The English Language Centre (ELC) at Community College of Qatar (CCQ) has been granted 5-year accreditation by the Commission on English Language Accreditation (CEA), an internationally recognised accrediting agency for English language programmes and institutions in the US.
The CEA aims to promote excellence in English language teaching across the world by advancing widely-held standards to foster continuous program development through a rigourous process of regular self-assessment and peer evaluation, as well as outlining globally-recognised best practices in English language teaching and administration.
In order to qualify for CEA accreditation, an institution must fully meet a set of 44 standards in 11 areas, developed by an Accreditation Advisory Committee that take into consideration various English language programme standards upheld in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
In addition to curriculum, among the areas that these standards cover are: testing, faculty qualification, administrative and fiscal capacity, student services and education facilities.
As part of the evaluation process, which CCQ successfully passed, the CEA also conducts a site visit to verify the programme’s compliance with the standards.
Dr Michael King, chair, ELC, CCQ, said, “This outcome has been the result of two years of review and improvement at CCQ’s ELC to meet the stringent guidelines of such a well-respected accreditation body in the field of English language education as CEA. I would like to commend the efforts of the Accreditation Committee and the many faculty members who contributed to the process.
The ELC will use this recognition as a basis to continue its development and further enhance its outstanding student-centered foundation English education.”
Dr Waqar Khan, chair of Accreditation Committee and English lecturer, Community College of Qatar, said: “The CEA accreditation that CCQ’s ELC has received is a testament to the world-class educational standards that our institution upholds.
It will bring and sustain quality in curriculum, teaching and learning processes, assessment, teacher training and evaluation, students’ achievement, student counselling, facilities, and continuous programme development according to the evolving needs of students.”
ELC runs the CCQ Foundation English Programme; a series of courses designed to prepare students for entry to CCQ college courses in both the English and Arabic tracks.