Programmes are flexible and designed with national needs as well as the needs of prospective learners and employers in mind; their form and structure encourage access and are responsive to changing environments; learning and assessment methods are appropriate to the aims and purposes of the programmes.

1. For each programme, there is a publicly accessible description of aims and learning outcomes, target group, style of learning and teaching, features of the learning environment and resources, pattern of assessment, and, where appropriate, accreditation arrangements and articulation with other programmes offered by the educational provider, in the workplace or other educational providers.
2. The programme is developed in terms of a needs analysis based on an audit of existing courses and programmes, market research, liaison (where appropriate) with industry and professions, national and provincial priorities, and the needs of the learners.
3. Wherever possible, courses are used in more than one programme.
4. Educational providers compete on the basis of quality rather than on the number and variety of the programmes and courses they offer.
5. The outcomes, content, and assessment methods in the programme are appropriate for the level and purpose.
6. The various courses of the programme are integrated.
7. Entry requirements for the programme are as open as possible, and include recognition of prior learning and experience.
8. The trend in programme design is to allow for flexible exit points rather than to insist that students complete a fixed set of courses over a lengthy period of time.
9. Learners are allowed to negotiate a time frame for the completion of the programme.
10. Learners are made aware of credit requirements of the programme and the possibilities for transfer to other programmes in the same or other educational providers.
11. Where appropriate, assessment is linked to accreditation and fulfils the requirements of external quality assurance bodies.
12. Procedures for the approval of programmes are not cumbersome and allow for and encourage innovation and flexibility.
13. There are clearly understood processes for the development and regular evaluation of the programme involving relevant stakeholders.
14. Human resource planning is an integral part of programme development.