Drama UK Accreditation

[rebekahamy]

Hi there everyone, I was wondering if anyone would be able to share their knowledge and enlighten me about a couple of things.

I am looking to apply to a slightly lesser known but (in my opinion) great looking drama school this year, but I am getting a tad confused about accreditation and how it all works.

This school states on their website that they have joined the elite group of exceptional schools recognized by Drama UK, but I am slightly unsure of whether or not this means they are actually accredited, as they are not listed here: http://www.dramauk.co.uk/drama_uk_accredited_schools They are however listed here: http://www.dramauk.co.uk/courses/institutions and I can't quite make out what the actual difference is between the two lists!

They also say on their website that they are a recognised actor training provider by Spotlight, and that students will be eligible to join once they have graduated from their full time training. They also say that students will be eligible to apply for a Student Equity membership card, so this all sounds pretty promising.

What exactly does training on an accredited course offer you, other than spotlight and equity membership upon graduation? Is there a lot more to it that I've missed? Or is it more that you are more appealing to agents if you have trained on an accredited course?

Also, final question, how is accreditation actually awarded? Is it based on standard of teaching? Or graduate success? Can't seem to find much info anywhere and so I would really appreciate anyone who can share their knowledge with me! Thank you so much

[Caroline A-C]

I may be completely wrong, but I thought that a school/college you apply/attend had to be accredited in order to qualify for a student loan. As I say, I may be wrong but I am sure there are people on here who will know for sure.

[oscar]

You can't get a student loan at colleges that aren't accredited but you can often get a career development loan . Not a great alternative . I contacted spotlight directly about schools that aren't accredited and they confirmed that the students from these places could go in spotlight after course but they would always recommend an accredited school . I wish ds had thought if this before starting auditioning . Hope this helps.

[rebekahamy]

Okay thank you both, good to know that you can still go into Spotlight after graduating from a non accredited course...kind of a pain that you can't get a student loan though I'll have to look into career development loans then.

Does anyone know what this school might mean by saying they have joined the group of schools recognized by Drama UK? Is being recognized different to being accredited (seems like it but just checking!) and is being recognized anything particularly great then?

Thanks again!

[pg]

Could you tell us which school it is?

It is the course that's accredited, rather than the school. So some courses at Central or RADA (for example) are accredited and others are not.

The funding doesn't depend solely upon accreditation - there are, for example, many drama courses at Universities that are eligible for student loans, but are not accredited. It's the independent schools (e.g. Oxford School of Drama) where only the accredited courses would be eligible for a DaDA (and it's not entirely clear what will be happening to DaDAs in the future in any case) - the DaDA funded courses are not eligible for student loans - but the courses are still accredited.

Accredited courses have been judged to provide good, practical training for the profession - this independent assessment is one way of weighing up one course against another. In itself it doesn't provide any guarantees, but it is a way of working out which courses industry professionals will take seriously. That doesn't mean that these are the only courses that will be taken seriously - there may be others that are rated highly by individuals working in the industry - but it does take out some of the guesswork.

[rebekahamy]

Thank you pg, I will pm you if thats okay?

[pg]

Only those schools/courses in the accredited list on Drama UK's site are accredited.
http://www.dramauk.co.uk/drama_uk_accredited_schools

You do need to check each individual course to see whether it's accredited - as some accredited schools run non-accredited courses.

Drama UK also lists many other courses - as information for those considering training.
Being on Drama UK's site as a course provider does not imply any kind of recognition or endorsement. It is only if it appears with "accredited" or "recognised" alongside it on the Drama UK site that it has been in any way assessed by Drama UK.

All that is needed to get a course otherwise listed on Drama UK's site as a course provider is payment... They are just acting as a kind of yellow pages in this instance.

Don't take a school website's claim at face value - cross check it with Drama UK and remember that just having a listing on Drama UK is not an endorsement.

Unfortunately, it would appear that one school is falsely claiming accreditation and endorsement/recognition by Drama UK.

I have been in touch with the school and with Drama UK - and hopefully these misleading claims will soon be removed from the school's website.

It definitely pays to dig around a bit.

[rebekahamy]

Thank you so much for all that info pg! That definitely clears up a lot of my questions. Have you ever considered changing career paths and becoming a detective?!