Marketing students have been left in the lurch midway through the academic year after an internationally-recognised institute stopped a local college from offering its courses due to "a difficult management situation".
The students, who now have to find an alternative to continue their studies, have also expressed concern over the validity of certificates issued by the college.
The Msida-based Lasalle Business College published an advert in the local press offering three courses under the banner of the UK's Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM): a Marketing Professional Programme; an Executive Graduate Programme; and a Postgraduate Programme.
However, the British institute did not renew its licence following inspections late last year.
When contacted, CIM spokesman Ray Jones said the local college was never licensed to offer the institute's professional certificate course.
Lasalle college director Maurice deGaetano defended his organisation, saying it did not offer the CIM course, but an equivalent.
However, more than 10 students on the professional programme who spoke to The Sunday Times said they believed they were taking a CIM course.
The adverts and the course programme given to students also say that the Marketing Professional course is a joint programme with the Malta Marketing Institute, and certificates carry the MMI's logo. Yet institute president Joseph Formosa said he had not seen any examination results for several years.
The two men are both officials of the Malta Marketing Institute, a three-man organisation which is not registered as an educational institution on the Education Ministry's website. Its base is a private residence and it does not have a website, which Mr Formosa attributed to lack of funds.
The issue surfaced last month when some students were informed that a lecture was cancelled through a text message. Following that, a letter sent to them by Mr deGaetano said the Lasalle Business College had stopped delivering all CIM programmes.
Mr Jones explained that "a difficult management situation" had led to the loss of licence. "We wanted to protect the integrity of our courses," he said. Once they found out that the institute had lost its licence, students took a close look at their certificates and started to question the validity of their first-year programme.
The course was staggered over three years but certificates were issued at the end of each year to give students the possibility to stop at a particular level. Those in their final year are now in a dilemma over what to do next. They are supposed to apply for exams by the end of the month but they cannot sit for any unless they are registered with an institute.
Mr Jones said discussions were being held with the European Institute of Education in Ta' Xbiex over the postgraduate diploma course. Students could either wait for the outcome or continue the rest of their course through distance learning, he said.
"Our prime concern is for our studying members, the integrity of their qualifications, and to do our very best to help them transfer to another Chartered Institute of Marketing accredited study centre," Mr Jones said, adding that students with any queries about their qualifications could contact the institute on qualifications@cim.co.uk.
A number of students also contacted the Education Ministry when the courses were stopped. A ministry spokesman said the Lasalle Business College never informed the Education Directorate or the ministry that it was stopping this programme.
The spokesman said the ministry had instructed the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education, which had issued the operation permit to the local institute, to investigate the case and find a solution in the best interest of the students.
cbusuttil@timesofmalta.com