FAQs

Course Signup And Availability
Where and when do courses take place?

All Switch Education courses happen online at switcheducation.com.

If you are enrolled in independent study you will be able to access course material and study at any time that suits you. You don’t need to be online at the same time as the course leaders or other members.

If you are enrolled in a guided programme you will have access to most of the course materials and have the options to join group calls when scheduled.

What are independent study programmes?

If you take an independent study course or programme you will be able to move through the course at your own pace and start as soon as you pay your money. Except for our free courses where you are able to start as soon as you register.

What is a guided study programme?

Guided programmes have set start and finish dates and you will usually be studying with a group of like minded scholars!

How much do courses cost?

Our Course and Programme pages lists all of the costs.

Are there Hidden Charges?

No. At the end of the course, members are offered the (optional) opportunity to purchase a digital certificate for the SNAP! programme. This is included in the pricing for the other programmes. Each programme and course price includes VAT or local sales tax.

Can anyone sign up to Switch Education programmes and courses?

Anyone over the age of 18 over can take a Switch Education courses to improve their management and leadership knowledge and practice. However, in order to maximum advantage of the content provided by the Switch Education Guided Chartered Manager programme, we recommend members have a minimum of 5 years supervisor or frontline manager experience.

What languages are your courses offered in?

Our courses are in English as this means our communities are in a shared language.

Can I get a refund?

Under UK law refunds are available under certain circumstances. Please see the Refunds and Cancellations section in our Terms Policy.

How are you able to offer some courses for free?

We believe that everyone should be able to improve their ability to lead and manage regardless of their financial situation.

Can international members participate?

Yes, absolutely. Switch Education and Chartered Manager qualifications are a global accreditation and we actively encourage aspiring leaders and managers from all over the world to participate.

Chartered Management Institute Courses
How do Switch Education programmes and courses relate to CMI Units?

Each CMI Unit is comprised of 3 courses that reflect the three sections covered.

How many courses are there in a CMI Qualifications?

Switch Education provides a learning pathway for members to attain the following CMI qualification: Certificate (2 units). More about CMI Units can be found by visiting the CMI website.

Will I automatically be eligible to become a CMI Chartered Manager as soon as I complete the Switch Education CMI Programme?

No. Members must have a minimum of five years management experience and go through a formal CMI Application process. For members that meet this minimum criteria, the Switch Education Chartered Manager Programme provides an innovative approach to support members becoming Chartered Managers. Please refer to the Chartered Manager Programme page.

How does the Assessment for the Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership work?

If you choose the Independent study route, you will be be able to download the Assessment Pack and complete the Assessment within 3 months. The Assessment consists of essay questions and will need to be submitted to the Switch Education team via email. This will then be forwarded to the Chartered Management Institute for Assessment.

If you choose our Guided pathway, then the Course Leader will provide you with the Assessment materials and you will be guided through each Assessment. You will then upload a DRAFT copy of the Assessment to Switch Education for feedback prior to your final copy being forwarded to the Chartered Management Institute for Assessment.

When will I receive my assessment results?

The results of final assessments submitted via Switch Education will normally be available within 4 weeks of you submitting your work.

What happens if I fail the assessment?

You will be entitled to re-sit the final assessment course once.

What happens if I can’t complete the final assessment course due to sickness or an unexpected event?

You should ensure that you only join the final assessment course if you have time to study the course and complete the coursework by the specified deadline. Assessment courses will be run several times per year.

If you have joined the final assessment course on Switch Education and an unexpected event occurs you will need to submit evidence of the event or sickness to support@switcheducation.com. You may be entitled to enrol on the final assessment course the next time it is presented on the Switch Education platform without paying an additional fee.

Registration and Sign-In
Is it possible to have shared emails or accounts?

No. Emails must be unique to an individual member so you can have your own Switch Education account. But don’t worry, it’s easy to create a new email address and doesn’t need to cost anything. First of all it’s a good idea to check with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) as it is common for them to provide a number of email accounts and inboxes for each household. If that doesn’t suit you, there are lots of services that provide free email.

You cannot for safety and security reasons share accounts. Switch Education needs to verify that your comments are your own work (which is important if you want to purchase our certificates) and makes your study organisation much easier.

How do I update my personal information?

You can update your personal information by clicking your profile avatar at the top right of any page when you’re signed in. To change your name, click on the ‘Your profile‘ link in this menu and then ‘Edit profile’. To change your password or email address visit the ‘Settings‘ link in this menu.

How do I access courses?

To access the courses you’re signed up to, go to Your courses in the Your profile section at the top right of the website. Click on “Go to course” to enter a particular course.

What do I do when I can’t access a course I’m signed up for?

If you’ve visited Your courses in the Your profile section at the top right of the website, and clicked on “Go to course”, but still can’t access a course, contact our support team at feedback@switcheducation.com for assistance. We will respond within 2-5 working days.

How do I reset my password?

Go to the reset password page, insert your email address and click ‘Submit’. We will send you an email with instructions on how to reset your password.

What do I do if I haven’t received my reset email?

If your email address was accepted on the password reset page but you have not received an email, please check your spam or junk folder in case the email has been incorrectly marked as spam. If you’re still unable to locate the email, please contact our support team for assistance at support@switcheducation.com. We will respond within 2-5 working days.

Why isn’t my email recognised?

You are only permitted to sign in using the same email you registered with. If you’re unable to remember the email address you used to sign up to Switch Education, please contact our support team for assistance at feedback@switcheducation.com. We will respond within 2-5 working days.

What do I do if I’m not receiving emails for my course?

Please check your spam folders first to see if the emails are there. If you are still having trouble, contact us at support@switcheducation.com. We will respond within 2-5 days.

How do I delete my profile?

Get in touch with us at support@switcheducation.com, using the email address you registered with, and we will remove your information from the site.

What do I do if I’m having problems signing in?

If you’re having problems signing in to your Switch Education account, there are a few things you can do to try to identify and fix the problem. Firstly, make sure that caps lock is turned off, since all passwords are case-sensitive. If you’re sure you’re using the right password but you still can’t sign in, please reset your password. If you still can’t sign up, contact our support team for assistance at support@switcheducation.com. We will respond within 2-5 working days.

How can I manage my emails?

You can manage the emails you receive from Switch Education by signing in and selecting ‘Settings’ from the menu at the top on the right. From here you can:

  • unsubscribe from follower notifications
  • unsubscribe from Switch Education announcements
  • unsubscribe from course emails
Course Content and Features
Is the content freely available?

Your access to content is dependent upon which Course or Programme you are registered for. Our SNAP! Courses are free upon registration only. All other Switch Education course are accessed after registration and payment has been processed.

How do I provide feedback about the course material?

Your feedback is very important to us and our courses and programmes have been created as a result of feedback gained over 25 years of being educators. You can provide feedback by participating in our surveys. You are also welcome at any time to complete our Contact Form with your feedback.

How much support is there from the educators?

In our independent programmes and courses, educators will take part in discussions and moderate comments, but due to the number of people learning, they may not be able to provide one-to-one support.

Our Guided Programmes are regularly supported with webinars and comments moderation.

How long do activities take?

As a general rule, we design activities to take between 5-30 minutes regardless of whether it’s about a video, article or general discussion. Learning journal personal reflections may require more thought and so more time to complete. There is generally no time limit for completion.

How do I report inappropriate behaviour?

Comments and posts will be regularly reviewed by the Switch Education course leaders as part of their ongoing interaction with members. If you see a comment or an aspect of a profile page that you believe breaks our Code of Conduct, get in touch via our Contacts page and we will follow up immediately.

Course Structure and Pacing
Do I need to be available at specific times?

Our independent programmes and courses are designed as self-paced learning journeys with content available any time. The recommended time allocation for the completion of each course is one to four weeks. If Switch Education course leaders schedule activities that take place at a specific time(s), all activities will be recorded for viewing online afterwards.

Our guided programmes will have scheduled times for attendance, however, these will always be available online in case our scholars could not attend at the scheduled time.

How much time should I expect to devote to each course?

The recommended time spent is stated on the Course or Programme page. To issue our Certificates of Achievement, the course times have been allocated according to the guidelines of the Chartered Management Institute UK (CMI).

Course Assessment and Completion
Can I access the course content after a course ends?

Where we offer open access to our courses you usually can, however, occasionally there may be reasons why we have to remove some or all course material. For our open courses, we encourage members to complete courses within two to four weeks.
For our paid courses, you will have access to the materials for the duration of the course and up to 12 weeks after the course finishes.

What happens when I complete a course?

For our SNAP! Courses and Programmes, if you have completed the learning journal reflections, course comments and associated activities and 100% of the content, you will be eligible to purchase a Certificate of Achievement.
If you purchase a PATH! or PRO! Programme or Course, you will automatically receive a Certificate of Achievement, provided you have completed 100% of the coursework, learning journal questions and comments.

How important is filling out my learning journal?

Filling out your learning journal is important for two reasons. Firstly, the process of filling it out will provide time for reflection and reinforcement of the content you have seen or read, which is crucial for developing your skills and knowledge as a manager and leader. Secondly, completing the learning journal is mandatory if you wish to apply for a Certificate of Achievement. These Certificates provide you with formal recognition for your learning and continuing professional development and are also essential if you want to apply for the CMI Chartered Manager status.

Your answers in your learning journal will also assist you to answer the questions in the Assessment courses if you are competing a formal qualification.

Will taking a Switch Education course help me gain course credits that will be recognised by a university?

At this stage our courses are accredited with the Chartered Management Institute UK (CMI) only.

Where can I see my course progress?

You can see an overview of your progress on a course once you have signed in. There is a Progress Clock at the right of your screen.

Formal recognition of my learning
What is a Certificate of Achievement?

A Certificate of Achievement is a valuable certificate to prove what you’ve learned on your course. Your Certificate will include your name; an outline of what you’ve learned; the SWITCH EDUCATION logo and the logo of other organisations associated with your course.
You can view our page about Certificates of Achievement to see what they look like.

How do I qualify for a Certificate of Achievement?

To be eligible to buy a Certificate of Achievement, you must:

  • Complete 100% of the steps in a course (as recognised by the Progress Circle on your Course Profile),
  • Complete 100% of the learning journal activities and reflective questions
  • Contribute to the ‘comments’ section of your course
How do I buy a Certificate of Achievement?

Once you have completed a course and all of the requirements associated with receiving a Certificate of Achievement, you need to go to the….

When do I need to buy my Certificate by?

For free SNAP! Courses, as soon as you are eligible to purchase a Certificate you should do so.
For all other programmes and courses, we will issue your Certificate as soon as you meet the eligibility criteria.

How can I pay?

For all Switch Education programmes and course you can pay using Visa or Mastercard cards only. No other payment methods are possible at present.

Which currencies do you accept?

We only accept payment in British pounds.  If you are purchasing from outside the UK, to get an estimate of what you’ll be charged in your own currency.

When will I get my Certificate?

For SNAP! Courses you’ll be able to view your digital Certificate immediately after checkout. For all other Switch Education Programmes and Courses you will receive your digital certificate as soon as you see the eligibility criteria.

How do I access my digital Certificate?

You can access the digital version of your Certificates from your profile page, or using the direct link in your order confirmation email.

There was a problem with my card. What should I do?

If your card was declined when you tried to pay for the Certificate or a programme or course, you should contact your bank. We are not given much information about why an individual card was declined, but your bank will be able to provide more information and ensure that future charges are accepted.

I did not receive a confirmation email. Was my payment successful?

We send you an email when your payment is successful. If you did not receive this, please check your “Spam/junk” folder or make sure that the email address on your settings page is correct. If you cannot find the email, please make a note of your order number, which is shown on the “Thanks for your order page.” If you’re still unsure, contact us at support@switcheducation.com.

How much does a Certificate of Achievement cost?

The cost of the Certificate of Achievement is up to £45.00 (GBP). The price shown includes a digital certificate and VAT or local sales tax.

Verifying your Identity
What is ID verification?

ID verification is where we match your ID with an image of you, to verify it’s you learning with Switch Education. A successful verification will result in the ID verified badge being shown on your digital Certificates of Achievement, and on your profile page.

Is ID verification mandatory?

ID verification if mandatory for those scholars wishing to complete the CMI Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership or apply for Chartered Manager status in one of our pathway programmes.

How does the process work?

Switch Education will manually confirm your identification via video interview. You may also need to complete a Completion of Assessment and Identity Form. Should we be satisfied that you are the person enrolled in the course then you will be approved.
If you do not have a working webcam connected, you can upload an image file of your ID and a photo of yourself instead.

Social Learning
Who can see my profile?

By default, only signed in members will be able to see each others’ profiles. You also have the option to make your own Switch Education profile public and discoverable through internet search. To make your profile public, edit profile.

Can I share what I’m learning on Facebook and Twitter?

Yes! Many Switch Education materials are available to view and browse without being signed in to the course, so you can share interesting articles and videos via social media.

Can I sign into Switch Education using my social network account?

Yes! You can sign in or register with Switch Education using your LinkedIn account. We may introduce other social sign in options in future.

Can I link to my other social media profiles from my Switch Education profile?

This is not possible yet.

Why can’t comments be posted in languages other than English?

In order for course discussions to work from a learning perspective, it’s important that members are all able to understand each other, and for that to be the case we need a common language. We also need to ensure all comments follow our policies and our moderators currently work in English only.

How can I contact the educators on my course?

For our Independent study options, due to the amount of people enrolled on each course, it may not be possible to have a personal correspondence with educators. However, educators will moderate comments and we encourage you to post in the comments areas as you go.

Technical Support
How can I get help with a technical problem or report an error in the course materials?

Use our Contact and feedback tool to report an issue or tell us your thoughts. You can also email us at feedback@switcheducation.com.

Do I need any special software or computer equipment?

No special software is required. Switch Education is designed to be accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop.
We’re actively supporting and testing Switch Education on the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari.
In terms of tablet and mobile, we support Safari or Chrome on the latest versions of iOS and Android tablets and mobile devices.

I’m receiving a td19 error

The videos on Switch Education are secured with a time-stamped signature. This updates automatically and, in most cases, you’ll never notice it.
However, if the timestamp has expired, you’ll receive a td19 error. To solve this, please refresh the web page. If the problem continues, please clear your browser’s cache.

I’m receiving a pnf18 or ikm20 error when viewing video or listening to audio

These error messages occur when information relating to a video cannot be accessed. The most common cause of this problem is a firewall or proxy server blocking the request. To prevent the videos from being blocked, you’ll need to whitelist the following URLs in your firewall settings:
*.vzaar.com
*.kuonamaoni.com
Please be aware that with the majority of domestic internet configurations, these changes should not be necessary. Only implement them if you’re receiving a pnf18 or ikm20 error.

Can’t see the video/audio player

There are a number of reasons why you may be having trouble seeing the video player.
1) Your cache is full or you have out of date cookies
Try clearing your browser’s cache and cookies. This can be done from the Settings menu or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Delete.
2) Flash version out of date
Videos and audio on Switch Education will work with Flash 10.2 and later versions. However, for the most reliable experience, the latest release is always recommended. To determine your current version of Flash player visit Flash Player Help. Alternatively, you can simply update to the latest Flash player by visiting http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.
3) Javascript is disabled
The video/audio player also requires javascript to be enabled. Users without javascript will only see a blank space where the video or audio player should be. To confirm that javascript is enabled, visit http://www.supportdetails.com. This will show your current browser setup. If javascript is disabled you can enable it in your browser settings menu.
4) Video/audio is unavailable
This occurs when your computer fails to receive the video or audio file. If a video has not been received after 60 seconds, this error message will be displayed. Try refreshing the page and, if this does not work, clear your cache. If you are still getting this message, it appears that there may be a problem with your connection so please get in touch with your internet service provider (ISP).
5) Add ons and extensions
Try disabling all browser extensions, add-ons, etc. Certain extensions can interfere with your browser’s regular performance and most online material will not have been tested with your specific extension in mind.
6) An incompatible browser
Ensure you’re using a browser supported by Switch Education. Whilst this isn’t a solution, check to see whether the problem is specific to one particular browser.

Video/audio stutters during playback

This can happen on some older hardware. To play video/audio reliably we recommend a machine with the following specifications as a minimum:

  1. A 1.5GHz single core, or 1GHz dual core processor
  2. At least 1GB of RAM
  3. An internet connection with a consistent speed of 1.5Mbps or above
Video/audio constantly buffering

The most likely cause of this problem is a slow or fluctuating connection speed.
We recommend a connection with a consistent speed of 1.5Mbps for Switch Education videos. To improve your network performance, close all other downloads and check that software on your computer (such as Windows or your virus guard) isn’t currently being updated.
If you continue to have problems, we recommend you contact your internet service provider (ISP).

Video: cannot go full screen or access subtitles

Users of Firefox on a Mac are finding that the full screen or subtitle buttons and other video controls do not respond when clicked. This is a known issue with Firefox CSS transforms and is under investigation by Mozilla. There is no current estimated time for a fix, so we suggest that you Switch Education to either Safari or Chrome browsers if you need the missing functionality.

Why isn’t the video/audio playing the way it’s supposed to?

There could be a number of reasons for this. If you are using an older web browser, then you will need to have the Flash plugin installed. If you are using a mobile connection then it’s possible that you may not have a good enough data connection.

Why don’t you use more of the screen?

We’ve deliberately designed the site so that the focus is on content and learning materials without distraction. The aim is to create a quiet and studious environment that encourages you to focus. The central content column and the typography is designed to be really easy and comfortable to read (making the column wider makes it harder). We also want to provide a consistent experience across mobile, tablet and desktop and so our page layout adjusts to whatever size screen you happen to be using.

Moderation of Social Learning Platform
How do you deal with extreme behaviour (trolls, spammers, etc)?

If a user enrols on a course only to cause trouble, repeatedly posting comments that break our code of conduct, we will immediately delete their account and hide all of their comments. They will be notified by an email explaining why.

How does moderation work on Switch Education?

Switch Education comments are reactively moderated. This means that members or educators can notify our moderators of any comments that worry them, by pressing the flag button that’s at the bottom of every comment: 
The moderators will then review any comments that have been reported to them and decide whether or not to hide a comment according to our Code of Conduct and Terms & Conditions.
When a comment is hidden, it is replaced with the message “This comment has been removed by a Switch Education moderator”, and the author is sent an automated email to tell them. They can reply to this email to find out more.
Member profiles and peer review feedback are moderated in the same way.

Surveys
Why am I receiving emails which ask me to take part in surveys or research in relation to Switch Education and its courses?

So that we can keep improving Switch Education and our courses, we might sometimes ask you to take part in general research or course research. This helps us find out more about your background, your expectations of Switch Education and our courses, and your experiences of learning with us and elsewhere.

What happens to my data when I complete a Switch Education survey?

Our surveys are delivered using Gravity Form, so the data is initially stored in the US. Gravity Form has signed up to the Safe Harbor Framework, which means that your information is protected to the standard of UK and EU data protection law. Data will then be linked to your Switch Education account, and held confidentially and securely by Switch Education in line with our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
We aggregate the data we collect on you and others members, and produce statistical reports; any information that we publish in this way will be entirely anonymous.

Free learning: Switch Education Philosophy
How are you able to offer some courses for free?

We believe that everyone should be able to improve their ability to lead and manage regardless of their financial situation.