Tuesday 5 May 2009

The long wait for NCTJ journalism qualifications


When I started applying for masters degrees in late 2007, one of the key requirements was National Council for the Training of Journalists accreditation.

Only certain institutions can afford (and can be bothered to jump through strict hoops) to achieve NCTJ accreditation, but I was certain that without an industry-recognised course I might as well not bother postgraduate study.

What I didn't realise when I started at Sheffield was how slow the NCTJ is with its marking. I sat two Media Law exams in January 09, and still, four months on, do not know if I passed or failed.

The wait is ridiculous.

Not only do students not know whether revision is needed for a resit, we are now applying for jobs for the summer: we need to prove our legal knowledge to prospective employers - we need the certification!

To add to my frustration, it is only the law results which take so long. I took shorthand exams earlier in the year and knew the result within a week. Today, I got my grade for the NCTJ Newswriting exam I sat in March (I passed :D).

For journalists sitting their NCEs (the second stage of qualification, for journos actually working) the waiting time is seven long weeks. Listening to reporters agonise over the wait during work experience, I thought that was long enough - but I am now on my fourteenth week of waiting!

Sheffield's law tutor, Mark Hanna, assured us that results will be with us by Friday. The reason is, apparently, that there are not enough markers in the country to get the results back any faster. In that case, perhaps the NCTJ should hire some more staff?

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