PASE
POLISH ASSOCIATION FOR STANDARDS
IN ENGLISH

Anna Kolbuszewska

AIMS:

• promoting high professional standards in ELT both among EFL schools in Poland and among the public
• running an accreditation scheme based on regular inspections
• providing a professional exchange forum for ELT managers in Poland (through e.g. organising ELT Management conferences)
• providing information to customers on services in accredited schools

HISTORY
PASE started off in 1993 as an association open to representatives of all private English language schools which represent high professional standards in their day-to-day operations.
The first round of inspections was carried out in 1996 - 6 founder schools were inspected, and all were awarded Recommended School status.

After the first round of inspections, the General Assembly decided that (after a certain deadline) only representatives of accredited schools can be members of PASE. Most of the schools represented in the association at the time were granted accreditation within that period.

The first inspections in schools other than founder members were carried out in 1997. In 1998 the Recognition Scheme was revised and the pass mark was raised from 63 to 73%.

PASE is an Associate Member of EAQUALS.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
The association is governed by a Committee (3 to 5 members) elected by the General Assembly. It is the committee members who decide on the division of responsibilities among themselves. It is customary for the person with the highest number of votes to become PASE President.

In view of the fact that the importance of the Association in Poland and its media presence is constantly growing, there may be a need soon to create detailed job descriptions for each committee member and for the General Assembly to elect candidates to particular posts.

MEMBERSHIP
Although initially PASE was open - as mentioned above - to representatives of all private English Language Schools, now it is only representatives of accredited schools who can be members of the Association. At the moment, there are 25 accredited schools throughout Poland.

THE INSPECTION AND ACCREDITATION PROCESS
In order to apply for an inspection, the school must submit an inspection pack to the Recognition Scheme Coordinator. The Inspection pack contains the following documents:

• A copy of the school (firm, company) registration documents;
• School promotional materials: brochures, copies of newspaper advertisements, posters, leaflets, etc.;
• All documents connected with student registration in the school (rules of enrolment and tuition, contracts, registration cards, etc.);
• A list of people working in, and for the school, together with their job descriptions;
• A list of teachers, their qualifications and the number of hours taught weekly and monthly;
• A plan of the school activities including all types of courses, levels of education, number of students and names of teachers teaching particular courses. If classes are held in different places, location should be stated;

The Recognition Scheme Coordinator carries out an initial screening of the application to establish if the school is eligible for inspection.

A regular inspection is carried out over a period of two days by two inspectors. After the inspection, they prepare a detailed report on the inspection, including their recommendation on whether or not the school should be awarded a Recognised School status. The report is sent to the Recognition Scheme Coordinator, and the committee makes a final decision on accreditation.

A pre-inspection self-assessment questionnaire is available on the PASE website, together with a detailed description of the Recognition Scheme Principles.

INSPECTION CRITERIA AND GRADING
The three main areas of inspection are Academic Standards (including Quality of Teaching), Management and Organisation, Facilities. Academic Standards carries the highest percentage of marks: 70%.

The school is awarded the title of School Recommended by PASE if it achieves a pass mark in all Recognition Scheme sub-categories; if it fails in one sub-category, the school is referred for a period of 6 months. If it fails in two or more sub-categories, the school does not receive PASE recommendation.

THE INSPECTORS
The Inspectors must represent accredited schools, must not come from the same city as the inspected school and must not have any business or private association with the inspected school for at least one year prior to the inspection. PASE is currently considering extending the inspectors' team to include ELT professionals from outside the association.

WEB SITE: www.pase.pl