Membership

How to Become a Member of the ECHEA:

ECHEA members contribute with their diverse academic background and professional career to keep a wide perspective about the standards of quality assurance & professional excellence, and to consider the frame of reference of different countries and cultures. This multicultural perspective ensures a correct and non-discriminatory approach to interpret the global standards for the accreditation or external rating of any organisation globally, to recognize their professional excellence, and to provide an invaluable guide about quality assurance rating on a global scale. There are three ways to participate in the ECHEA.

Global Members:

Organisations & the heads are welcome to join the ECHEA global membership. Send your complete bio data or Curriculum Vitae to the ECHEA Secretary with your request to join the ECHEA, and a letter explaining how you intend to contribute to the mission, vision & global principles of ECHEA and improvement of the Quality Assurance. Acceptance of any new member is a restricted privilege. If your acceptance is not immediate, we ask you to be patient. We will keep your request for membership in our files for any future options.

Requirements:

• You must hold a postgraduate level degree, doctoral candidates & senior profiles are preferred.
• You must contribute to follow the mission, vision & global principles of ECHEA and demonstrate to work for improvement of QA with work, networking or other contributions.
• Optional: If possible, you should be recommended by other ECHEA member, accredited institution or selected body approved by the ECHEA.

Obligations:

• Voluntary involvement for global QA development.
• Your name will display on the ECHEA official Web site.
• Promotion of the ECHEA Services.
• Evaluation of the Accreditation Status of organisations for a fee.

Benefits for Global Members:

• Global Member Certification
• Networking benefits with the global fraternity
• Open Invitation to reviews, meetings, seminars & other events
• You have the right to receive ECHEA Global member certificate & to be listed as such in the ECHEA esteemed member list.

Financial Profits:

It is easy to generate financial gains being part of the ECHEA. Commission & fees will be coordinated each time with the ECHEA Secretary on case to case basic electronic.

Discounted Accreditation & Rating Services:

If you are a professor, academic or staff at some institution of education, you may recommend the acceptance of such institution in the list of ECHEA accredited institutions of education at no cost or nominal fees, provided the fact the institution meets the accreditation standards set forth by the Education Quality Accreditation Commission, or an approved equivalent accreditation. This selection is presented for information purposes only, and with the intent of providing references about the existing norms applicable. ECHEA is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the global establishment of worldwide accepted quality standards. If you consider that you may join the ECHEA in any of the above described categories, you should write an email to the ECHEA Secretary with your request. The ECHEA Secretary will coordinate all the administrative requirements.

Join Us:

Code of Conduct:

High standards of honesty, integrity and impartiality by ECHEA evaluators are essential to the proper performance of the accreditation process. ECHEA evaluators must agree to the Code of Conduct for On-Site Evaluators prior to volunteering for ECHEA. All Accrediting Commissioners, Evaluators, Subject Specialists, Consultants, Administrative Staff, Appeals Panel Members, and employees of the ECHEA must:

• Annually read, sign and agree to abide by ECHEA’s Conflict of Interest Policy
• Sign and complete ECHEA’s Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form for each institution they review.

Note: In addition to the above, all on-site evaluators must annually read, sign and agree to abide by ECHEA’s Code of Conduct for On-Site Evaluators. More information and electronic versions of each form are available using the list below:

Conflict of Interest Policy:

Annually, each Accrediting Commissioner, Evaluator, Subject Specialist, Consultant, Administrative Staff, Appeals Panel Member, or employee of ECHEA shall be provided with and asked to review a copy of this policy and to acknowledge in writing that he or she has done so. An electronic version of Conflict of Interest Policy is available to complete online

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form:

Before reviewing an institution, each Accrediting Commissioner, Evaluator, Subject Specialist, Consultant, Administrative Staff Member, Appeals Panel Member, or employee of ECHEA shall complete a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form identifying any relationships, positions or circumstances in which he/she is involved that he/she believes could present a Conflict of Interest with that institution. An electronic version of the form can be reviewed and completed online.

Code of Conduct for On-Site Evaluators:

In addition to the above, on-site evaluators must annually review, sign, and agree to abide by ECHEA’s Code of Conduct for On-Site Evaluators. An electronic version of the Code can be reviewed and completed online. You can email us to get the forms and for more details and better understandings.

Apply to Volunteer:

ECHEA’s volunteer evaluators have two primary responsibilities:

• Assess institutional or program quality and compliance. Within an institution’s context and mission, ECHEA evaluators provide a detailed assessment of compliance with ECHEA’s accreditation standards.
• Within the context and mission of the institution, ECHEA evaluators offer suggestions intended to contribute to the quality of an institution’s academic offerings and to its aims toward continuous improvement.

To apply to become an ECHEA Volunteer, please contact ECHEA’s Director of Accreditation or Secretary.

Value of Peer Review:

Peer review is the defining characteristic of accreditation globally. ECHEA views peer review as essential to institutional assessment and improvement. Global higher education developed peer review to examine innovations in institutions and to compare expectations for academic quality with expectations for student achievement. Peer review is an effective and meaningful way to improve and externally validate the quality of student performance and ensure that student performance meets high standards for achievement. In order to achieve this goal ECHEA has formed various committee and honorary board of advisors those who act as volunteers and panel members for conducting the peer review wherever required.

Volunteer Profiles:

ECHEA’s peer reviewers are evaluators and education specialists who contribute to advancing the assessment of QA in education. They bring vast expertise particularly suited to higher education in such areas as pedagogical delivery in higher education, online learning management systems, academic services, student learning outcomes assessment, and student academic success. ECHEA has honorary list of aboard advisors which double up as representative and volunteer in that region in order to have our global presence felt worldwide. For more information check honorary list of Global Board Advisors at ECHEA. To join us volunteer or recommend a senior profile you can send us their detailed CV along with Photograph as per of the initial screening and we shall get in touch with you over the email for confirmation.

Volunteer Training:

Peer review in ECHEA’s accreditation process is based on the fundamental assumption that quality assurance benchmarking is best served through a process that enables peers of the organization, informed by accreditation standards created and applied by professionals in allied field, to make the assessments essential to assuring and advancing the quality of the organisations worldwide. ECHEA requires all volunteers to complete an online Evaluator Training Tutorial before serving as an evaluator. The tutorial is available upon request via the ECHEA Online Training Centre. There is no cost to complete this tutorial.

Volunteers:

Serving on a ECHEA evaluation committee is often described by volunteers as “one of the best forms of professional development,” not only because of what is learned about best practices from the accreditation standards but also because of interaction with academician & education peers. ECHEA’s accreditation process depends upon the skill and thoughtful work of individuals who are willing to serve the larger community of distance education, higher education institutions as volunteers.

Apply to Volunteer:

The credibility and effectiveness of the accreditation & rating process depend upon the contribution of volunteer evaluators.

Volunteer Profiles:

Over 100 + talented experts who represent all aspects of varied industry participate as ECHEA volunteer evaluators.

Evaluator Documents:

ECHEA evaluator documents set forth expectations, specific tasks and procedures for examining committee members.

Volunteer Training:

Training includes accreditation workshops, online courses and one-on-one mentoring before, during and after visits.

Value of Peer Review:

Accreditation is a practice of peer review and accountability to mutually agreed-upon standards of education quality.

Code of Conduct:

Volunteers must adhere to protocols, policies and procedures and conduct their work according to these expectations.