Report on EAQUALS Conference in Prague

Thank you very much indeed to Sezgi Yalin for putting together this extremely valuable report on the EAQUALS Prague Conference. This is a comprehensive and detailed report, and we would really encourage everyone to spend some time reading it carefully, and reflecting on its contents.

Language Policy

This post is a little out of sequence, since it is more of a curriculum issue; the idea of having a concrete language policy has been discussed a great deal over the years, without ever being established in a concrete document. The language policy produced here is a draft version, and has been passed over to curriculum affairs to discuss further. It is proposed as an internal, envisioning policy, or framework - i.e. not a set of rules or regulations.

Videos about Accreditation

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the USA has produced a series of  short videos that give a brief overview of the benefits of accreditation, as well as giving a sense of how the importance of accreditation is growing in the eyes of students, parents, and employers.

A permanent link to the CHEA site has been added to this site.

Why Accreditation?

In line with the planning and overview process, the following presentation looks at what is a very basic question: 'what do we gain from going down the accreditation road?'

Accreditation Standards in short

Having reviewed a great deal of quite detailed documentation, and being aware too that we will need to produce a large amount of documentation about our school, it may be useful to summarise as briefly as possible what accreditation will require:

1) A student-centred culture inside and outside the classroom.
2) Continuous professional development, including a performance management system.
3) A clear curriculum organisation based on learning hours, and learning outcomes
4) Decent facilities and resources
5) Clear ways of managing, reviewing and developing the above.

Almost all CEA, and, for that matter, EAQUALS standards will connect with these themes in one way or another.

CEA Planning

Planning activity recently has been to take a global and comprehensive look at all 52 CEA standards; we have tried to group these standards logically, consider the best order in which to approach them, and who will need to be particularly involved in the work at any given point.

In doing so, we have tried to establish a clearer picture of what is really involved for each and every one of us, in terms of  both demands and benefits. Of which, more later...

Creating Contacts with CEA

We are now in contact with CEA, regarding accreditation procedures and time-scales. The process involves basically:

1) Compilation of application package, showing that the school is in a position to be accredited.
2) If accepted, attendance at a CEA workshop
3) A three month period to complete the self-study report
4) The accreditation visit.

The next workshop is in July, and we are looking at the feasibility of compiling the complete application package by that time (the documentation required is substantial); the very earliest an accreditation visit might be possible would be around December 2012, according to our estimates. Updates as we learn more.

Academic Partnership Proposal

Congratulations to Nurcan Garip, Nevin Adalar and Nadiran Tanyeli for their recent Academic Partnership Proposal; although we haven't reached the 'professional development' category in our work yet, we thought it would be great to include this here, since it so clearly and directly addresses accreditation requirements, as well as offering us all an excellent opportunity for personal and professional development.

Academic Partnership

Prepared by Nurcan Garip, Nevin Adalar and Nadiran Tanyeli


We welcome any other such contributions that any of you would like to make that are relevant to the accreditation process. 


Thanks again to the contributors

Next set of CEA Standards

After some discussion, the committee has agreed that a sensible next step, now that we have drafted missions, visions, policies etc. directed at a student audience, will be to work on the standards required by CEA in the category of Student Services. This category comprises 8 of the required 52 CEA standards; these are reproduced below, and any creative input will be welcomed:

Student Services Standard 1: 
Admissions policies are consistent with program objectives and with the mission of the program or language institution (and with the host institution if applicable), and are implemented by properly trained and authorized individuals. The admissions process ensures that the student is qualified to enroll in and benefit from the instructional program. Both the policies and the personnel who implement them adhere to ethical standards and good practice. 

Student Services Standard 2:The program or language institution provides academic and personal advising and counseling, as well as assistance in understanding immigration regulations. Such advice and assistance are provided in a timely and accurate manner by qualified individuals. 

Student Services Standard 3:The program or language institution provides pre-arrival and ongoing orientation (1) to support students in their adjustment to the program or institution (and to the host institution if applicable) and to the surrounding culture and community and (2) to help them understand immigration regulations and procedures, as well as health and safety issues. 

Student Services Standard 4:The program or language institution seeks to ensure that students understand policies regarding enrollment and registration. 

Student Services Standard 5:Students have access to health insurance if required and, in all cases, students are informed about the need for adequate health insurance coverage.

Student Services Standard 6:Students have access to social and recreational activities that provide a cultural context for their language acquisition and other studies, as appropriate. 

Student Services Standard 7:The program or language institution clearly states and fulfills its responsibilities regarding student housing. 

Student Services Standard 8:The program or language institution clearly states and consistently provides the extent of student services described in any written, electronic, or oral promotional information or in agreements.  

CEA Accreditation Process

The following, from the CEA Website, explains the CEA process in detail. The next CEA workshops are in July and October 2012, which provides two alternative deadlines for the completion of Phase 1 of the process - 'Application for Eligibility'; We will be aiming for the July deadline if we can.

CEA policies and procedures and its review process are based on U.S. Department of Education requirements for recognized accrediting agencies and the good practices of education accrediting agencies.  The CEA Standards for English Language Programs are the basis of the review process.

The steps in the process follow:

1. Application for eligibility: A site completes the application form and submits required documents, including curricular documents, a list of faculty and staff with training and experience, information about student services, and the administrative structure. CEA staff reviews the documentation to ensure that the program can be reviewed based on the areas of the CEA standards.
2. Workshop: CEA invites a site that meets eligibility requirements to attend a 2-day workshop. Participants learn more about the standards, receive guidance on how to complete the self-study report, and get an overview of the site visit and review for accreditation decision by the Commission. Workshops are held each year at TESOL conventions and twice yearly at the CEA office.
3. Self-study plan: Three months after the workshop, the site submits a plan for its self-study. The plan includes a timeline for the self-study, a target date for the site visit, a list of committees and members. CEA staff provides feedback on the plan.
4. Self-study report: The CEA self-study is a reflective activity. A site explains how it believes it meets each of the 52 CEA standards, documents compliance, evaluates how well it meets the standard, and recommends areas of improvement, if any. CEA provides a template for the report as well as requirements for submission.
5. Site visit: A three-person team reads the self-study report prior to conducting a 3-day on-site visit. The visit includes class visits, a tour of facilities, and interviews with administrators, faculty, and students in order to verify the contents of the self-study report. The team applies the CEA Standards in its review process. The review team report includes its findings related to each of the 52 CEA standards. The site receives the report and writes a response to the findings.
6. Review by the Commission: The 13-member CEA Commission uses the self-study report, the review team report, the response from the site, and a review of finances to make its accreditation decision. The Commission judges the site based on is compliance with the CEA Standards. For initial accreditation, the Commission may grant 1-year or 5-year accreditation. For re-accreditation, the Commission may grant 1-year of 10-year accreditation. Sites that receive 1-year accreditation must respond to requirements before being considered for continued accreditation.

The accreditation process promotes continuous improvement during the process of the self-study as well as through feedback in the review team report and from the Commission. Follow-up and annual reporting ensure that improvement continues throughout the period of accreditation.