The public was given a rude awakening earlier this year with the collapse of a private/commercial college in Dublin. Alarm bells sounded and thorny questions about bonding and regulatory bodies were raised.

The Advanced Technology College in Merrion Square, Dublin, ran full-time and part-time courses. When it went into examinership last February, some 500 students were left in the lurch with no financial or academic protection. The college was not in receipt of exchequer funding and did not come under the aegis of the Department of Education. Its collapse dramatically highlighted the need for financial bonding for students in private colleges and the need to introduce better regulations to control higher education in the private sector.

At the beginning of the month, the Minister for Education, al? Micheal Martin, said that he proposes to have a bonding system for private colleges in place within six months. The question of bonding is not just one of students getting their money back, he said, but of making it possible for them to pursue their courses.

It is accepted that a bonding system is necessary for private colleges. Although most private colleges are long-standing and reputable and the likelihood of any of them getting into financial trouble is slight, the danger must be recognised. Brian Gaffney, chairman of High Education Colleges Association which represents a number of private colleges, agrees that a national bonding scheme is necessary.

Bonding has already been introduced by a small number of colleges. For example academic and financial bonding is in place in Portobello College, Dublin, which has formed a trust company, Portobello College Holdings, to ensure that all its full-time and part-time courses will be completed. Ray Kearns, college president, says that this ensures that, in the event of collapse, students will be able to continue studies in the college until they graduate.

Griffith College, Dublin, also has financial bonding for all course fees, and it is hoping to have academic bonding in place by September. And there are other colleges with bonding arrangements.

About 3,000 new students will enter private third-level college courses this year. In the many good and reputable private commercial colleges there are safeguards in place for regulating and governing standards and courses. It is necessary, however, to be aware of the different categories and standards which operate within this sector.

One body which ensures that third-level institutions, outside of universities, maintain appropriate national and international standards is the National Council for Education Awards. While a college may be designated by the NCEA, it does not follow that all or, indeed, any of its courses have NCEA approval. A college which has NCEA designation is eligible to submit courses for approval. It should also be noted that some colleges prepare students for examinations set by professional bodies such as accountancy, banking or marketing institutes.

Most guidance counsellors want to see each college under the one umbrella with an NCEA designation and each course within these colleges approved by the NCEA or an approved UK college.

A total of 50 under-graduate courses have NCEA approval this year. One of the newly-approved degree courses this year includes a bachelor of arts in humanities in Montessori education at St Nicholas Montessori College, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, which has been in operation since 1970. Portobello College has two extra degree programmes with NCEA approval which can be added to its list - a bachelor of science in computer science and a bachelor of arts in human resource management. Griffith College has a bachelor of arts in business and financial studies, which is under the supervison of Waterford Institute of Technology.

As well as a bachelor of arts degree, LSB College in Dublin offers BA degrees in psychoanalytic studies, tourism studies, anthropology and business.

Shannon College of Hotel Management, which is sponsored by Aer Rianta, runs a national diploma in business studies in international hotel management. Students can also take a bachelor of commerce degree through UCG.

When deciding on a college, parents and students should ask a number of questions. Check the precise exemptions a course can earn from professional bodies and what is the record of success with external examining bodies. Visit the college and look at the library and computer facilities. A past or present pupil could be a useful source of information on the quality of teaching and on sports and social facilities.