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IID

The Short and The Long of it

The sad reality of choosing the wrong institution to study

interior design

ver the past couple of years, as universities in the country, nestled under
the IID has grown professional the shadows of Table Mountain.
Omembership, the Management There are other courses that offer one
Committee that oversees new membership year online courses in interior design.
applications, has been receiving more and Once completed, students apply at
more applications from individuals that registered institutions and want to have
do not meet the minimum requirements their work accepted to proceed to second
to become members. year. The quality of work is so bad they
A very good example is an application have to start from scratch and end up in
we received two weeks ago. This person first year. A complete waste of money and
“qualified” as an interior designer having a year of their lives.
completed a three month ten module
course in interior design. Wow! Why We must stop the smoke and mirrors. I you piece of mind when embarking on
bother studying for a minimum of three have compiled a minimum checklist that your studies.
years fulltime when you can get the same all prospective students should be aware • What quality assurance mechanisms
qualification from ten modules running of before they proceed to study interior are in place?
over a ten-week period? The sad thing is design; • Are the academic staff suitably
the individual paid good money to study • Ensure the institution is registered with qualified?
and become “qualified”. the DHE and the CHE. All registered • Are the academic support staff suitably
When told the IID could not accept institutions are required to hang the qualified?
this qualification she was shattered. The appropriate certificate from the DHE • If possible, ask to speak to students who
Management Committee recommended in their foyers and use their registration are doing the course. They will be likely
she approach and ask the institution if the number on all advertising and their to give you a true picture of how they
course is registered with the Department websites. rate their studies.
of Higher Education (DHE) and the • Ensure the institution can supply • Are facilities such as the library,
Council of Higher Education (CHE). you with the South African Quality computer hardware and software
The answer she received was the course Authority’s (SAQA) National continuously updated and relevant to
was not recognized and all she could be Qualification Framework to see if past industry standards?
offered was a certificate of attendance. students are recorded on it. You can In conclusion, I think of the old saying,
At least they were honest there! She was also access the SAQA website to check. “fools rush in where angels fear to tread”.
then told further in writing that this was • Check with the IID for This is your career, make sure you make
an “enrichment course” and not a career recommendations. All our education the right choices. dw
changing one. Unbelievable, when we members are fully registered.
consider this course is offered under the • Check how long the institution has been Prof Des Laubscher
umbrella of one of the oldest red brick in existence, the older the better, to give CEO IID

20 Issue 238 • dw