Is AI Course Atlas independent?
Yes. AI Course Atlas is independent, and every fact is checked at the source. The site is edited by Jake Boland, and every course and scheme is chosen, described and ordered by the rules on this page, the same rules for every provider.
Where does each fact come from?
From the provider's own page for a course, and from the official page for a funding scheme, such as GOV.UK or a nation's own government site. For every fact we store the page address, the date we read it and a verbatim quote from the page that shows the value. A fact goes on the site only if that quote is on the page.
Prices are shown in the provider's currency, with the VAT wording the provider uses. Who qualifies for funding is quoted from the official page, word for word.
What does the "checked" date mean?
It is the last day we read the source page and the facts still matched it. A recent checked date doesn't mean anything changed: a check that finds nothing new still moves it.
A course we can't confirm against its provider's page for 90 days comes off our lists until it matches again.
What happens when a provider doesn't say?
The page says so. A missing price, date, length or certificate shows as "Not stated" or "Not stated by provider", never as a guess. Where a provider gives no level and we set one, it is labelled "our rating".
What is a computed value?
A figure we work out only from figures the source states, such as an employer's share of a Skills Bootcamp price or a fee per credit. It is labelled "computed" with the sum next to it. A computed value is never built from an estimate or a missing figure.
Where do the courses come from?
From 57 sources: the AI companies' own academies, the large course platforms, UK professional bodies, colleges and universities, and government funding pages. 33 are in our source registry as ones we must cover, and 24 more stay in while they can be checked automatically. Where a provider publishes an API or sitemap we use it; otherwise we read its public course pages.
5 of these sites turn away automated requests, so we read them by hand in a browser. If a site's terms or robots.txt rule out automated checking, we leave it out rather than work around the rule.
Which courses are listed?
A course is listed when:
- it teaches AI or the use of AI tools;
- people in the UK can sign up, or a UK public scheme covers it;
- the provider's own page sets out its details;
- whether it is free or paid is known from that page.
Each course has a short "Before you sign up" note, written from the provider's information and the facts we have checked. Nobody takes every course, so the notes give no star ratings or review scores.
How is funding matched to courses?
A course is linked to a funding scheme only when the provider's own page, or the scheme's official course list, says that scheme pays for it. Each scheme on the funding by nation page shows its official page, the nations it applies in and the date we last checked it. Where an official page doesn't state something, such as the cost to learners, the page says so.
How are UK prices shown?
Exactly as the provider shows them. Prices in pounds keep the provider's VAT wording ("+ VAT", "excluding VAT", or nothing if it doesn't say). A course priced in another currency, such as US dollars, keeps that currency: we never convert, because what you pay depends on your card and the day. Member and non-member prices are shown side by side when the provider shows both.
How often are pages checked again?
Facts are re-read from source pages on a regular cycle, and a new value is kept only if it can be quoted from the page. Every funding scheme is re-checked in full each August, when the new funding year starts.
What do the tags mean?
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Free | The course is free to take, as stated by the provider. |
| Free for a limited time | The provider says the course is free only for now, for example during a beta. |
| Free to learn | You can take the course for free, but the certificate, exam or full access costs extra. |
| Funded | A public scheme pays some or all of the fee for eligible people. |
| Free certificate | The certificate, badge or exam is included at no cost. |
| RQF or SCQF level | A regulated qualification at that level of the framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland (RQF) or Scotland (SCQF), as the provider states it. |
| UK | A UK provider, a UK location or a UK funding scheme. |
| Licence needed | You need a paid tool licence or subscription to take part, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot or ChatGPT Plus. |
| Price in USD | The provider shows the price in US dollars. We never convert currencies; pounds are shown with the VAT status the provider states. |
| Closed | Applications are closed. We show the next intake if the provider has announced it. |
How are courses ordered?
Every list says which order it uses, in a line or caption next to it. The recommended order is the same on every page:
- The page's promise. On the free courses page, free with a free certificate first, then free, then free to learn.
- Open now. Courses you can start any time, or on an announced date, before courses with no dates.
- Wide audience. Courses for everyone before courses for one group, such as teachers or retailers.
- Level. Beginner before intermediate and advanced.
- UK courses before international ones.
- Cost and length. Lower cost first, then shorter stated length.
The tables on topic pages use their own order, given in each caption: free courses first, then free for a limited time, then free to learn, then paid courses by price before VAT, lowest first. Closed and past courses always come last. Remaining ties go to the course we verified most recently, then to a fixed code worked out from the course's address, never to its name. The courses on a funding scheme's page are ordered by start date, soonest first.
How are the guides researched and written?
A guide starts from a question people search for that the checked course and funding data can answer. Each fact in it is taken from the provider's own page or an official one, and the list at the foot of every guide gives the pages used with the date each was checked.
Research and drafting are automated and follow editorial rules set by the editor, Jake Boland. Every draft is checked against those rules by a separate review that played no part in writing it, and the page has to pass the site's automated style and search checks.
How do I report a mistake?
Email hello@aicourseatlas.co.uk, or use "Report an error" at the foot of any page. Tell us the page and what looks wrong. We read the source page again and, if the site is wrong, correct it.
How are corrections made?
A correction is made the same way as any other change: from a fresh read of the source page, with a quote that shows the right value. The page's checked date moves to the day of the fix.
Corrections
When a fact we published was wrong, the correction is listed here with the date, the page, what changed and why. A provider changing its own course is an update, not a correction.
No corrections yet.
How does your crawler behave?
It sends the user agent aicourseatlas-bot/1.0 (+https://aicourseatlas.co.uk/methodology/#bot), follows robots.txt and any crawl-delay, waits at least two seconds between requests to a site, and never logs in or gets around bot protection.