The British Accreditation Council was established in 1984 to be the national accrediting body for independent further and higher education. It is an independent charity, with Council members nominated by bodies concerned with standards in education in the UK (such as Universities UK, the British Council and the examination boards). Accreditation by BAC is dependent on a thorough inspection, which is repeated every five years. BAC, the British Council and the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council were described by the Secretary of State for Education as "the only public guarantee of standards in independent institutions of further and higher education". BAC audits the GCSE and A-level results gained in CIFE colleges. This is not a BAC requirement, but something undertaken voluntarily by the colleges. In addition to an analysis of the results supplied by the Examination Boards, the audit includes spotcheck visits to ensure that all candidates entered by the colleges are included in the final figures. The audit not only ensures that the results published by each college are accurate, but also that they are shown in a consistent way, enabling fair comparisons to be made. BAC views the decision by the CIFE colleges to submit themselves to the audit process as evidence of a very high standard of professional conduct. Further information about BAC can be found on the website: www.the-bac.org

19/11/03