Current System
The System offers courses of study for undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas and degrees to more than 50,000 students around the world. A designated constituent institution of the University of London, called the "lead college", creates materials to allow students to study at their own pace. Examinations take place at testing centres around the world on specified dates. Hallmarks of the programme are its low cost in comparison to attendance in London, and the possibility of pursuing either full-time or part-time study.
As stated in the University of London Statutes, International Programmes students are graded on the same standard as internal students to ensure a uniform credentialing process. A student who completes a course of study under the program is awarded a University of London degree with a notation specifying which lead college provided the instruction.
Students enrolled in the University of London International Programmes are members of the University of London. International Programmes Students are however not full members of University of London Union and have very limited student representation within the University. There are also differences over the status International Programmes Students have with respect to their lead college. Some institutions co-register their International Programmes Students as college members (i.e. SOAS, LSHTM), in addition to their status as University of London member. However, other colleges deny International Programmes Students membership status and privileges when they are present in London (i.e. LSE).
Academics at the University of London are responsible for the academic direction of the International Programmes. When the International Programmes was audited in 2005 by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), the auditors concluded that "broad confidence" could be placed in the University's management and the awards made through the External System ("broad confidence" is "the best verdict any institution can be given by the auditors").
Most International Programmes Students are in former territories of the British Empire. There are more than 9,000 students enrolled in the programme in Singapore, 5,000 in Hong Kong, 3,000 in Trinidad and Tobago, 2,000 in Malaysia, 1,900 in Pakistan, 1,200 in Bangladesh, 800 in Sri Lanka, 1,000 in Canada, between 1,000 and 1,999 in the United States, 300 in Malta, more than 200 in Australia, more than 200 in South Africa, more than 30 in New Zealand and many hundreds in India, among other countries.
Read more about this topic: University Of London External System
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—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable of living in this way. Therefore not only does the system alienate humanity, but at the same time alienated humanity supports this system as its own involuntary masterplan, as a degenerate image of its own degeneration, as a record of people’s own failure as individuals.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)