The Association of Professional Recording Services has a scheme for the Industry Accreditation of courses that have a relevance to our industry. This scheme was initiated by APRS, "piloted" in 1998 and is now available nationally. The purpose of the scheme is to create a system whereby our industry can give support and advice to educational and training institutions.

Initially the scheme was available only for courses designed to give students the potential for employment in the Recording Industry. This scheme is now available for the accreditation of courses in Music Technology and studies in Music Business.

Accreditation of an academic or training course by an appropriate trade body is primarily an indicator that such a course, when completed successfully, will satisfy the criteria agreed by the membership of that body. It indicates to employers the standard of knowledge and expertise that can be expected from a prospective employee who has completed the course.

The criteria for accreditation have been set and agreed by the Board of Directors of APRS and MPG after consultation with the members, academics and working professionals in the industry.

Accreditation will only be available for courses validated by a recognised validation authority. Accreditation is given to specific courses and not as a blanket accreditation to institutions to run courses. The Accreditation Board is willing to process accreditation concurrently with validation and our officers will be happy to sit on validation panels. Courses already validated can gain accreditation retrospectively.

Accreditation gives potential students assurance of the course's integrity and worth and enhances the credibility of the educational establishment at which it is conducted.

The constituent member bodies of the APRS, PLASA and the Music Producer's Guild have combined their experience and expertise to bring a concerted approach to the accreditation process, making it beneficial to academia, industry and the profession generally.

We are at present structuring several schemes that will give added value to the accreditation process. The first of these is an employment recruitment scheme that will enable APRS, PLASA and MPG employer members to have access to contact information on students that have successfully completed accredited courses.

David Ward
Director of Education
APRS

ACCREDITATION DOCUMENTATION Details about the information you will be required to supply:
Introduction (69kB)	Complete document (144kB)
The function of the APRS Accreditation Board (101kB)
Accreditation procedures (97kB)
Accredited course characteristics (88kB)
Submission checklist (76kB)
Application form (67kB)
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