Requirements for Schools to Participate in the Accreditation Process
The school must operate under a valid license or authorization issued by the relevant national or regional education authority in its country of origin.
The institution must be fully operational, delivering educational services for at least two complete academic years prior to applying for accreditation.
The school must have a clearly established organizational structure, including leadership roles, academic levels served, student enrollment, and staffing.
The institution must have written and published mission and vision statements that guide its educational philosophy and long-term development.
The school must demonstrate a clear intention to engage in a process of continuous improvement and to meet the quality standards defined by BBEQA.
The institution must commit to carrying out a comprehensive self-assessment using BBEQA's evaluation framework and submit supporting documentation.
The school must agree to host an on-site visit by an external evaluation team and provide unrestricted access to facilities, records, staff, and stakeholders during the review.
The institution must demonstrate transparency in its administrative, financial, academic, and governance practices, and share this information as required.
The school must show evidence of organizational, financial, and academic stability sufficient to sustain and implement a long-term improvement plan.
Accreditation Process
Self-Assessment
Self-assessment is a fundamental phase within the accreditation process, during which the school engages in a critical internal review based on the criteria established by the evaluation model. This process allows the institution to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development, and to define concrete actions toward improvement.
External Evaluation
The external evaluation is a key phase within the accreditation process in which an independent evaluation team conducts an objective and comprehensive review of the school. Its main purpose is to validate the findings of the internal self-assessment and issue an impartial judgment regarding the institution’s compliance with the established quality standards.
Final Accreditation Report
The Final Accreditation Report is the official document prepared by the evaluation team after the external visit. Its purpose is to summarize the findings obtained during the evaluation process, compare them with the institution’s self-assessment, and issue a reasoned judgment regarding the level of compliance with the quality standards set by the accrediting agency.
Self-Assessment Process
Responsible Parties
- Institutional Self-Assessment Committee: A coordinating group composed of school leaders, teachers, student representatives, parents, and support staff.
- Self-Assessment Coordinator: A designated individual responsible for planning, overseeing, and compiling the final report.
- Area or Factor Teams: Subcommittees tasked with analyzing specific dimensions (curriculum, leadership, climate, etc.), gathering evidence, and drafting individual sections of the report.
Phases of the Self-Assessment Process
- Initial Planning
- Appointment of the self-assessment committee and coordinators.
- Training on criteria and evaluation tools.
- Development of a timeline and work plan.
- Data Collection
- Use of surveys, interviews, document reviews, and classroom observations.
- Organization of evidence by each evaluation criterion.
- Analysis and Critical Reflection
- Collaborative review of results across all domains.
- Assessment of compliance levels for each criterion.
- Identification of institutional strengths, challenges, and improvement opportunities.
- Report Preparation
- Synthesis of findings by evaluation factor.
- Integration of supporting evidence and annexes.
- Drafting of proposed improvement actions.
- Validation and Community Feedback
- Internal review of the report by school leadership.
- Presentation of results to the broader educational community.
- Formal approval of the improvement plan.
Structure of the Final Self-Assessment Report
- Introduction
- Purpose of the report and institutional background.
- Summary of the process carried out.
- Methodology
- Tools and instruments used.
- Participants and data sources.
- Analysis by Evaluation Factor
- Description of each criterion.
- Compliance level and evidence.
- Critical reflection (strengths and weaknesses).
- Overall Summary
- General evaluation of institutional performance.
- Key conclusions.
- Improvement Plan
- Specific objectives.
- Proposed actions, responsibilities, timeline, and resource allocation.
- Annexes
- Copies of instruments, data reports, meeting minutes, graphs, and documentation.
External Institutional Evaluation
Key Characteristics of the External Evaluation
- Independence of the Evaluation Team
- The team is composed of professionals unaffiliated with the school, trained in quality assurance and with experience in educational evaluation. This guarantees objectivity, neutrality, and technical rigor throughout the process.
- Review of Documented Evidence
- Evaluators examine the self-assessment report in detail, along with all supporting documentation and records submitted by the institution. They verify the alignment of these materials with the established evaluation criteria.
- Interviews with Key Stakeholders
- Structured interviews and focus groups are conducted with school leaders, teachers, students, families, and staff. The goal is to gather diverse perspectives and validate the information reported.
- On-site Observation
- Evaluators visit classrooms, shared areas, and administrative offices to observe daily dynamics, pedagogical practices, use of resources, and the general school environment.
- Critical Judgment on Compliance
- The evaluation team assigns ratings or qualitative assessments for each criterion, highlighting strengths, gaps, and inconsistencies between internal and external findings.
- Technical Evaluation Report
- A formal report is produced, summarizing the findings, confirming or adjusting the institution’s self-assessment, and providing detailed feedback. This report supports the final accreditation decision.
- Formative and Guiding Purpose
- Beyond certification, the external evaluation offers clear and constructive recommendations to support long-term improvement and foster a culture of continuous development.
Final Accreditation Report
Characteristics of the Final Report
- Objective and impartial: Based on verified evidence, interviews, direct observation, and institutional documentation.
- Comprehensive: It covers all evaluation areas or factors included in the accreditation model.
- Analytical: Goes beyond description to interpret and assess the institution’s level of development.
- Formative: Includes practical recommendations to support the institution’s ongoing improvement, regardless of the final result.
Structure of the Final Accreditation Report
- Introduction
- Brief overview of the institutional context.
- Scope and methodology of the external evaluation.
- Summary of the Self-Assessment
- General evaluation of the self-assessment report.
- Level of coherence between the school’s internal analysis and the external findings.
- Analysis by Evaluation Factor
- Description of each factor or domain.
- Identified strengths.
- Detected areas for improvement.
- Supporting evidence for each assessment.
- Overall Assessment
- Integrated judgment regarding institutional performance.
- Evaluation of the school's commitment to continuous improvement.
- Accreditation Decision
- Final outcome:
- Full Accreditation
- Conditional Accreditation
- Non-Accreditation
- Justification of the decision based on the evaluation criteria.
- Recommendations
- Suggestions for institutional strengthening in the short, medium, and long term.