Legal Requirements of Education Providers

The student counsellor needs to be aware of legal requirements under which education institutions operate in destination countries. 

Accreditation and Registration

Before they can begin to operate, education institutions must usually obtain some form of accreditation and/or registration. This may take various forms in different countries. Within a country, each sector of the education system may be regulated by its own accreditation and registration authorities. In general, the strength of the accreditation and registration systems in a destination country correlates strongly with the quality of its education institutions.

Accreditation

Accreditation refers to official endorsement of an education institution’s courses and authorisation to teach them. Accreditation certifies that the course content, methodology, and resources are appropriate for the qualification offered on graduation. In some cases, courses are accredited by an external authority (e.g., language courses are often externally accredited). In other cases, the educational institution itself is accredited (e.g., most universities are authorised to self-accredit their courses).

Registration

Registration involves the recognition by a regulatory authority that an education institution is fit to offer its courses to students. To qualify for registration, education institutions must typically demonstrate that they have:

• Properly accredited and delivered courses
• Suitable management and financial systems
• Appropriate staffing and resources
• Ethical marketing strategies and materials.

Ongoing Compliance

In principle, regulatory authorities regularly check education institutions for ongoing compliance with accreditation and registration conditions. This may be by means of:

• Audits: This may involve document reviews, desk audits and/or inspections of institutions.
• Reporting requirements: Institutions may have to supply compliance data regularly.
• Re-accreditation and re-registration: Accreditation and registration may have a limited duration, thus requiring institutions to repeat them at regular intervals.

In practice, education institutions commonly maintain compliance with accreditation and registration conditions through their quality management systems. The more comprehensive their policies and procedures, the more likely they are to align (directly or indirectly) with accreditation and registration conditions. The more rigorous, the more likely they are to effectively maintain compliance.

Knowledge of destination countries’ accreditation and registration systems can provide insight into the relative quality and stability of their education institutions and courses. Where accreditation and registration standards are high and compliance is rigorously enforced, education institutions are usually well organised and well run, with first-rate courses. The student counsellor’s knowledge of these factors is valuable to prospective students.

Marketing and Enrolment

When marketing to and enrolling international students, education institutions must comply with both domestic consumer protection and business legislation, plus relevant accreditation and registration conditions. Education institutions usually specify compliance with these legal requirements in contracts with their agents. The student counsellor must be aware of these contractual obligations.

Marketing

Education institutions can have strict legal requirements regarding their marketing strategies, materials, and operations. Their marketing must accurately represent the institution and its courses, and be presented in a way that does not mislead prospective students. In particular, education institutions may be constrained regarding the claims made in marketing activities and material, whether produced by themselves or by agents under contract.

The student counsellor must be aware of any contractual obligations when marketing an education institution. These could apply to both marketing materials and the advice given by the student counsellor and might include:

• They must not imply more than is actually delivered in terms of course content, delivery, or outcomes.
• They must not misrepresent the institution or its location.
• They must only claim approval by the regulatory authorities and industry associations which in fact endorse them.
• They must only use logos and trademarks which they are entitled to display.
• They must accurately describe visa availability and conditions.

Note: The student counsellor should be very wary of education institutions whose marketing is false or misleading, as recommending such institutions can greatly damage their reputation and relations with legitimate educational institutions.

Enrolment

Student enrolment can also be governed by strict legal requirements passed on to the student counsellor by means of contractual obligations. As a rule the student counsellor is required to:

• Give accurate advice about enrolment requirements and processes, as well as related student visas
• Ensure that enrolment applications are properly processed, use the correct forms and protocols, and are lodged correctly and on time
• Ensure that documentation supplied by prospective students is legitimate and relevant.

Education Provision

Education institutions are obliged to provide their education products and services in accordance with education and business laws and accreditation and registration conditions in their country.

Courses must be accredited by the proper authorities and must meet the regulatory requirements for courses. These requirements usually include:

• Level, depth, and currency of content
• Teaching and assessment methodology
• Staff and resources.

Education institutions may be legally required to develop and implement effective teaching strategies for the delivery of their courses. Correspondingly, actual teaching must be appropriate for both the level of content and the learning abilities of students. It should be sufficiently flexible to fairly accommodate the varying learning styles of students. Appropriate teaching resources should be used.

Similarly, requirements for assessment may relate to assessment strategies, materials, and methods. In general, assessment must be demonstrably valid, reliable, fair, and flexible.

Legal requirements for staffing often specify the qualifications and experience teachers need relative to the courses they teach. Teachers often need to be specifically licensed to teach their discipline. They may be required to undertake regular professional development to maintain the currency of their qualifications and experience. They may be subject to police or other checks to ensure they are of sound character. There may be regulations governing teacher-to-student ratios, support staff, administrative processes, etc. Similar requirements may be separately mandated for assessors.

Education premises must meet building codes and registration requirements. Equipment and resources must be appropriate for the courses, reasonably up to date, and meet health and safety requirements. Teaching materials must be fit for use. Students should have access to adequate library and reference material.

Duty of Care

The legal principle of duty of care, as applied to education institutions, refers to legal responsibility for the welfare, health, and safety of students and staff. It also refers to the obligation to prevent negligence which might harm students or staff.

Support Services

To meet duty of care requirements, education institutions are generally required to provide suitable academic and personal support systems for their students. In addition, international students may need to be provided with language support, supplementary social, emotional, and cultural support, and other specialised advice and information.

Academic support services for international students may include counselling about educational options, learning strategies, and other factors – up to remediation when necessary.

Personal support services could include social advice and activities, emotional counselling, and assistance with cultural differences. Education institutions may provide international students with extra help with legal matters or dealing with government departments. If unable to assist students internally, education institutions may refer students to external organisations for assistance.

Minors

Most countries have strict regulations regarding the guardianship of minors. International students who are minors require special care. Education institutions must usually ensure that young students have suitable accommodation with appropriate adult supervision, are not placed in any moral or physical danger, and have access to support appropriate for their age and culture.

Health and Safety

Most education institutions take great care to meet health and safety regulations, as failure to do so could result in large fines and expensive litigation. However, the student counsellor should be aware that the notions of personal and public responsibility can be interpreted quite differently in different countries.

The student counsellor should check how education institutions approach duty of care issues, and match this to the support needs of prospective students. He/she should check what support services are available and whether or not they are included in the tuition fees. This will improve the advice he/she provides to prospective students.

Duty of care issues are discussed in B3 Student Care Issues.

Business Operations

Education institutions’ business operations must comply with their country’s business, financial, and consumer protection laws. Compliance may affect the following facets of institutions’ operations:

• The structure of the business and the distribution of operational functions
• The business practices employed by the institution in its operations
• The financial control of the business, including accounting practice, audits, and safeguarding of student funds.

Extension Questions: For each relevant destination country:

• What are the legal requirements under which education institutions operate?
• What are their features?
• How do they affect students?
• How do they affect the student counsellor?