Code of Ethics
The Association of Distance Learning Colleges
Our Code of Ethics for distance learning providers – your reassurance of quality
Members of the Association pledge themselves to maintain the highest standard of integrity in all their dealings and, in particular, they undertake:
- To ensure that any information they give about the choice of a career, the prospects in a particular career or a prospective student’s studies shall be accurate to the best of their knowledge, and that any advice they give to prospective students and others shall be given in good faith and the best interests of the persons to whom the advice is tendered.
- To take every reasonable care to enrol students only for courses that are suited to their individual needs and educational status, or for tuition for examinations for which the students are likely to be eligible.
- To inform students in their prospectuses and/or enrolment application forms of the conditions on which they are enrolled and to include in advertisements only statements which accurately reflect such conditions.
- To make fair regulations governing their relationship with students, and to treat equitably those who, through circumstances beyond their control, are unable to comply strictly with their regulations.
- To provide efficient tutorial service, to maintain adequate and appropriately qualified tutorial and administrative staff and to issue to their students without undue delay adequate and reasonably up to date tutorial literature and instruction suitable to each student’s needs.
- To encourage their students to complete their courses of study and to do everything reasonably possible to enable the students to derive full benefit therefrom.
- To issue only certificates or diplomas that fairly represent the instruction given and not to make any statement or to imply that any such certificates or diplomas are equivalent to a degree or to a certificate awarded by a recognised examining body.
- To ensure that all examinations and assessments related to accredited courses are administered andsupervised to the standards as laid down by the appropriate external body.
- To maintain the highest ethical standards in their publicity by making no statement in any advertisement, prospectus or publicity literature, or by correspondence or orally, that is knowingly untrue or wilfully misleading; and in particular by publishing no examination results or statistics or particulars of their tutorial service of staff that are knowingly inaccurate or misleading.
- To implement values of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and in their relations with students, and to make sure that these values are reflected in their publicity and teaching materials and online resources.
- To prepare and maintain a record of the working procedures of the business that can be readily available to a responsible person in the event of the sudden death or major illness of the principle manager of the business. According to the set up of the business alternative arrangements are acceptable. The Association is prepared to hold confidentially a copy of such a document.
- To arrange for the Association to be notified immediately if such an incident occurs that might cause the business activities to be in jeopardy.
- To encourage fair, dignified and honourable competition.
- To ensure that their staffs are acquainted with this code, that they are given all facilities for complying with it, and are encouraged to honour it in the spirit as well as the letter.
Write to us:
The Association of Distance
Learning Colleges
PO Box 17926
London
W19 3WB
Phone us:
020 8544 9559
Email us:
info@adlc.org.uk