Associate Membership

Organisations which support EAQUALS aims of promoting quality in language education in Europe and beyond are invited to apply for associate membership of EAQUALS.

Associate Members can attend all meetings and provide annual reports on their activities, which are posted on the EAQUALS website.

The types of organisation which are eligible include:

• national cultural agencies
• national and international associations of schools with quality assurance schemes,
• examination boards
• university language departments
• publishers
• ministry of education institutions
• international associations involved in language education
• foundations, trusts and associations with groups of schools that are EAQUALS members

In order to be considered for membership, prospective candidates are asked to complete an application in which they illustrate how their activities conform to the EAQUALS Charter for Associate Members. There are also special criteria for examinations boards.

The application is considered by a steering group of five, made up of a Special Adviser (chair), representatives of two current associate members and two full members. In the case of examination boards, the steering group may ask for an independent review of the applicant’s fulfilment of the special criteria. The steering group then makes a recommendation to the Board and the members, who vote on acceptance of the associate member concerned. This application process generally takes approximately a year. Early in the process, the prospective member is given the opportunity to present itself to EAQUALS members. The vote on the application is generally taken at the subsequent EAQUALS meeting.