End of the line for the BAF Diploma?

The BAF Diploma has a very limited remaining life-span if an article in the TES is close to the truth…

The TES article describes the potential threat to the Diploma system posed by the possible change of government during 2010. The article paints a generally downbeat assessment of the prospects for the Diplomas.

It certainly backs up the many conversations we’ve had with colleagues, departments and exam boards over recent months. Unscientific, of course, but the overriding impression I gain from those conversations is that the BAF Diploma (along with some of the other business-related Diplomas) is dying on its feet, with colleagues feeling pretty annoyed at the time they have been required to invest in what looks likely to prove a lost cause.

We recently conducted some market research that suggested there are now over 200 different business studies courses and units available to UK students at Level 2 and Level 3 - and that is excluding the Diplomas! That proliferation of established course options, together with the minimal take-up of Diplomas to date, suggests that the BAF Diploma is soon become the Betamax of the Business Education world?