Teaching Centres are first accredited by the CIPR to deliver CIPR Qualifications. This means that CIPR approves organizations that show they can provide the teachers and teaching facilities to conduct courses and then mark students' assignments. The CIPR sets the assessment timetable, the assignments and it checks the Centres' marking of these assessments and CIPR issues the qualification certificates. Within this framework, Centres arrange the teaching timetable providing their students with a minimum amount of teaching contact time prescribed by the CIPR and furnish students with such other necessary resources as appropriate.
CIPR Qualifications are increasingly diverse in level and extent but all are designed for those who can only study part-time. The flagship award remains the Diploma (Masters level) which comprises 3 equal units each with its own assessment and taught and studied over a year. The Advanced Certificate (first degree level) follows the same pattern. Other courses are of a shorter duration. Centres are at liberty to decide which CIPR qualifications they feel able to provide. Their decision on this will depend on the expertise of the teaching staff they can deploy and their view on the student market available to them. Centres and CIPR collaborate in this process of recruiting students.
CIPR teaching centres set and collect their own fees from CIPR students. In the UK, at present, the CIPR collects its fees from students directly. Overseas CIPR Centres are responsible for collecting and forwarding CIPR fees to the CIPR.
In order to be recognised as a teaching centre, you need to go through an approval process. This involves completing a form and arranging a site inspection. The fee payable is £1,000 + expenses*. *Note: For overseas applicants, these expenses may be considerable. The form is available from Alison Steel, Interim Director of Membership and Professional Development: alisons@cipr.co.uk.
