For Private Education Institutions (PEIs) in Singapore, CPE administers the edutrust certification Scheme (EduTrust), a quality assurance program. It attempts to identify private schools that can consistently provide education services at a high degree of quality and make ongoing changes that result in favorable student results.
Criteria for the EduTrust Certification Scheme
The EduTrust Certification Scheme has seven requirements. Each criterion is broken down into several sub-criteria and items, with statements outlining each item’s specifications.
Commitment to and responsibilities of management
This criterion looks at how the PEI undertakes strategic planning and shows dedication to realizing its mission.
Corporate leadership and management
To improve the services offered, this criterion looks at how the PEI manages administrative operations and resources, external partnerships, corporate governance, communication processes, information management and confidentiality, feedback, and complaints.
Agents of External Recruitment
This criterion looks at the efficient local and international external recruitment agents that the PEI chooses, manages, and evaluates. This is done to make sure the agents provide quality services to potential students and abstain from any deception and unethical behavior.
Student Support and Protection Services
This criterion looks at the procedures for course transfers, withdrawal and deferment policies, student contracts and refunds, and student protection under the Fee Protection Scheme. It also looks at how the PEI intends to improve students’ well-being to provide a comprehensive education.
Academic procedures and evaluation of students
This criterion looks at the procedures the PEI sets up to make sure the courses it offers to satisfy the requirements and standards of the industry and the students. It looks at how the PEI chooses and admits qualified students into its courses, how assessments are used to gauge whether students have learned what they were supposed to learn, and how the PEI oversees and manages academic staff’s delivery of lessons and students’ learning.
Success in Achieving Student and Graduate Outcomes
This criterion looks at how the PEI implements procedures to gauge and monitor student and graduate outcomes, such as academic development and graduates’ employability (if applicable). It also looks at how the PEI compares its graduate and student achievements to those of similar institutions, as well as to those of other countries or regions, to make improvements and get better results. If applicable, the Graduate Employment Survey (GES) performance of PEI graduates is also looked at.
Results, Monitoring, and Quality Assurance
To ensure that the systems and processes are successfully managed, this criterion looks at the PEI’s quality assurance standards for developing a system of routine monitoring, review, and constant improvements.
Lastly, PEIs with a strong track record (i.e., at least two consecutive periods of 4-year EduTrust certification) will go through a shortened EduTrust renewal procedure based on Primary Scope as part of CPE’s ongoing efforts to lessen compliance burden and operating expenses.
