Admissions Policy

 

Introduction

The purpose of this policy is to provide prospective students, CHE staff and partner organisations with a guide to our approach to the Admission of Higher Education Students to the Centre for Homeopathic Education. The policy has been drawn up following review of the guidance from Middlesex University, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and other Higher Education (HE) best practice policies. We intend to provide an efficient, fair and transparent experience to all our prospective students.

CHE believes that opportunity to participate in higher education should be provided to all those with demonstrable ability to benefit. We also recognise the benefits to the College and the whole homeopathic community of recruiting a diverse population of students. The College adheres to a fair HE admissions system which provides equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of background, age, race or sex to gain admission to a course. We endeavour to ensure our admission process is fair, transparent, consistent and timely.

Responsibilities

CHE Admissions Officer Lorraine Willis is responsible for all the communications with the prospective students. Senior management is responsible for assessing applications and making decisions on recruiting.

All course entry requirements, course content, duration and fees will be made public in line with information in the programme specification and are available on CHE website. The CHE Principal and the Head of Communications are jointly responsible to ensure that all public information is consistent and in line with the programme specification.

Process

To be eligible for admissions to our course a prospective candidate must normally satisfy the general entry requirements summarised as follows:

Passes in minimum 5 GCSE subjects at grade C or above including English and Maths and two ‘A’ levels at grade C or above.

All applications are received through the CHE Admissions Officer.

Following an initial screening of the application form interviews, students will be offered a place to all preselected candidates. However, Interviews will be held for students who applications need further clarification. This will normally involve two senior member of staff, and they my be conducted Online or in person. A formal record will be kept for each interview. All applicants will have an opportunity to visit the College’s Open Days and also to attend classes during an informal visit available throughout the year.

Applications will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Academic achievement– do applicants meet the entry requirements.
• Personal statements – to understand skills, motivation and interest in subject
• Interview – to further clarify information submitted or access any non-academic requirements, such as communication skills, level of self-awareness and confidence.

Issues considered in Application

Learning needs: CHE aims to support all learners regardless of their support needs. For
Applicants with a declared learning need CHE will conduct an assessment to ensure that the college can make the required, reasonable adjustment to support learning.
Qualifications: all applicants will need to provide a verification of qualifications, a certificate of English knowledge and visa requirements if applicable.
Non-standard qualifications: Decisions on admissions of candidates with non-standard
qualifications will be based on accreditation and recognition of prior learning, evidence of motivation and an assessment of their capability for HE if required.

Decisions reached following assessment will be communicated to the applicant via CHE Admissions Officer. The decision to interview is communicated to the applicant via CHE Admission Officer, normally no later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the application. Following a successful interview the applicant will usually receive an offer letter no later than 1 week after the interview. Acceptance of your place will be confirmed by a receipt of payment from yourself in accordance with your student
agreement.

Feedback will be provided for the applicants who have not been successful in being invited for the interview or who have not been offered a place following the interview. If requested, more specific individual feedback will be provided to each unsuccessful applicant. Records will be kept of all communications with unsuccessful applicants.

CHE will review regularly the Programme admission policy and the nature of its admissions appeal and make changes when required. The College will also monitor the take up rate and progression of students and use this information to develop and enhance the admission policy.

Recognition of prior learning

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) enables people of all ages and backgrounds to receive recognition and formal credit for learning you have acquired in the past through formal study and through work and other life experiences. It is based on the premise that an individual’s learning can be identified and given credit within academic programmes, regardless of the context in which it is
acquired.

Applicants for RPL will be considered on an individual basis. You can claim for learning acquired through previous formal study via a process termed Acceptance of Prior Certificated Learning (or APCL) and for learning gained through other life experiences and study which has not been formally assessed via Acceptance of Prior Experiential Learning (or APEL).

Acceptance of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) – this is learning acquired from previous formal study. Academic, vocational or professional qualifications at an appropriate level may be admitted for entry on to a programme, for general credit within a work based programme or for specific credit which maps to a programme. Previous certificated learning must be cohesive with the learning outcomes of the programme of study and/or its constituent modules. To apply for this form of APL you are required to submit a portfolio showing evidence of recent previous relevant study.

Certificates and documentation to support the claim should accompany this. To be given specific credit on the programme, it must be possible to establish the level of the prior learning, and this must be at a Higher Education level. If the qualification was within the Further or Higher Education
Qualifications Framework, credit is brought in at the mark/grade awarded. Credit transferred from other courses is not brought in with a mark/grade, Marked/graded credit awarded for prior learning is normally used in the calculation of the classification of the exit point award. Unmarked/ungraded credit is excluded from the calculation and in these cases the classification will be based solely on those assessments or modules which carry a mark/grade.

Acceptance of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) – this is learning acquired from other life experiences and study, including work-based learning, learning which is community-based or from a similar setting, and learning from experience and reflection. Note that APEL is about your learning, it
is not simply a reflection of experience alone. Experiential learning must be cohesive with the learning outcomes of the programme of study and/or its constituent modules. Applying for APEL on the basis of your learning from prior life or work experience normally requires you to produce a portfolio of evidence of the learning gained from experience. You may obtain application forms and guidance notes from the College Administration. Other ways in which we may assess your learning from experience include a focused interview; completion of a piece of work and a reflective account/diary of the learning achieved, or completion of the usual assessment used to demonstrate learning in the module/programme for which equivalence is being claimed. Credit awarded may be module-specific.

How to make a claim for prior learning

Responsibility rests with you, the applicant, for making a claim. You should discuss this initially with the Senior Administrator, who may suggest a meeting with you, herself and senior academic staff.

When you are making a claim for APEL:

• The learning you have derived from experience must be able to be identified in order to be assessed. We will help you to do this.Prior learning is normally identified through systematic reflection on experience, the writing of
• clear statements about what was actually learned and the collection and collation of evidence to support those statements.

Where you are making a claim for APCL the methods of assessment must be such that the judgement made can be overseen by the College’s Assessment Boards.

There are limits to how much credit can be brought into the course. The maximum allowed is not more than two thirds of the credit required for the qualification/award.
Following an evaluation of both certificated and experiential learning, exemption may be granted from part of the requirements of a qualification/award.

In determining a student’s eligibility for the recognition of prior learning, it may in some cases be necessary to require a student to undergo some form of assessment (for example exams or essays). Academic assessment is the responsibility of academic staff in the College, who may employ any procedure (for example an exam or an essay) they believe is appropriate to arrive at a professional judgement. The College reserves the right to charge a fee for the assessment of complex evidence
of prior learning.

Confirmation of eligibility for APL rests with the Senior Administrator and Principal, who will report annually to the Board of Studies on approvals granted.

Admissions complaints procedure

Introduction

CHE welcomes applications from all candidates with the potential to succeed in higher education. In line with our commitment to equal opportunities policy, no student will be subject to less favourable treatment on the grounds of any protected characteristic. Our admission policy has been designed to ensure all applicants are assessed solely based on applicants’ attitude to learning and abilities and motivations relevant to the  programmes we offer. However there may be occasion when applicants feel that CHE has not adhered to the commitment of providing equal opportunities to all applicants.

If the applicant wishes to put forward a complaint he/she will not be disadvantaged in any way because they used this procedure. Applicants have a right to submit a complaint only on grounds of procedural irregularity, or if there is new information which may have affected the decision (with reasons why it was not made available at the time of application), or if there is evidence of any action or decision which is not consistent with Admissions Policy or Equal Opportunities Policy. A complaint must be made on the individual basis by the applicant; a third party complaint will not normally be considered.

Process

Informal stage

Most complaints can be resolved informally. Applicants should raise the matter with the Admissions Officer no later than two weeks after the application following concern. In the first instance the matter should be raised in writing or by email. The Admissions Officer will respond in writing no later than 10 working days following the receipt of the complaint.

Formal stage

If the complaint is not resolved to the satisfaction of the applicant through the informal means, the complainant should then write formally to:

The Principal
The Centre For Homeopathic Education
12 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2LP

The letter should enclose copies of the previous correspondence, explain why the applicant remains dissatisfied and what is the expected outcome he/she is hoping to get. The Principal will investigate the complaint thoroughly and reply within 2 weeks of the receipt of the letter. The decision of the Principal shall be considered final.