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Certificate in Money Advice Practice

  1. Description of the programme
  2. What are the outcomes?

Description of the programme

This programme is delivered by the Institute of Money Advisers (IMA) in partnership with the University of the West of England (UWE) and is a recognised academic qualification for money advisers.

This unique award provides a mechanism for the accreditation of members of the IMA. Successful completion allows membership of the IMA to be enhanced through the use of the post-nominal title MIMA(Cert).

Access to the programme is through the IMA and it is open to any advisers with a minimum of 12 months’ experience of providing money advice. The programme is delivered through the UWE Law School and is therefore subject to the same regulation and scrutiny as all other academic qualifications on offer at the University.

The programme covers a wide range of content, all of which is linked to the casework/specialist activity sets in the MaPS Quality Framework. Learners complete their learning in easy to access weekly segments and participate in related tasks and discussions, designed to consolidate and assess learning. The programme is delivered through the University Virtual Learning Environment, ‘Blackboard’, which provides access to materials, tutor scrutiny and interaction and discussion forums. Each programme is delivered over a period of 14 weeks, with a final examination at the end of the course.

The qualification is designed to take no more than 150 hours of study. However, this total study time does not take into account existing experience and knowledge, so the time may be reduced according to the proficiency of the student.

Students undertaking this course of study will come from a wide range of backgrounds and may be unfamiliar with academic study, so the University offer a number of support mechanisms to help students to succeed, including tutor support and access to wider University student support.

This is an online distance learning course delivered through the UWE Virtual Learning Environment. This has not changed for this qualification, which has always been delivered exclusively online.

  • Pre Requisite Learning / Pathway / Accreditation for Prior Learning

Applicants to the Certificate in Money Advice Practice should normally have at least 1 year of experience in the delivery of money advice, though personal circumstances will be taken into consideration for those applicants unable to meet this requirement. This qualification is not part of a pathway of learning but is a stand-alone qualification. No accreditation is available for prior learning.

Applicants must be members of the IMA, and all applications are made directly to the IMA

  • Individual Certification

The visibility of accreditation against the MaPS Quality Framework Activity Sets is achieved by informing learners that the qualification has received accreditation and by linking to the Quality Framework website page. Additionally, there is information provided on the IMA website.

Learner accreditation against the activity set is confirmed through the completion of a final exam, for which the learner must achieve a score of at least 70%.

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What are the outcomes?

This is course is accredited to the debt activity sets described below.

Initial contact activity will involve a member of staff as the first point of contact in the service for the client. They may explain the remit of the service, may gather basic personal information, provide information and/or signpost the client if appropriate.

Support work activity will involve a member of staff providing information relating to the remit of the service, collecting client information, identifying the client’s problem and any related issues, identifying any immediate or urgent priority matters, agreeing appropriate next steps, and signposting or arranging a referral for the client to other services where appropriate.

Advice activity will involve an adviser diagnosing the client's problem(s), giving information and explaining options and helping the client decide between options.  The provision of information alone is not advice. Advice can include some action such as referral to another organisation, identifying options and next steps, giving assistance such as form filling and contacting third parties for information.  There is no rule about the maximum number of client contacts.

Casework/specialist activity will involve an adviser taking on responsibility for the conduct of a case and/or an adviser taking action on behalf of the client. The adviser drives and manages the case and maintains a continuing relationship with the client.  Negotiation, advocacy and representation where appropriate are common features of casework.

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