Emeris

Emeris is a private higher education institution operating in South Africa as an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd, which is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997, with registration number 2007/HE07/002. It came into being in 2026, when four established IIE brands, namely The IIE's Varsity College, IIE MSA, IIE Vega School and the IIE School of Hospitality and Service Management, were unified under a single name. Its own material states that it is not currently designated a university, and that the accreditation, qualification codes and credit weighting of qualifications already conferred under the IIE remain unchanged.

Teaching is offered both on campus and online. Eleven campuses are spread across seven cities in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, while a separate online offering delivers distance study supported by subject tutors, a digital library and a success tutor assigned to each student. Programmes are grouped under faculties of Commerce, Humanities, Law, Education and Science and Technology, together with Vega School, and cover fields such as business and accounting, law, teaching, computer science, engineering and health, design and brand communication.

Qualifications run from higher certificates and advanced diplomas through bachelor's and honours degrees to postgraduate certificates and diplomas, master's degrees and a doctorate, with short courses alongside them. Qualifications are accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee and registered on the National Qualifications Framework maintained by the South African Qualifications Authority. The institution also holds accreditation from the British Accreditation Council, the Engineering Council of South Africa granted full accreditation to its engineering programmes in November 2024, and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants endorsed its accounting degree in 2016 and its postgraduate diploma in accounting in 2019.

Applicants submit an identity document or certified passport copy together with their most recent school results, or certified transcripts for postgraduate study. A R500 application fee applies, rising by R2,000 for contact undergraduate applications made after 30 October 2026, and an accepted offer carries a R3,000 pre-registration fee that is credited against tuition. Fees may be paid upfront or in instalments, a 24-month payment plan called Emeris Extender is offered, a fee support programme is open to households earning under R1,000,000 a year, and Capitec education finance of up to R500,000 is listed as an external option.