advice needed please, degree not accredited

the_gorgeous_one

i would like some advice please My son is in his final year at manchester metropolitan uni doing a degree in Mechanical engineering. He found out yesterday the degree he is studying and has been studying for 3 years is not accredited to any university. The whole group of 15-16 students are all in the same position. he only found out by chance as he was applying for jobs and was asked what uni his course was affiliated to. Both UCAS and his course tutor have told him it is not affiliated. He is therefore going to be up the creek without a paddle as far as getting a job in engineering is concerned. He is going to see about doing a masters to give him the chance but this will not be funded. We will have to help by taking out a loan or funding it in some way but I also feel the university is responsible for this and are we entitled to a refund or reduction in his fees. Who would we be best talking to. He states the student union hasn't been very helpful as that was my first question

whitfreak

Right.
First things first. Manchester Met are a university, so presuming he passes his exams (etc) he will get a degree. As Manchester Met can award him one.

Secondly, technical degrees are normally acredited by a professional insitution. The insitution for mechanical engineering for example. They do this, as it plays part of getting Chartered.

A quick search of http://www.engc.org.uk/education--skills/accreditation/accredited-course-search for Manchester Met's courses shows that they have degrees with Mechanical Engineering as their title which are currently acredited. However, if for some reason he's not getting an honours degree, or has failed certain modules its possible that he doesnt meet the acreditation. OR his specifc degree, ME with something else, isnt acredited (although he should have been warned). Or they lost their acreditation for a year...

If it's one of the final two points then the university at some level have a case to answer. If not he's probably stuck.

My advice is get the exact course details and look it up on the above website. And find out exactly what the problem is, as I'd find it strange if you could pay and study at a university to find its impossible to get a degree at the end of it.

good luck

the_gorgeous_one

Thanks for that response, i have been on the link and think i understand it but i am a nurse not an engineer so if you understand please could you explain what it means in easy language.
My son is doing an MSc. He has passed all his modules so far and the last one he got a whopping 87% in design.
The results read: An individual holding an accredited MSc must also hold a CEng accredited honours degree to have the full exemplifying qualifications for CEng.
Does this mean he needs to do another degree in the CEng or is that a module. He is under the assumption he will need to do his masters but this may just be panic talking. Thanks in advance for your help I am sure my son is also looking into this but we have not had opportunity to talk properly as he is also working and that clashes with my shifts. We will see him next wednesday but I may just have exploded by then.

The_One_Who

An MSc is a postgraduate Masters qualification, so I think you mean an MSci (Hons) or an MEng (Hons). Although looking at the website they only seem to offer the BEng (Hons). Can you clarify? A CEng is what a fully chartered engineer has.

You may find that the degree is not accredited to the professional body and so will need to do an accredited postgraduate qualification in order to be able to join the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

the_gorgeous_one

Sorry it is the BSc he is doing, I have had a good look on the website and have seen there are various universities which offer the same course and clearly state it is accredited to the institute of engineers and 2 that offer the course and clearly state they are not accredited but Manchester met makes no mention of it on their information on the course. It feels a bit late in the day for them to find this out as they only found out when my son was asked by a prospective employer who the course was accredited to. Im not sure what the next step is, thankyou for your replies and any other advice would be gratefully received.

The_One_Who

This course is accredited by both the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

the_gorgeous_one

That is for the BEng not the BSc but thanks for checking this. My husband has spoken to our son. The whole class are going to approach the university next week and request that they fund the further training they will need and if not we shall seek some legal advice. Wish us luck and I will keep posting about this if only to give further information to future students who may not be aware of this.

The_One_Who

Ha! They will get laughed out of the room! Why should the department/university fund their further training? I can't actually see a link to the BSc course, so maybe it has been discontinued. There is only a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Design and Technology.

Seriously, they will not offer to fund any further qualification.

the_gorgeous_one

I think it is a bit rich that the uni didn't bother to tell the students if the course is accredited. Other universities have made it quite clear whether their course is accredited or not. They now have debts of over £18,000.00 that will not lead them to the type of job they were expecting to qualify for. IT is a school of Engineering at Manchester Metropilitan. My son has worked extremely hard getting excellent marks for his efforts but it seems this will not be recognised and he has been ill informed by the university he and his class are paying for their education.I think they have a case to answer and would be disappointed if they were 'laughed out of the classroom'. I am a qualified nurse and if I thought future nursing students weren't being trained and accredited by the proper body i would feel ashamed for my profession. It would be helpful to get further advice on how to get the CEng or if it is better to go for the Masters by someone who is qualified to give this advice.

The_One_Who

If the students had asked prior to accepting the offer they may have been told. Some courses are accredited and some aren't, it is always something worth checking when looking at courses. Of course, the case is different if the course was accredited when they applied but is not any longer.

the_gorgeous_one

it is always good to have hindsight and know what you need to ask. When you are in a career it may seem obvious that there are certain requirements for a course, but if not then these are things that the 'establishment' should inform them of. Not being an engineer I would not have known to ask about accreditation