Accreditation
Internationally, there is currently no formal regulation for coaches and many don’t consider coaching a 'profession'. Thus accreditation for coaches is a 'hot' subject and many organisations are being established which provide clients (individiuals and organisations) and coaches with benchmarks of good practice in coaching and coach education. Our view is that the ideal would be to have one body that is inclusive of the diversity in the field and that establishes an independent and objective position from which to set standards, support research, educate and inform all stakeholders in the field. At i-coach academy, we acknowledge three types of accreditation:
Personal accreditation
This is the simplest form of accreditation where a personal recommendation is made by an individual client who has benefited from coaching with that coach. If you are looking to work on a similar issue to the person providing the recommendation this can be a useful way of finding a coach who is reliable and effective.
Professional accreditation
As touched on above, we believe there is a need for a professional body for the field of coaching, an institution that will play a neutral and objective role establishing a benchmark for standards and ethics in coaching practice and education of coaches, conducting research and educating key stakeholders.
i-coach academy is committed to the creation of professional standards and aim to consistently align our education programmes with developments by relevant professional bodies. The European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC), under David Lane's guidance, has recently launched a Quality Award exercise, the first of its kind in the UK. i-coach academy's Masters Coaching Qualification is currently accredited by the EMCC holding a European Quality Award at Master Practitioner level. i-coach academy's other programmes are currently being assessed for this award. We are a member of the EMCC and subscribe to the code of conduct and ethical guidelines of this organisation.
In South Africa, COMENSA (Coaches and Mentors of South Africa) has been established to create an umbrella association to provide for the regulation of coaching and mentoring, and to develop the credibility and awareness of coaching and mentoring as professions. Many of our students have actively contributed to the creation of this body and sit on various committees. i-coach academy is supportive of efforts to establish a professional body which acknowledges the unique needs of the South African community.
Academic accreditation
i-coach academy believes in external academic accreditation for our programmes so that our students and clients can feel confident that international standards are maintained across all programmes and graduates are recognised as the best in their field. Our academic standards and quality are monitored by the National Centre for Work Based Learning Partnerships at Middlesex University (NCWBLP), UK. The NCWBLP is recognised as a pioneer in accrediting professional learning and thus our students are being assessed not only on their understanding of coaching but on their professional capacity to coach at masters level through this accreditation.
Students work is assessed and moderated by assessors external to i-coach academy and work is presented to academic boards where their education achievements are ratified and academic credits awarded. We report to Middlesex on academic issues through their Quality Assurance and Assessment Standards and our programmes are monitored annually and re-accredited every five years. Middlesex University, itself, is monitored by the Quality Assurance Agency.
In New York , students have access to additional local accreditation options with the Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business and Milano, the New School of Management and Urban Policy. Please refer to individual programme literature for specific detail on academic accreditation options.
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