1. Who accredits EAQUALS?
EAQUALS awards accreditation as an independent accreditation body and is not, therefore, accredited by others. It contributes to the Council of Europe projects, and is sometimes consulted by the European Commission on matters related to language education. EAQUALS has been granted Participatory Status by the Council of Europe.

2. How does EAQUALS relate to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN)?
ISO is a general system of quality assurance, which emphasizes quality assurance procedures; EAQUALS is (a) an association with professional activities and (b) specifically concerned with language education, assessing the quality of teaching and academic management as well as procedures. A number of EAQUALS members have also obtained ISO or other quality certifications and consider them to be complementary. CEN  has set up minimum standards for language travel, which were drafted with EAQUALS participation in the Working Group. EAQUALS accreditation is directed to identifying and certifying excellence. EAQUALS has also observer status on two ISO technical committees.

3. Who recognises EAQUALS accreditation?
EAQUALS has an increasingly important profile in Europe. For example, EAQUALS schools are recognized by CSN, the Swedish Board of Higher Education, for the allocation of study abroad loans and grants. In Italy, the Progetto Lingue 2000 gives credit to EAQUALS courses as additions to school and higher education. In Switzerland, a number of companies require EAQUALS certification for in-company language teaching.

4. Who are the inspectors?
EAQUALS inspectors are professionals with considerable managerial and international professional experience, who have completed the EAQUALS inspector training scheme. Over half of the inspections are carried out by independent freelance inspectors, all of whom have experience in academic management. The other inspectors are practising managers in EAQUALS schools. The professional profile of inspectors is sent to the inspected institution before the inspection..

5. Can any type of school apply for an EAQUALS inspection?
Yes, though it must be big enough to have systems and activities that can be inspected.

6. How long is an inspection?
Normally two days, with two inspectors. A large school may have a longer inspection – three or four days. 

7. What does the inspection scheme cover? What is looked at?
The inspection scheme covers everything related to services to course participants (teaching, academic management and resources, plus other services such as accommodation and leisure programmes). It also covers: staff conditions and contracts, qualifications, experience, and human resources management. The information in brochures and on websites is checked for completeness and accuracy, and inspectors verify whether the institution’s management can demonstrate their respect for legality, fair dealing and proper care for health and safety.

8. How is teaching assessed?
By sampling in class observation all the different kinds of teaching taking place in 15 to 20 minute visits. Teachers must provide lesson plans and schemes of work so that lessons can be seen in context. Inspectors look at evidence of clear objectives, of good class management and phasing of lessons. They check whether the approach corresponds to what the prospectus says, the coverage of a variety of skills, the use of media and resources. They judge teaching performance in general, not the work of the individual teacher.

9. What does EAQUALS membership mean in terms of teachers’ professional development?
The EAQUALS inspection requires schools to demonstrate arrangements for general quality improvement in the schools and for specific professional development, with opportunities for training both inside and outside the institution.

10. Which institutions can become Associate Members of EAQUALS?
Organisations which support EAQUALS aims of promoting quality in language education in Europe and beyond are invited to apply for associate membership of EAQUALS.
Associate Members can attend all meetings and provide annual reports on their activities, which are posted on the EAQUALS website.

The types of organisation which are eligible include:

• national cultural agencies
• national and international associations of schools with quality assurance schemes,
• examination boards
• university language departments
• publishers
• ministry of education institutions
• international associations involved in language education
• foundations, trusts and associations with groups of schools that are EAQUALS members