IACET's International Reach Continues to Grow with Increased Focus on Global Mission
In the past two years, IACET has enjoyed greater recognition worldwide for its accreditation to the ANSI/IACET 1-2018 Standard for Continuing Education and Training. The Standard continues to be well-received as an International benchmark for quality Continuing Education and Training. Many international organizations come to IACET seeking the structure that accreditation demands of their programs and courses.
One such organization was IACET's first Chinese Accredited Provider (AP), 3hfit. According to the spokesperson, Zeng Sifan,
We set out at the start of 2018 to seek an international accreditation as an adult education provider. For us, it was long overdue, in order to solidify our level of Standard as a credible and trustworthy career development institution for fitness professionals.
For IACET’s newest International partner, IBIS, an Indian based educational organization, their Executive Director of Compliance stated,
Our pursuit to be a quality conscious CET provider in India could never culminate without aligning to globally tested and accepted standards. After a thorough research into various accreditation bodies across the world, we were convinced that ANSI/IACET standards challenge the most with well-defined criteria for every aspect of the organization, which are imperative for a learning-centric CET provider.
Sandeep Menon went on to add,
The accreditation process identified several areas that necessitated quality parameters to be established, which would have gone unnoticed if not for IACET standards. IACET standards ensured that quality is deliberated at all levels in the organization, and quality consciousness is embedded across the board.
The growth of International APs spans all industry sectors and geographic locations. One new international applicant, Egypt-based, Dr. Yassin Darwish, believes that accreditation
ensures,
- the quality of the training and education provided to the learner
- the quality of the training and education process
- the resources are matching the services provided
- development of knowledge and skills of the learner
IACET readily offers support to international applicants. IACET staff and commissioners will set meeting times aligned to the applicant’s time zone. Content does not need to be translated into English to achieve accreditation. Many applicants from non-English speaking countries submit course materials and marketing collateral in the native language and provide a translation or summary of the contents in English. The commissioners will need to review English versions of the Policies and Processes. Still, it may be a relief to many applicants to know that the entirety of the application does not have to be translated.
Since the accreditation process requires a site visit, the international applicants often voice concern about this requirement. In the past two years, IACET has added 2 APs in Australia without the 16 hours on a plane. The IACET Commission developed a Virtual Site Visit protocol that has been used with several international applicants. This virtual site visit allows the organization to work with the site visitor through the use of a web-based meeting platform. The virtual site visit saves both the applicant and IACET valuable time and money by eliminating the extra fees and travel time for an international site visit. International applications are always considered for a virtual site visit at the time of submission.
Currently, within IACET, the majority of international APs are from Canada. IACET has seen continued growth in Canada but also in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. International growth will continue for IACET with support from the Board of Directors, staff, and virtual site visits. IACET would be pleased to meet with organizations interested in pursuing accreditation with IACET. For more information please reach out to us at: accreditation@iacet.org
