Legal & policies
Academic status
What a certificate of completion is, what it is not, and how a third party can verify one.
1. What the institute is
Northgate is an independent professional training provider. It teaches practice-led programmes online and assesses the work students produce.
2. What a certificate of completion is
On passing every block and defending the final piece, a student receives a certificate of completion. It records the programme title, the dates of study, the blocks assessed, the external examiner's report and a certificate reference. It is a record of professional training and assessed work.
3. What it is not
A certificate of completion is not a degree, diploma, or any other academic award. It does not carry academic credit, ECTS points, or equivalence to a qualification on any national framework. Northgate is not accredited by a higher-education authority, and nothing on this site should be read as claiming otherwise. The certificate is not a licence to practise a regulated profession.
4. Wording on the certificate
Every certificate carries this statement, printed on its face:
“This certificate records completion of a non-accredited professional training programme. It is not a degree, diploma or academic award, carries no academic credit, and does not confer a professional licence.”
5. Verification by a third party
An employer or client holding a certificate can ask the institute to confirm that it was issued, to whom, for which programme, and on what date. The institute will confirm exactly that and no more: it will not describe the holder as a graduate of a degree, and it will state the non-accredited status in any such reply.
6. Names and titles
Students and alumni may describe themselves as having completed the named programme at Northgate. They may not describe themselves as holding a degree, diploma or accredited qualification from the institute, because none is awarded.