Criteria for EduTrust Certification

The EduTrust Certification Scheme builds on the previous CaseTrust for Education Scheme’s coverage for the protection of fees paid by students, and introduces additional requirements for academic processes, corporate governance and administration processes, management of marketing agents and student support matters.

There are six criteria and respective sub-criteria under the EduTrust Certification Scheme that PEIs must meet to qualify.

1    Management Commitment and Responsibilities

This criterion examines a PEI’s leadership system, its commitment to achieve its vision and how responsibilities are spelt out to ensure that its mission would be met. The leadership should set the direction with a focus on building capacity, guided by the tenets of high quality education services.

1.1    Vision and Mission

         1.1.1    Defining vision and mission
         1.1.2    Communication to stakeholders

1.2    Values and Culture

         1.2.1    Defining values and culture
         1.2.2    Communication to stakeholders

1.3    Strategic Planning

         1.3.1    Strategic planning process
         1.3.2    KPIs and targets

1.4    Defining Responsibilities

         1.4.1    Responsibility of all staff

1.5    Management Representative (MR)

        1.5.1    Appointment of MR

2    Corporate Governance and Administration

This criterion examines how a PEI manages its operations and resources effectively and efficiently to meet its vision and mission. In addition, it examines how a PEI manages its partnerships to value-add to its students’ educational experience.

The PEI is expected to have good communication protocols to ensure that information disseminated is accurate and not misleading. The criterion further examines how a PEI exercises due care and due diligence to uphold the core principles of confidentiality, integrity and security when handling information that it receives. It would, thus, be required to discharge its ethical and legal obligations by ensuring that the privacy of information submitted by its students and staff is maintained. It would also be assessed under this criterion on how it manages feedback and complaints in order to improve its services to the students and staff.

2.1    Management of Financial Resources
         2.1.1    Financial management
         2.1.2    Financial statements
         2.1.3    Credit standing

2.2    Management of Resources and Facilities

         2.2.1    Physical facilities and infrastructure maintenance
         2.2.2    Academic resource management
         2.2.3    Environment management

2.3    Management of Human Resources

         2.3.1    Selection process
         2.3.2    Staff management
         2.3.3    Management of part-time recruitment staff
         2.3.4    Staff training and development

2.4    Management of Partnerships

         2.4.1    External partners

2.5    Communication and Publicity

         2.5.1    Internal communication
         2.5.2    External communication
         2.5.3    Publicity: Course advertisement and promotion

2.6    Management of Information

         2.6.1    Data management
         2.6.2    Confidentiality and security of information

2.7    Management of Feedback and Complaints

         2.7.1    Feedback and complaints management
         2.7.2    Student satisfaction survey
         2.7.3    Staff satisfaction survey

3    External Recruitment Agents

This criterion examines how a PEI selects, manages and monitors its local and overseas external recruitment agents effectively to ensure that the agents continue to deliver quality services, and do not engage in any misrepresentation and unethical practices.

3.1    Selection of Agents

         3.1.1    Selection process

3.2    Management of Agents

         3.2.1    Management of agents

3.3    Monitoring of Agents

         3.3.1    Monitoring of agents

4    Student Protection and Support Services

This criterion examines how a PEI provides for student protection mainly via the Fee Protection Scheme (FPS), the student contract and the refund process. The protection will enable the PEI to build a strong PEI-student relationship based on trust, which will help the PEI, in turn, to focus on its core business of achieving its vision and mission. The transfer/withdrawal process will also ensure greater flexibility for the private education industry by building a robust educational hub that is responsive in meeting the educational needs of students.

This criterion also examines how a PEI designs, implements, manages, reviews and improves its student support services to enhance students’ welfare and their well-being for a holistic education. PEIs should aim to value-add to students’ educational experience through the provision of enriching programmes in a conducive physical and psychosocial environment.

4.1    Fee Protection Scheme
         4.1.1    Fee Protection Scheme (FPS)
         4.1.2    Implementation of the Fee Protection Scheme
         4.1.3    Fee payable
         4.1.4    Receipt

4.2    Student Contract
         4.2.1    Student contract
         4.2.2    Procedures for executing the student contract

4.3    Refund Process
         4.3.1    Refund policy
         4.3.2    Refund procedures

4.4    Transfer / Withdrawal Process
         4.4.1    Transfer / withdrawal policy
         4.4.2    Transfer / withdrawal procedures

4.5    Student Support Services
         4.5.1    Provision of student support services
         4.5.2    Counselling and advice

5    Academic Processes and Assessment of Students

This criterion examines how a PEI sets up processes to ensure that courses offered are of high quality and meet the needs and expectations of the students and the industry.

The criterion also examines how a PEI monitors the progress of its students through the most appropriate modes of assessment to achieve the course outcomes.

The PEI will also be assessed on its system to select and recruit the most appropriate part-time academic staff to deliver the courses to achieve its learning outcomes.

5.1    Curriculum Design and Development
         5.1.1    Design and development process
         5.1.2    Review process

5.2    Curriculum Planning and Delivery
         5.2.1    Planning process
         5.2.2    Delivery process

5.3    Student Selection and Admission
         5.3.1    Selection process
         5.3.2    Admission process

5.4    Monitoring of Learning and Student Development
         5.4.1    Periodic monitoring
         5.4.2    Student development

5.5    Student Tracking
         5.5.1    Student tracking

5.6    Student Assessment
         5.6.1    Course assessment
         5.6.2    Assessment process
         5.6.3    Assessment results

5.7    Selection of Part-time Academic Staff
         5.7.1    Selection process
         5.7.2    Management of part-time academic staff

6    Quality Assurance, Monitoring and Results

This criterion examines the quality assurance requirements of a PEI in establishing a system to meet EduTrust requirements. Through regular monitoring and analysing of critical data, the conduct of internal reviews, internal assessments and management reviews, the PEI ensures that the systems and processes are effectively managed as it continues to deliver quality services to the students. This criterion also examines the PEI’s commitment towards continual improvement so as to value-add to students’ educational experience.

6.1    Measurement and Analysis
         6.1.1    Collection and analysis of data
         6.1.2    Monitoring of results

6.2    Internal Review and Assessment
         6.2.1    Policy and operation manuals
         6.2.2    Internal assessment and review process

6.3    Management Review
         6.3.1    Review process

6.4    Continual Improvement    
         6.4.1    Continual improvement process

The EduTrust Certification Framework

Critical Requirements of EduTrust

The EduTrust Certification Scheme has five critical requirements.  Failure to meet of any of these critical requirements, or their violation will lead to immediate non-award of EduTrust certification for new applicants, or award suspension / termination for PEIs already EduTrust-certified:

1     Credit Rating (Criterion 2.1.3)

A PEI must obtain a credit rating report (completed less than three months prior to EduTrust application) from one of the participating credit rating companies, and meet at least the minimum credit rating requirements.

Subsequent to the award of EduTrust certification, an annual credit report must be submitted to the CPE.

2     Fee Protection Scheme (Criterion 4.1.1) with Council for Private Education-appointed banks and insurers

3     Implementation of the Fee Protection Scheme (Criterion 4.1.2)

The PEI must demonstrate full compliance with the Fee Protection Scheme implementation.

4     Provision of Medical Insurance (Criterion 4.5.1)

The PEI must purchase medical insurance coverage for all its full-time students to cover them for hospitalisation and related medical treatment throughout their course duration.

The following students can choose to opt out of the medical insurance scheme if they can show that they are already covered by their own medical insurance:

        -      Singapore citizens, permanent residents and international students not on the Student's

               Pass, and

        -      Students under corporate sponsorship/agreement signed between the PEI and sponsor organisation.

Medical insurance is not applicable to part-time students and students taking courses with a duration of not more than one month or 50 hours.

5      Fulfilling All EduTrust Terms and Conditions

The PEI must fulfill all EduTrust Terms and Conditions. For example, it must not make false declarations or misuse the EduTrust Mark.

For further information on the EduTrust Certification Scheme, please refer to the EduTrust Guidance Document.

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