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The Accreditation Process
New applicants for accreditation will follow a three-stage process, which allows both for a thorough assessment of applicant institutions prior to full accreditation and for an initial period in which new institutions may address any outstanding requirements by BAC while proceeding with the international recruitment needed to grow their business.
Stage 1 is a paper-based submission comprising an application form and substantial supporting documenatation, which are checked against our accreditation criteria by BAC's experienced staff to determine the institution's suitability for accreditation.
Stage 2 and stage 3 constitute on-site inspections of the institution, focusing in the main on regulatory compliance and more in-depth aspects of provision respectively.
After a satisfactory stage 2 inspection, the status "Approved Candidate for BAC Accreditation" may be awarded for a period of six months (enabling the college to apply for a UKBA Tier 4 licence), while a successful stage 3 inspection will see the institution's accreditation confirmed for up to four years.
N.B. Only new institutions which have been operating for less than 12 months will usually be eligible for "Approved Candidate" status. Established providers will instead require a full inspection combining stages 2 and 3.
Timescale
- Assuming that all required documentation has been submitted along with the initial application form, we aim to schedule a stage 2 inspection within six weeks of the date of application.
- Positive consideration of the stage 2 report by the sub-committee of the Accreditation Committee will result in the award of "Approved Candidate for BAC Accreditation" status for an initial six months.
- A stage 3 inspection will then be scheduled for before this initial status runs out.
- Where institutions are well established and have been operating successfully for more than 12 months, it will usually be appropriate to combine the inspection for stages 2 and 3.
- The report of the stage 3 (or full) inspection will be presented to the next meeting of the Accreditation Committee (which meets at least six times each year). If the Committee consider that the institution meets all the relevant requirements, accreditation will be awarded for a period of up to four years.
- A likely timescale then for new colleges, assuming they provide all the necessary evidence of meeting BAC's requirements, is to attain "Approved Candidate" status within four months, and then to have their accreditation confirmed at stage 3 within ten months of their application. Any failure to provide neccesary documentary evidence at stage 1 or to address requirements identified at stage 2 will of course have the effect of delaying the process.
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