ifs School of Finance gains Taught Degree-Awarding Powers
Thursday, November 26, 2009
by: Lorraine Gallagher
The ifs School of Finance, a specialist in the provision of financial education, today announced that it has been granted Taught Degree-Awarding Powers (TDAP) by the Privy Council as of the 2nd January 2010.
London, U.K., 26th November, 2009: This is the first instance of an education provider specifically focused on financial services gaining the right to award its own degrees. The UK financial services industry now has an independent degree-awarding institution exclusively serving its specific needs for professional academic qualifications.
The news comes as the financial industry enters into a new phase of increased scrutiny and further regulation. Gavin Shreeve, Principal of the ifs, said:
"The grant of TDAP reflects the quality and relevance of the ifs’ qualifications and also our ability to set and maintain high academic standards, something which is critically important at a time when public confidence in the finance sector has been undermined. Coming at a period of increased focus on professional standards as a result of the financial crisis, this is a hugely positive step for both the ifs and the financial services sector"
The ifs has long standing links with the financial services industry and an educational heritage spanning 130 years. It was originally founded to provide qualifications for the banking sector but has since expanded into other financial disciplines and now has over 60,000 students studying on its various programmes across the world. It offers qualifications across the educational spectrum from GCSE, AS and A level equivalent qualifications in personal finance to qualifications for regulated advisers and postgraduate degrees in financial services management.
Taught degree-awarding powers are granted by Her Majesty’s Privy Council, acting on the confidential advice of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) through the Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property. Grant of taught degree-awarding powers comes at the end of an application process which started in 2006. The QAA spent the intervening years scrutinising the organisation and talking to its partner universities as well as its academic community, including students.
The ifs degree programmes are currently validated by the universities of Manchester and Kent. In 1996, the ifs was the first industry education body to link its main award to a University degree. In the last two years the ifs has also entered into a partnership with the University of Surrey to offer full time BSc and MSc programmes in Financial Services Management.
The acquisition of degree-awarding powers means the ifs now has the right to award both undergraduate and taught post graduate degrees without ratification from a third-party university.
Gavin Shreeve added:
"The financial services industry has been through a critical period and is now rebalancing. With the challenge of recovery comes the opportunity for change and the ifs has a key role to play in leading the industry into the future and ensuring the lessons of the past are learned. Applied learning that is informed and shaped by strong academic principles is at the centre of this process and the ifs’ unique relationship within the industry means it is ideally positioned to continue to foster a culture of learning that is both rigorous and relevant."
Back to all news