2017 Accreditation Updates from Ludka Kortarska, Director of Accreditation
2017 has been a busy year for Eaquals accreditation. We have conducted 55 inspections and advisory visits, and 10 new institutions got accredited. There are now 143 accredited members and Eaquals is represented in 36 countries. Belgium, Japan and Kuwait have been added to the list. It would not have been possible without the work done by the team of Eaquals inspectors, the Accreditation Panel and the unfailing support of Anna Andor and Vivi Koszegi. Our Association thrives due to your contribution and we are very grateful for it. We rely on your judgement and expertise to ensure Eaquals Standards are applied consistently and Language Education Centres benefit from the inspection experience. Thank you for doing an excellent job.
Accreditation Panel
As most of you are aware the Accreditation Panel – composed of eight members – is responsible for moderation of inspection reports, and it also contributes to the development of the Inspection Scheme and inspector training. Two of its members – John Haagensen and Laura Muresan will be stepping down at this end of this month having served on the Panel for nine years. Working with John and Laura has been a pleasure and privilege. On behalf of Eaquals I wish to thank John and Laura for the reports they have read over the years and the training sessions they have run. We all appreciate their contribution to the development of the Scheme, their unbiased views and professional integrity. Both John and Laura will continue working as Eaquals inspectors.
It is a pleasure to inform you that Eaquals Board unanimously approved the appointment of Ela Jarosz and Sarah Aitken as members of the Panel and I am sure you will join me in welcoming Ela and Sarah. They are both experienced Eaquals inspectors and have been active in Eaquals for 20 years. Ela represents an accredited member and is a member of the Assessment Panel and one of the co-authors of the forthcoming OUP-Eaquals publication on language course planning. Sarah was Eaquals Executive Director from 2013 to 2016 and prior to this a member of the Inspections Sub-committee.
Frank Heyworth was one of the Eaquals founders and the authors of the first Inspection Scheme and its subsequent versions. For 25 years he was an Eaquals inspector, an inspector trainer and a mentor for many of us. This year Frank decided to retire. We were privileged to have had an opportunity to work with Frank and learn from him. It was a great honour to have Frank as a member of the inspector team and conduct inspections with him. We would like to thank Frank for the time he offered Eaquals, for the way he shared with us his knowledge and experience, for his support and a sense of humour. We wish Frank all the very best.
