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HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTION
ACCREDITATION

U
SAIPA accredits tertiary institution accounting
programmes in South Africa to ensure that they meet
its educational standards and prepare students for
careers in the accounting profession. SAIPA’s
accreditation leads to the Professional Accountant
(SA) designation.

Fulltime and distance learning programmes offered by one tertiary

institution are also considered to be separate programmes and are
accredited separately.
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 An essential element of accreditation is quality assurance and
enhancement. Accreditation of programmes consists of initial
accreditation and ongoing monitoring or conditional accreditation.
Accredited programmes are offered by tertiary institutions including
public and private higher education institutions.

By accrediting a programme, SAIPA certifies

that:
1. A tertiary institution has put in place the appropriate resources that,
if utilised effectively, should enable it to deliver the programme at
the required standards and levels of quality; and
2. The programme meets SAIPA’s requirements in terms of the
standards of learning, teaching and assessment.

The curriculum of the Bachelor of Commerce or equivalent programme

offered by the higher education institution must be aligned to the SAIPA
Competency Framework and relevant International Education Standards.
Accreditation certifies that a programme contains the requirements
necessary to meet SAIPA’s accreditation standards.

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 SAIPA TERTIARY INSTITUTION
ACCREDITATION PROCESS
The SAIPA tertiary institution accreditation process typically involves the
following steps:

1. Pre-application phase: The tertiary institution expresses its interest

in seeking SAIPA accreditation and receives information about the
accreditation process and requirements. The higher education
institution must submit to SAIPA the required documents before the
accreditation visit and after the submission of an online application.
2. Onsite-assessment phase: SAIPA conducts a site visit to the higher
education institution. The higher education institution must (a) make
available the documents relating to the programme material
including the curriculum, assessments and learning material used for
lectures, a description of the teaching and learning methodology
applied etc. (b) demonstrate the required physical and/or virtual
resources to ensure a high-quality learning experience (c) provide
evidence of compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act
No. 85 (1993 and make available key policies and processes relating to
storage and security of examination papers, scripts and other
assessment instruments; curriculum development; learning material
design and development; catering for students with special needs
and/or other barriers to learning; learner records management;
student appeals ; and staff development, performance measurement
and growth. 2
3. Evaluation and Recommendation phase: Findings from the site visit
are communicated to the applicant institution on evaluation of their
submission, or within the feedback report following the site. A
timeframe is provided for remediation of the findings. SAIPA may,
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 upon evaluation of the applicant institution’s submission, or
following a site visit, issue recommendations in terms of best
practice to ensure continuous improvement of the institution’s
offering.
4. Accreditation decision: Based on the evaluation, SAIPA decides on
the accreditation of the higher institution’s accounting programme.
SAIPA may award any of the following accreditation statuses:

Is the
Accreditation
institution
status
accredited?

Yes – the institution

is fully accredited.
Full accreditation is
valid for a 5-year
cycle. A site visit
(online and/or
physical) is required
4.1 Full Accreditation before re-
accreditation. An
accreditation
certificate is issued
with the date of
accreditation,
qualification name
and expiry date

Yes – but the

Accreditation with institution is limited
4.2
Condition by the stated
condition(s).

Provisional
4.3 No
Accreditation
:
 No – but the
Withheld
4.4 institution may
Accreditation
lodge an appeal as
per SAIPA’s bylaws.

Deferred
4.5 Yes
Accreditation

4.6 Probation Yes

No – as of the date
of the letter
informing the
institution of the
Revoked
Accreditation
Revoked status, the
4.7
Accreditation institution is no
longer accredited; it
may lodge an
appeal, but it is not
accredited during
the appeals
process.

Graduates from non-accredited institutions must submit the

programmes for evaluation against the Competency Framework.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION

FORM HERE
:
 ETM05 - UNIVERSITY ACCREDITATION
GUIDELINES

PR152 - ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS

TD54 - UNIVERSITY ACCREDITATION

ACCREDITED HIGHER EDUCATION

INSTITUTIONS

The higher education institutions have been accredited to deliver the

Professional Accountant (SA) designation. Click here to view the list of
accredited higher education institutions! Email queries to
education@saipa.co.za

EMAIL QUERIES TO EDUCATION@SAIPA.CO.ZA

COMPLETING YOUR PROFESSIONAL

ACCOUNTANT (SA) DESIGNATION
Students enrolled in these accredited programmes must complete the
following steps to gain the Professional Accountant (SA) designation:
1. Successfully complete your Accredited Higher Education BCom
programme
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 2. Successfully complete your learnership at a SAIPA Accredited
Training Office
3. Successfully complete the Professional Evaluation Assessment .
Optional: Enrol for the Project Achiever programme to prepare
yourself for the Professional Evolutions Assessment
4. Prepare the required documents before application for membership
and apply online

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