What does it mean when a course is ‘subject to validation’?
All courses go through a rigorous approval process by our Quality and Standards Team, in collaboration with academic colleagues and industry. This is known as a ‘validation’ process and ensures that every course meets the required external standards, the needs of our students and the skills that industry is looking for.
When a course is ‘subject to validation’ this means that the content of the course is still being developed as part of our validation process, before it receives final approval to officially become a course that students can apply to.
Why do you advertise courses that are ‘subject to validation’?
We want to ensure that students have the best possible understanding about their options, so we choose to advertise a limited number of courses ‘subject to validation’. As a university, we continually review our course portfolio to ensure it best meets the needs of students and industry, which means we are always updating and improving our selection of courses.
While a course is advertised as ‘subject to validation’ you will not be able to apply to study it. You will, however, be able to register your interest. This means that we will be able to contact you directly to let you know when it reaches full validation.
What are the limitations of advertising a course ‘subject to validation’?
While courses are ‘subject to validation’ this means that there may be parts of the course that change before students are able to apply. This might be things like modules, accreditations or work placement options. As a result, the information we show about a course that is ‘subject to validation’ will be limited in comparison to a ‘fully validated course’ that has completed the validation process.
We aim to only promote courses as ‘subject to validation’ that are very likely to become approved courses at the end of the validation process. This will help to give you more confidence in the options you see as you choose whether to express your interest in a particular upcoming course.
What happens if I register my interest in a ‘subject to validation’ course?
On each of our ‘subject to validation’ course pages, you will see a ‘register your interest’ button. If you think you like the look of a course, you can choose to complete the form.
If a course reaches the stage of being fully validated, we will send you an email to let you know and invite you to the next available open day so you can start to learn more about that particular course. We will also send you a link to the new course page which will contain all of the key course information, including the option to apply.
In the rare event that a ‘subject to validation’ course ends up not meeting the required criteria, we will send you an email to let you know and to suggest alternative courses you may be interested in.
If you have any further questions or need advice about our courses please get in touch with our Course Enquiries Team.