The World TEFL Accrediting Commission sought to spread transparency in the TEFL and TESOL sectors. That starts with how it makes its decisions.
When looking for a TEFL course, it makes sense to check for an accreditation mark. In a world in which anyone can make a website, that’s the only way to be confident that the company you’ve chosen is legitimate and will provide a high-quality course that will help you achieve your career objectives. However, any accreditation mark is useful if you understand how each company makes its decisions.
The code of practice
The WTEFLAC started by drawing up a code of practice that set out what each provider should be expected to offer. The code sets minimum standards for quality, transparency and course content that would ensure a good quality of tuition and a valuable, recognized, qualification at the end of it. This would be the basis on which all decisions were made. The code also looked at a provider’s corporate culture. Companies would need to demonstrate a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure they would continue to meet necessary standards in the future.
To make those decisions the WTEFLAC established an accreditation board staffed by industry experts who would review all information supplied by course providers.
The accreditation process
Any company looking to be accredited by the WTEFLAC would have to supply the following:
A company statement outlining a summary of an organization and its structures together with the courses offered, current accreditations held, how long they had been in business together with why they wished to be accredited by the WTEFLAC.
The accreditation board would assess all the information and look at marketing material and websites. An officer would inform them if they felt they could accredit the company within seven days of receiving the letter. if so the organization would complete an application form and submit the following details:
- Statement on admin procedures
- How the company complies with each component of the code of practice.
- Details of staff qualifications.
- The marking structure for each course
- Samples of marketing and advertising literature.
The board would review these details and, if necessary, would arrange an onsite inspection. This would be a chance to see the company at work firsthand and answer any remaining questions. From there, the board would make a final decision.
If the company satisfied the criteria, it would be permitted to display the WTEFLAC logo on its website and marketing materials. They would be listed on the WTEFLAC website under a list of accredited providers.
By checking the WTEFLAC code of practice, therefore, customers could see exactly why a company had been accredited and what criteria it had met in order to be approved. It provided a further layer of information on which people could base their buying decisions. It also served as a template that people could use more generally to decide on the best training options for their requirements.