Graduates of Mentor Education Group’s Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning) can now fast track their qualifications to a financial planning degree.
An Articulation Agreement between the Mentor Education Group (Mentor) and the University of New England (UNE) means Mentor graduates can now receive advanced standing if they apply for a Bachelor of Financial Services from UNE.
“Higher education is becoming clearly recognised as a requirement of providing professional financial advice,” UNE School of Business Economics and Public Policy Associate Professor Martin Hovey says. “We are looking forward to offering Mentor students recognition of their earlier work when pursuing our Bachelor of Financial Services qualification.”
The Articulation Agreement significantly streamlines UNE’s financial services degree for Mentor graduates.
Graduates of Mentor’s Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning) will receive an advanced standing of 48 credit points. This represents 33% of UNE’s course requirement for the Bachelor of Financial Services degree, equating to a 12-month reduction in the length of the course.
Graduates of Mentor’s Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning) will receive a 60 credit point advanced standing, representing 42% of UNE’s course requirement.
“The value of Mentor’s Diploma and Advanced Diploma is well-known in the financial services industry,” Mentor’s Managing Director Dr Mark Sinclair says. “But the articulation to the Degree of Financial Services is validation of the high calibre of our courses.”
In April this year, the government announced the Future of Financial Advice Reforms outlining the importance of increased professionalism in the financial planning industry through education.
It is expected the accreditation opportunity will be welcomed by financial advisers keen to pre-empt the legislation and the demands of their professional associations to upgrade their qualifications to a degree.
“In the environment of change which is facing our profession, this is very good news for advisers and our students,” says FPA Life Member, a founder of Godfrey Pembroke and Chairman of the Mentor Education
Group Advisory Board, John Godfrey. “The flexibility offered by external study will be attractive to advisers working in an ever-changing regulatory environment.”
For more information regarding the Bachelor of Financial Services visit www.une.edu.au/finserv
For more information regarding the Diploma or Advanced Diploma visit www.rg146.edu.au or www.mentoreducation.com.au
