The WTEFLAC developed a robust and consistent decision-making process through which all companies were assessed before accreditation. Here’s how they worked.
The World TEFL Accrediting Commission was an accreditor of TEFL and TESOL providers. From the day it opened to the day it closed its doors in the summer of 2023, the organization worked to provide assessment of providers and to provide students with all the support they needed to make the best decision possible when choosing a provider.
Key to this was their accreditation process by which all providers could be certified as being legitimate, reputable and offering a high quality of service. Below, you can find out more about how this process worked.
The accreditation process
The first stage was to provide a company statement that contains the following:
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- A summary of the organization, its structure, and the number of employees.
- The courses on offer.
- Any other accreditation held.
- Length of time in business and plans for the next year.
A short statement about why they believe they met the qualifying criteria.Once the company statement was received an accreditation officer would review it and generally get back with an initial decision within seven days. This would be an indication of whether they felt the provider was likely to receive accreditation.
They would then fill in an application for course accreditation form containing statements of admin procedures and how they would apply with each component of the code of practice. They would also have to provide the marking structures for each course, evidence of each trainer’s qualifications and experience and a sample of marketing information.
This information would then be scrutinised by the accreditation board. They would check that the trainers had the skills and experience demanded in the code of practice and that the course followed a clear sequential structure with an element of face-to-face teaching.
Marketing material would be reviewed and assessed based on its accuracy and whether the board felt it provided a realistic description of what each course provided. They would also look at pricing information to make sure the provider was being completely open and transparent about this.
In many cases, the information provided here would have been enough to make a decision. However, sometimes, they would feel the need for further information through an on-site inspection. This would have been an opportunity to see the provider in the flesh. They could see it at work, and talk to students and staff.
Once this was completed, they would generally have a clear enough picture of the company and could say whether or not the company had been accredited. If they were then they would be allowed to display the WTEFLAC logo on their websites and all marketing material.
What happens now?
The decision to cease operations at the WTEFLAC means these activities have come to an end but the accreditation process has helped shine a light on some of the best and most reputable providers in the business and helped people find the right path in their TEFL experiences.