasing enrolment from students whose priority is learning rather than accreditation, it has not been necessary to pursue this matter.

Not all qualifications are accepted by all institutions, all employees, or all governments, since there is no global accreditation body that is recognised globally. Only about 40% of regionally accredited American colleges/universities are recognised overseas!

Warnborough College (UK) is accredited by ASIC (listed by CHEA) as a Premier College. It holds other accreditations and recognitions. It has been an official examination centre for ETS (Princeton, NJ) for over 33 years. It has a very high success rate in official UK examinations. These achievements attest to its academic quality and integrity.

Finally, Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information, and that is why colleges and universities warn students not to rely on it for serious research purposes.

kob29

Noooooooo don't do it......try Open University

Warnborough College

Yes, this is a good suggestion. Try the Open University.

Warnborough College

This is a good suggestion, so best to call them and chat about your options. Good luck. Cheers WC.

Hobbinvan

Kob29...........why do you say not to do it? Do you know someone who has or have you done a course there yourself and had a bad experience?

I have looked at the Open University but since I am based in Canada, the list of courses available to me is very limited and I can't do a Pshycology course.

Warnborough College

If we can help with your needs and answer any questions you may have please give me a call: +44 1227 762 107. Cheers, Dr. Julian Ng.

Tom Dunne

As somebody who has worked in education for a number of years (at third level), there are a number of concerns I have from reading the Warnborough College website.

First of all, the physical location - there does not appear to be any classrooms whatsoever.

Secondly, all material is delivered via distance education. While that in itself is not a major issue, it does raise questions as to how much time (if any) students spend in the company of teaching/lecturing staff. A college that does not have any face-to-face time with students starts the alarm bells ringing for me.

Third, there does not appear to be any examinations. Aside from signing a declaration, what guarantees does the college have that student work submitted is in fact the work of the student.

Fourth, the whole question around accreditation is neatly skirted around on the website. You would question what employers would think of an award made by this college.

Five, look at the list of staff members. It is interesting how the staff first names are not listed, making Googling them more difficult. And if you do end up finding information on them, surprise surprise, it is associated with Warnborough college in the UK.

My advice? Avoid like the plague.

Find a reputable college to spend your hard-earned cash in. A lot of colleges and universities in Ireland are now doing distance education and flexible/blended learning.

John L Mason

The comments made about Warnborough are incorrect.

They have two 4 story buildings in Canterbury in the UK, both with classrooms. If you don't believe me, visit Canterbury, or ask anyone who lives there or is going there.

Open University is one of many options for distance education. There are plenty of others.

The only real difference between Warnborough Distance Education and something like Open University, is that one is private enterprise and the other public.

In the past, there was a lot of prejudice against private institutions; and even more against distance education; but there has been a strong trend toward this changing over recent years -particularly as financial woes in public funding have caused huge pressures within public funded education -The UK cut funding 20% to the public service; and one only needs to talk to a number of government college employees to realize the pressure they are under.

Some students still feel there is less risk going with government, despite troubles in Greece, the USA and other government. Others realize that long established colleges like Warnborough, in the private sector may in fact be less risky.

Truth is, we are in a rapidly changing world; and nothing is certain; but it does not help for people to make statements about any sapecific college that are completely incorrect:eek:

John L Mason

Anyone can post anything on Wikopedia.

This makes itinteresting reading, but far from accurate.

Warnborough does have formal accreditations with a number of professional and public bodies in the UK -including ASIC which is backed by the British government

Anyone criticising as having no formal recognition Warnborough is simply showing ignorence and bias.

Tom Dunne

It is most interesting how they are crawling out of the woodwork to defend Warnborough.

John L Mason wrote: »

They have two 4 story buildings in Canterbury in the UK, both with classrooms. If you don't believe me, visit Canterbury, or ask anyone who lives there or is going there.

I may have not been clear, but I was referring to the Irish location. This is, after all, an Irish website.

John L Mason wrote: »

Open University is one of many options for distance education. There are plenty of others.

Quite correct. And yet the Open University requires students to attend face to face sessions on occasion.

John L Mason wrote: »

The only real difference between Warnborough Distance Education and something like Open University, is that one is private enterprise and the other public.

We will have to disagree on this one. The Open University is a recognised, credible organisation that has been around for a long, long time and whose awards are recognised.

John L Mason wrote: »

Some students still feel there is less risk going with government, despite troubles in Greece, the USA and other government. Others realize that long established colleges like Warnborough, in the private sector may in fact be less risky.

There are a number of private colleges in Ireland that, unlike Warnborough, are accredited.

John L Mason wrote: »

Truth is, we are in a rapidly changing world; and nothing is certain; but it does not help for people to make statements about any sapecific college that are completely incorrect:eek:

I have made five points above. You have yet to clarify what is incorrect about any of them.

Warnborough College

Thank you Tom for your comments.

1. We do not have classrooms in Ireland since we do not need them as we are offering Distance Learning. When we do require classrooms for workshops we hire rooms from other colleges and universities in Ireland. This is cost effective and means that we do not have to have a large campus with car parks, sports facilities, catering, accommodation, science labs, etc. We do have teaching facilities in the UK because we offer onsite courses.

2. Our mentoring is extensive with considerable support given to each student as well as 'peer budies'. Back up 'face-to-face' does happen depending on the the course/programme and we hold these workshops/classes when and where necessary. We do have over 20 learning centres around the world that offer regular teaching.

3. Examinations are held and we use continual assessment as part of the process. All dissertations are examined externally, and many by faculty from Irish universities.

4. We make it clear that we are not accredited in Ireland by HETAC. It is not an issue for us since our enrolment is steadily expanding, and we wish to focus on academics rather than chasing accreditation that is time consuming, expensive and would not bring us any further benefits. Our students have not had any problems with employment or employers. These days employers look for other qualities not just acdemics. If our graduates had problems they would be requesting refunds and we would have lots of legal problems. We do not face these issues.

5. This is a good point Tom, and we will add the first name so our administration/faculty can be checked on Google and Linkedin. We do rotate our administration between Canterbury and Dublin so everyone is updated on developments and we even have our staff spending time at our overseas learning centres so everyone involved at Warnborough is part of our team and vision.

The systems we have in place, our methodology and quality assurance works well for us, and we always welcome ideas and suggestions to provide a better service to our students.

Tom Dunne

Warnborough College wrote: »

1. We do not have classrooms in Ireland since we do not need them as we are offering Distance Learning.

But do you not see the problem with that? How can you legitimately deliver a course without ever seeing the student?

Warnborough College wrote: »

2. Our mentoring is extensive with considerable support given to each student as well as 'peer budies'. Back up 'face-to-face' does happen depending on the the course/programme and we hold these workshops/classes when and where necessary. We do have over 20 learning centres around the world that offer regular teaching.

Ok, but what about in Ireland? What learning centres do you have in Ireland?

Warnborough College wrote: »

3. Examinations are held and we use continual assessment as part of the process. All dissertations are examined externally, and many by faculty from Irish universities.

Are examinations held in all courses? If so, where are these held?

Warnborough College wrote: »

These days employers look for other qualities not just acdemics.

Of course employers are not looking for academics. However, employers are looking for employees with relevant skills that are backed up by appropriate qualifications.

Warnborough College wrote: »

5. This is a good point Tom, and we will add the first name so our administration/faculty can be checked on Google and Linkedin. We do rotate our administration between Canterbury and Dublin so everyone is updated on developments and we even have our staff spending time at our overseas learning centres so everyone involved at Warnborough is part of our team and vision.

While I accept it may have been simply an administrative oversight, it does add to the perception (however wrong or right) that there is something amiss. Perhaps a link to your staff's publications would also be appropriate?

Warnborough College wrote: »

The systems we have in place, our methodology and quality assurance works well for us, and we always welcome ideas and suggestions to provide a better service to our students.

As somebody familiar with quality systems at third level, I would be interested in further information on these systems you have in place.

Convince me that I am wrong in my perception of Warnborough college!

solerina

Go with the open university, at least everyone know they are legitimate (or whatever similar distance option is available to you in Canada)....this college sounds suspicious and there is no point in doing a qualification that wont be recognised after all your hard work.

lnalalala

Hi all,

The only reason this College seems suspicious to people is because is has been attached quite a lot in blogs, etc. It is understandable because still today distance learning is seen as suspicious against traditional onsite (with classrooms) education.But some of us are not able to quit our jobs and go and study onsite going to classes every day or some days. Some if us are also not able to travel and leave everything for a week to the UK because residency requirements are needed in order to graduate (as in OPEN university). This College offers one mentor for the student and nowadays with Skype, email and other resources is is finally possible to acquire that knowledge without changing your life (job in my case). Most online universities give you one mentor per module (I personally do not like this as it is less personal). At least their students have one professor just for them who they can be in contact with once a week! I am studying online at other university and I have not even exchanged an email with some of my teachers yet! And this university is public and fully accredited in Spain. I am talking about UNED (in case anybody wonders).
So at the end of the day, I honestly prefer to learn as much as possible. Not everybody is in the same situation and can afford the same things. Thank God, education is adapting to that reality.