BSc IT at Richfield worth doing?

I've looked at those international options and the costs are astronomical in that doing a full 3 year degree will cost about R900 000, basically a million rand if you're an international student.

As for back to the Richmond thing, there degree is recognized as NQF 7, same as the UNISA degree.
The only Uni's in SA that have internationally recognized IT degrees are UCT and UJ.

So if your goal is to get an IT related degree to get interviews, then Richmond will work.

If you have the money, I would look at http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/lear.../programme.cfm?prog_id=93068&major_code=PSFEN

I was very interested in that.
 
cguy said:
Do you mean study through an overseas university by correspondence/online? If so, any recommendations?
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I know someone that studied via Open University, which seems like UK's UNISA.

Don't know much about it but seemed a little more legit than these SA colleges.

Else the Monash stuff seems viable too, though they do satellite campuses not remote I think
 
flippakitten said:
...

As for back to the Richmond thing, there degree is recognized as NQF 7, same as the UNISA degree.
The only Uni's in SA that have internationally recognized IT degrees are UCT and UJ.

So if your goal is to get an IT related degree to get interviews, then Richmond will work.

...
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Employers do not just look at the NQF number, so I do not think this is valid advice. The rating of the university plays a big role.
 
gkm said:
Employers do not just look at the NQF number, so I do not think this is valid advice. The rating of the university plays a big role.
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Agreed. Also, fundamentally I think that the actual quality of education is important too. A lot of people believe that they just need the "piece of paper", but really they need a lot more than that to see real career growth.
 
HavocXphere said:
I know someone that studied via Open University, which seems like UK's UNISA.

Don't know much about it but seemed a little more legit than these SA colleges.

Else the Monash stuff seems viable too, though they do satellite campuses not remote I think
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I am a little more skeptical on the Monash SA courses - looked at the curriculum before, and their "science" courses seem very light on actual science. I seriously doubt that the education is likely to be anywhere close the quality one would get at the NZ campus.

Yeah, the UK actually seems to have some good online courses. The UK Open University doesn't have a great ranking (less than UCT, Stellenbosch, or WITS), but higher than UNISA, and of course - it actually has a ranking, which many online degree universities do not. In a PM someone mentioned Edinburgh University, which seems to have a very good online program.
 
flippakitten said:
The only Uni's in SA that have internationally recognized IT degrees are UCT and UJ.
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Yes the international degree recognition authority said so...oh wait...doesn't exist.

"Internationally recognised" is nothing more than a fuzzy marketing term so I'd be curious to hear why you think UJ is "recognised" while say Stellenbosch isn't...
 
cguy said:
n a PM someone mentioned Edinburgh University, which seems to have a very good online program.
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Yeah that is actually true...one of my ex colleagues did his degree that way. Recognised by prof body etc. All good.
 
HavocXphere said:
Yes the international degree recognition authority said so...oh wait...doesn't exist.

"Internationally recognised" is nothing more than a fuzzy marketing term so I'd be curious to hear why you think UJ is "recognised" while say Stellenbosch isn't...
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The Washington Accord?
http://www.ieagreements.org/accords/washington/

Anyway, I do stand corrected on a lot of things and one of is which BSc's are accredited:
University of Cape Town
University of KwaZulu-Natal
https://www.ecsa.co.za/education/EducationDocs/List_of_AccrUniv_E-20_PE.pdf

I do understand the difference between BEng, BSc and BTech however the point I am trying to make is if you're doing a BSc through UNISA it won't be accredited but a BTech through UNISA would be under the Sydney accord.

Anyway, I digress, that really has no bearing on UNISA vs Richfield it's just something that's good to know when selecting where to study.
 
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flippakitten said:
The Washington Accord?
http://www.ieagreements.org/accords/washington/

Anyway, I do stand corrected on a lot of things and one of is which BSc's are accredited:
University of Cape Town
University of KwaZulu-Natal
https://www.ecsa.co.za/education/EducationDocs/List_of_AccrUniv_E-20_PE.pdf

I do understand the difference between BEng, BSc and BTech however the point I am trying to make is if you're doing a BSc through UNISA it won't be accredited but a BTech through UNISA would be under the Sydney accord.

Anyway, I digress, that really has no bearing on UNISA vs Richfield it's just something that's good to know when selecting where to study.
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Fair enough. (I always thought the Seoul accord is the relevant one here)

Either way...for the vast majority it boils down to what the uni on the other side is willing to accept on a case by case basis. 195 countries & millions of combinations of degrees & unis means there is simply no international standardisation imo.

Transferring @ professional body level seems much better. Busy doing that at the moment. Seems like a couple of mails will do the tricky.
 
HavocXphere said:
Fair enough. (I always thought the Seoul accord is the relevant one here)

Either way...for the vast majority it boils down to what the uni on the other side is willing to accept on a case by case basis. 195 countries & millions of combinations of degrees & unis means there is simply no international standardisation imo.

Transferring @ professional body level seems much better. Busy doing that at the moment. Seems like a couple of mails will do the tricky.
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I couldn't really agree with you more on this and I totally forgot about the Seoul accord. So many moving parts that differ from place to place.

In this case UNISA is better known than Richfield, as to whether it's better or worse will depend on what you plan to achieve with your degree. For me I need a 3 year degree from a tertiary institution and both UNISA and Richfield will require qualifications assessment. International Studying is out of the question due to costs and full time study is also not an option as I work full time.

If I had the finances I would go international as both UNISA and Richfield's course content seems a bit dated when compared with other institutions offering Distance Learning.
 
Never heard of this place you want to study at. Do not.

You are presented with the classic chicken and egg problem.

You want to work but must first get the qualification. Once you have the qualification they will tell you experience is needed.

Two recommendations:
a. Offer to work for free.
Any reasonable employer will pay you if you are willing to learn and earn the business income on your work.
Really that simple.
Leave if they do not offer money after one week {be willing to earn very little till you have skills that earn the business money}.
Be sure to keep repeating this process. You will probably have it solved in less than one month.

Now that you are employed, see what is valued in the industry and from what institutions.
Pursue this path if this is what you want.
It is very complex. Spend your time well here, a degree is very expensive. You can easily slog away for a few years and starve while paying for it. The nightmare to realize in is not recognized.
Many articles had been published in the economist re higher education. Here is a recent one for you to read. {They published many over the years.}

b. Identify a large organization you are willing to join. By some means start working for them.
Any large organization have a budget for education.
Perform well, apply and be selected and they will pay for your education.
Best part, you will work at this firm during holidays. When you graduate you have a degree/ qualification and relevant experience.

A qualification is merely a door pass, it allows you in, but now you need to prove your worth.

The world is changing, to have a degree is less important now and probably even less important in the future.

You are obviously informed enough to ask your question in a forum.
Go further, try speaking to a person or two who have worked some years and have relevant qualifications.

You will find many willing to guide you if you are humble and willing to work.
 
fundutzi said:
Never heard of this place you want to study at. Do not.
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Same here, before this thread. I can therefore not comment much on the specific qualification. But I have done hundreds of interviews and if I do not recognize a qualification, I probably just read over it.
 
gkm said:
Same here, before this thread. I can therefore not comment much on the specific qualification. But I have done hundreds of interviews and if I do not recognize a qualification, I probably just read over it.
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If I can ask something then, if you don't recognize the institution but there is excellent work experience listed in the application, would that change your mind on the qualification?
 
flippakitten address gkm.

I will add.
If the person must make license plates, who cares.
Re where you obtained the qualification/s. The limitation/ trouble kicks in when the person becomes senior.
Say:
- Now he must manage the license plate makers. The other persons applying have good experience, qualified at a reputable organization.
- Even worse, the company have to compete for a contract. You have to specify your credentials.
- Apply for positions in some other country/ countries.

The above hints at the secret they do not tell you when you are young.
Obtain a tertiary education from some credible institution, yes, you have to learn and sit many exams. Some of them will continue later to publish works.
This is at most 33% of the real objective.
The other two parts
- learn the human skills to interact with other "civilized mammals", we may call this etiquette/ social skills/ political skills.
- meet other human beings who will better themselves. You will need this network later in life more than you know.

The shocking part they do not tell you.
Obtain the qualification through some remote university {in some ways even if you attend university full time from home/ private residence} and you fail objectives 2 and 3.
 
flippakitten said:
If I can ask something then, if you don't recognize the institution but there is excellent work experience listed in the application, would that change your mind on the qualification?
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I often see great people, no matter what is their qualification background, or lack there of. Obviously, seeing multiple would start to indicate a correlation with the qualification.
 
flippakitten said:
If I can ask something then, if you don't recognize the institution but there is excellent work experience listed in the application, would that change your mind on the qualification?
Click to expand...

Usually "excellent work experience" means working for a well known, reputable company. E.g., If someone was a Staff Engineer at Google, we would interview them with or without any formal education. 20 years at some unknown company doesn't mean much to someone reading or screening CVs, so good people can fall through the cracks.

The issue is how to get that experience in the first place? Your starting point (type of work, industry, country, level, etc.) is usually determined by your formal education and what you personally managed to get out of it, so it still matters in this scenario indirectly.
 
IMHO you pay for the "brand" of the institution as well as the education.

When you start working the brand is what gets your foot in the door. The education (or what you make of it) is what gets you further.
 
Richfield is basically PC Training & Business College, it was rebranded a while back.

My friend studied there. If you do end up attending instead of being part time, then the communication and presentation of the material is really poor and I wouldn't recommend it, otherwise if you just want a degree then go for it.

Interesting part, after my friend graduated, they offered him a lecturing position at the campus... Now that should atleast give you an idea about the quality of lecturers or the staff there.
 
ActualNinja said:
Interesting part, after my friend graduated, they offered him a lecturing position at the campus... Now that should atleast give you an idea about the quality of lecturers or the staff there.
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Belgian Campus appears to do the same thing. Scary!
 
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