Newsletter - Late March 2008

Contents of this Newsletter

1. Course Revisions
2. Career for life
3. Recommended Books
4. New Staff
5. Getting around our Web Sites
6. Don't Make an Education Mistake!
7. Job opportunity - Orchid Nursery Job
8. Accreditation Insights

1. Course Revisions

The following courses have recently been revised and expanded. Enrolments are being accepted for immediate start in any of these courses, and you can choose your preferred method of study from the following options: traditional correspondence (printed course materials), online study or e-learning (course notes on CD).

Click on each to find out more.

• Computer Studies II –If you know the basics but need to learn more about computer use
  
  
  
• Arboriculture I – Tree Care
  
  
  
• Self Sufficiency I - Learn to cut costs and be independent from others.
  
  
  
• Food and Beverage Management- Suited to work in catering, event management and restaurants
  
  
• Biochemistry I – a foundation for Human or Animal Biology (now with added illustration)
  
  
  2. A career for life
  
  
  
  Ask Us about Horticulture or Plant Sciences –Industries with a Future!
  Study the RHS Cert 2 or our Horticulture I course as a first step
  For details click below

Horticulture I

RHS Certificate II

3. Recommended books

Some books are classics, and a must for anyone interested in a particular subject. These books sell in their tens of thousands and are reprinted many times over. If you are interested in any of the following disciplines, here are a few classics that you should seriously consider owning.

4. New Staff

Jane Thompson B.App.Sc
With 12 years experience working in the field of wildlife conservation and management,
Jane has expertise in planning for wildlife, habitat mapping, fauna surveying.
She has also prepared many reports and co-authored papers on wildlife conservation for conferences and publication.

For a full list of staff click here

5. Getting Around our Web Sites

6. Don’t Make an Education Mistake

Looking at today’s job opportunities is NOT the way to choose a course.
The world is simply changing too fast. You may find that by the time you complete a course (particularly a longer course), the job you studied for might not even exist, or it may require specific knowledge or skills that you haven’t learnt.

If you don’t want to waste time or find yourself unemployable, follow these guidelines:

1. Avoid courses that have taken years to develop (unfortunately this can include many accredited courses)
2. Only undertake courses that are frequently and constantly revised to keep up with new developments in careers and industry.
3. Stick to courses that develop broad skills that open up a whole field of employment.
4. When you want to study highly specific (specialist) subjects, stick with shorter courses that can be started and finished before changes occur in the job market.

7. Job Opportunity – Orchid Nursery

Orchid Nursery Seeks Staff
Mainly propagation work
Contact Robert Dodd at orchidflasks@hotmail.com

8. Accreditation Insights

CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation)
The CHEA is perhaps the main body overseeing accreditation systems in the USA. While most countries have education departments that manage colleges and universities, the US has no federal Education Ministry.

The following quote comes from a recent CHEA Publication:

“Higher Education accreditation in the USA is unique in the world as an approach to institutional development and quality assurance because it is essentially owned and governed by institutions and professions it serves. Unlike most nations, the US has no federal ministry of education that controls curricula; therefore affording American higher education greater diversity and the opportunity to respond to needs and desires of society in a timely fashion”

IARC (International Accreditation and Recognition Council)
The IARC, like CHEA, is governed by the institutions it serves, but differs in its focus. Where CHEA has a national focus, the IARC is focused internationally.

What Does IARC Accreditation Mean?
Accredited courses have been reviewed and judged to meet a set of criteria determined by a body providing accreditation. In the case of the IARC, the criteria used has been set and approved by the member institutions and are endorsed by those institutions as being credible and in line with broadly accepted international academic standards.

Most ACS Courses are accredited by the IARC
ACS courses have been reviewed and judged as meeting the criteria of the IARC, and most are accredited by the council.

For more information about courses or to receive free careers counselling, email admin@acs.edu.au.

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