Students who paid €6k for unaccredited course 'may be reimbursed'

It leaves Dublin Business School students undertaking the programme in a position where their qualification is not accredited, meaning they will have to find an alternative way of achieving registration with CORU before the social care role becomes fully protected in November 2025. File photo: Google Maps

The Dublin Business School has said it may reimburse students on its Social Care graduate programme after it emerged the course is not accredited by the body responsible for regulating health and social care professions.

The three-year programme at DBS has annual fees of almost €6,000 for full-time students, but CORU, the health and social care professional regulator, confirmed that following feedback it provided to the college on gaps in the programme, DBS "withdrew its applications for programme approval" last month.

That leaves students undertaking the programme in a position where their qualification is not accredited, meaning they will have to find an alternative way of achieving registration with CORU before the social care role becomes fully protected in November 2025.

The news sparked outcry among current students, with some saying they had quit jobs to undertake their studies, and organised payment of fees and accommodation, only to discover that the course has not been deemed eligible for CORU accreditation.

Among those criticising what has unfolded was Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, who described the situation as "wholly unacceptable"

According to CORU, the Social Care Workers Register will open in November 2023 and introduce regulation to that profession for the first time in Ireland.

"Dublin Business School were provided detailed feedback in 2022 on how their courses align to CORU’s standards and where any gaps may lie and subsequently withdrew its applications for programme approval to CORU in July 2022.

"We acknowledge the impact on existing students, if an education provider withdraws from the programme approval process."

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A spokesperson for DBS said: "DBS' main priority is to find a solution for this group of students. We are working through a number of options, one of which, in the future may include reimbursement to any affected students should CORU approval not be granted. We have contacted CORU seeking to engage with them in developing all possible options."

The spokesperson said DBS developed a programme in 2018 to meet the education requirements of Quality & Qualifications Ireland (QQI) and the professional requirements of CORU, and  submitted its application for accreditation in September 2021.

However, according to the DBS spokesperson: "However, the CORU Review Panel had concerns about the extent to which the programme ensures the achievement of the Registration Board Standards of Proficiency for Social Care Workers and advised that the timeframe of the Programme Approval process could not accommodate the submission of the changes required to address the issues. 

"DBS therefore took the decision to not proceed with its current application and is currently working on a revised programme to be submitted for future approval by both QQI and CORU. DBS intends that graduates of the revised programme will ultimately be able to receive CORU registration.

"As things currently stand anyone starting now in September 2022 will not have the transition option which is why work has commenced on the revised programme."

Emma Corbally: 'It felt like the right path'

Emma Corbally was due to enter her third and final year of the BA in Applied Social Care in DBS next month, with the end in sight and a likely job in a sector crying out for new personnel. Except now, she's not so sure.

"It is kind of the only thing I ever felt passionate about," the 22-year-old from Artane said. "I have grown up being a carer to a lot of my family members so it felt like the right path for me."

But with the news that her course in DBS is not CORU-accredited, and that the college withdrew its application for accreditation with the regulator last month, everything is now uncertain.

From November 2025 the title of Social Care Worker will be protected, putting it in line with other jobs such as social worker and radiographer. The two access points to being accredited and registered with CORU at that point is having a fully accredited qualification, or - for those with older qualifications but years of training and experience - a two-year window starting in late 2023 to be accredited, a kind of 'grandparent' route.

But Emma is not sure which or either of these routes is now open to her.

"I think there should be a few solutions," she said. "Some want reimbursement and their money back, which is fair enough. But for those who want to continue and finish this [course] off we have to have a solution as well - maybe a follow-up course or something. Something that will not let those years go to waste."