A. The provider, its staff, representatives and agents, conduct all promotional activity in a fair and ethical manner, follow commonly accepted best practices, and comply with all relevant legislation.

B. All advertising or promotional material gives a clear, accurate and balanced view of the provider, its personnel, its provision, the objectives and outcomes of that provision or the ease with which they can be obtained.    All information included is real, current, and verifiable.

In particular, all publicity material:

1. clearly identifies the provider;
2. does not make false or injurious references to competitors;
3. clearly identifies the awarding body of any qualification and its status;
4. makes clear that the education or training on offer is by open and/or distance methods;
5. avoids any impression that employment is on offer or is in any way guaranteed;
6. includes testimonials or similar material only if current and with the author’s prior consent;
7. includes price reductions and discounts offered only if they are real and verifiable, and any financial assistance offered is represented accurately;
8. includes an appropriate use of the ODL QC name and its quality mark.

C. All enquiries from potential applicants are handled promptly, appropriately and sympathetically.    In particular, staff engaged in promotion do not offer educational advice unless competent to do so.

D. Providers selling through home visits take particular care to avoid the possibility of mis-selling.

In particular:

1. Home visits should only take place by prior invitation.
2. Presentations during home visits are, as far as possible, be standardised, relatively hard for the representative to vary, and available for scrutiny by external assessors or the Council.
3. Sales are not be completed on a single visit unless the applicant has had ample opportunity to assess the course in advance of that visit.
4. all applicants are made aware of ODL QC, and given our contact information.
5. The provider routinely seeks feedback from learners who enrol after a home visit, which is made available to ODL QC on request.

E. The applicant is made aware of his or her responsibility to assess the suitability of the course, and in particular in relation to their own needs, qualifications, capabilities and aspirations, before enrolment.

F. Providers offer sufficient information to enable each learner fully to assess the suitability of a course, including an opportunity to discuss it with the provider prior to enrolment.

If only limited information can be made available, suitably extended refund arrangements should compensate for this.

If pre-enrolment assessment is used for promotional purposes, it is made clear to the applicant that this is the case, and that such assessments do not lessen his or her responsibility to assess the suitability of the course.

G. Prior to enrolment on a particular course, the prospective learner is made properly aware of all terms and conditions relevant to that course, either in the prospectus or similar material, by correspondence, or in discussion with the provider.

These would normally include:

1. the name and contact details of the provider;
2. the date of publication of the prospectus;
3. the full extent of the course;
4. the target group of learners for whom the course has been designed;
5. the likely number of study hours necessary for its completion;
6. the likely overall time span between enrolment and completion;
7. what time-limits, if any, are imposed by the provider for completion of the course;
8. the timetable for the provision of materials (whether all at once, or in stages) and whether this is linked to the schedule of payment of fees;
9. the total fee payable to the provider in respect of the course;
10. the likely total costs to the learner, including as well as provider fees, the costs of necessary support materials, any likely travel & residential costs, and any examination fees payable to the provider or to other bodies;
11. the schedule of payment of fees (whether all at once or in stages);
12. the provider’s policy on refunds;
13. the availability and extent of learning, tutorial and any other advisory support;
14. the availability and extent of vocational guidance
15. the means of delivery of materials and support (by telephone, post, fax, e-mail, or on-line);
16. any equipment (PC, videos etc) needed by the learner to study the course at home;
17. the timing, extent and financial implications of any residential or face-to-face component of the course;
18. the stated objective of the course, and its intended outcome;
19. any qualifications required of the learner to undertake the course, or other entry restrictions;
20. the number of assessments which count towards the outcome and the grades required to achieve it;
21. the currency (national or international status, recognition arrangements, and particularly license-to-practice implications) of any certificate, diploma or other qualification offered by the provider as the outcome of the course.

If any of this information is not supplied by the provider, because for example it is deemed to be the responsibility of another, such as an awarding body, or of the learner himself, this must also be made clear prior to enrolment.

H. Access requirements imposed by the provider for any course are appropriate, kept to the necessary minimum and published.

If access is restricted by a provider for any reason other than published access requirements, or the provider in some other way implies that the applicant is being vetted or selected by them, then it is clear to both applicant and provider that the latter is making a judgment as to the suitability of the applicant for that course.

I. Enrolment when completed is confirmed to the learner, who then has a pre-defined period within which to withdraw from the course.

The provider informs the learner in writing of the point at which enrolment occurs and a binding contract has been made. All learners have access to a printed copy of the terms and conditions of their enrolment.    The language used is clear and unambiguous.    There is a period after enrolment during which the learner can cancel the course and still obtain a substantial refund (a cooling-off period).

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