Thursday 27 January 2011

F is for...

Tomorrow I get an exam result for my CIPD qualification.  Due to work issues at the time, the likelihood is that I've not passed! But I am turning my mind to my studies for the first time probably since the exam.
Studying anything whilst working full time is pretty tough. You have to be verrrry motivated and self-disciplined. I travel a lot with work too, so choosing to study on top of this really impacts on my home life.
So it has to be something that means a lot.
I've been studing my CIPD for two years. If I fail this exam, I have two to retake in May (work permitting), my management case report, and my electives.
The CIPD, in its infinate wisdom, has changed the course structure part-way through.
My college currently has no start dates for the electives that I need to take.  In my last tutorial, the tutor mentioned that the tutors haven't been told the course structure or content.  There may not be exams.
This means that I'll have to take exams that are no longer considered valid to complete my qualification.
Logic?
I can't complete my final year until....? no date yet.
Logic?
I have, in two years, not learned anything that I have applied in my workplace.
Scary. (that could be seen as a reflection on me rather than the course though!)
So I'm going to have to put in for at least one exam in the next week, maybe two, that may no longer be part of the CIPD qualification.  I have to do a management report about something that doesn't interest me but fits in with my tutor's areas of specialism.  And I have to wait til God knows when to complete my studies.
Tell me now, honestly, if you got the results and got a big fat F - would you, given this knowledge, honestly put in to retake the exams?
It seems to me that the CIPD needs to sort itself out, and sharpish.  More to the point, do I still really need a CIPD qualification to progress my career? What can this qualification currently be worth if two thirds of it are already out of date?
It's time that the CIPD realised the impact of their decisions on those who embarked on the programme with a genuine desire to learn and broaden their horizons.
All I want to do now is stick that F.....

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