Minimum requirements to apply for accreditation

To be eligible to apply for Cervantes Institute accreditation, institutions must:

Deliver face-to-face Spanish language courses.
Be located in cities where the Cervantes Institute has no centre of its own (except under exceptional circumstances).
• Meet the minimum prerequisites of the System of Accreditation of Instituto Cervantes for each section included in the assessment, which are as follows:
1. Organization and administration of the centre.
  - 1.1. Organization and administration.
  - 1.2. Teams and individual staff.
2. Teaching and learning services.
  - 2.1. Academic planning.
  - 2.2. Courses and classes.
  - 2.3. Assessment of students.
  - 2.4. Student guidance and monitoring.
  - 2.5. Coordination of academic activities.
3. Supplementary services.
4. Teaching and learning facilities and resources.
5. Information and publicity about the centre and its services.
• Meet the legal requirements set forth under legal requirements and documentation.

SACIC's minimum prerequisites, mandatory for all centres

These minimum requirements are required of the centers that request the creation of accreditation dossier. Additionally, in order to obtain the accreditation, the centers must obtain a favorable result in the evaluation of their activity (see Scoring criteria; the complete list of descriptors for the evaluation is in the document Accreditation. General information, p. 45 -65). Organization and administration of the centre. 1.1. Organization and administration. Meet the country's safety standards. Have a minimum of two years’ experience in teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL), as an organization or as a centre. Have a student data management system. Have a system for assessing the satisfaction of external users of the centre. Have a system for dealing with suggestions, claims, and complaints. 1.2. Teams and individual staff. Have appropriate teams and individual staff to carry out the centre's administrative and academic activities. Have at least one person working exclusively on administrative tasks, with special training for their position, knowledge of languages, and at least one year’s experience in administrative management. Have a person responsible for academic coordination, and who has office hours exclusively dedicated to these tasks, enabling them to deal with students and teachers and the academic management of the centre. Have at least two Spanish-language teachers, who meet the following requirements: 4.1. Have completed a university degree. 4.2. Have completed accredited specialized SFL training (minimum of 60 hours). 4.3. Have at least 600 hours of SFL teaching experience. 4.4. Have a consolidated employment or professional relationship with the centre, formalized through a contract. Teaching and learning services. 2.1. Academic planning. The centre must be dedicated to teaching as a professional activity, and offer face-to-face SFL teaching, whether as its sole activity or as a priority or secondary activity. Offer at least three levels of Spanish courses, on a permanent basis. Have a Teaching Plan that includes: definition of levels, description of objectives and content, methodological orientation, criteria for assessment, monitoring and guidance of student learning. Have programmes for different courses corresponding to at least three different levels in the centre's curriculum. 2.2. Courses and classes. Teach at least three levels of face-to-face SFL courses, whether as its sole activity or as a priority or secondary activity. Have lesson-planning documents for the Spanish courses taught at the centre. Have a system for class registration, including student attendance, content covered in class, and materials used. 2.3. Assessment of students. Have a Teaching Plan that includes student assessment criteria.¹ 2.4. Student guidance and monitoring. Have a Teaching Plan that includes criteria for monitoring and guiding students' progress. 2.5. Coordination of academic activities. Have a person responsible for academic coordination, and who has office hours exclusively dedicated to these tasks, enabling them to deal with students and teachers and the academic management of the centre. Supplementary services. 3.1. Supplementary services 1. Have a programme of sports and social activities that promote the Spanish-language culture. 2. (For centres already having accreditation.) Promote among the centre's students the value of official language proficiency certification, with particular emphasis on the Spanish-language diplomas issued by the Ministry of Education of Spain. Teaching and learning facilities and resources. 4.1. Facilities and resources of the centre 1. Have a locale with a valid activity license² in the name of the centre's owner, with a total surface area of at least 150 m². This surface area may be less if the centre's only activity is teaching Spanish. 2. Have a space for the centre's teachers to use, in which computers connected to the internet and a printer are available. 3. Have at least two classrooms that are preferentially assigned for teaching Spanish. 4. Have a common space for breaks between classes. 5. Have sufficient toilets for the centre's volume of activity. 6. Have a library or, failing that, a multipurpose space which includes a library area. 7. Have sufficient technical means for SFL teaching, based on the volume of activity (number of students and courses). The centre must have at least two classrooms in which audiovisual equipment can be used. Information and publicity about the centre and its services. 5.1. Information and publicity about the centre and its services. 1. Have a website and advertising brochures in at least two languages. 2. Include in its advertising information regarding: the centre, its courses and their content, prices, conditions of the services purchased, and charges or conditions for reimbursement or cancellation of these services.

These minimum requirements are required of the centers that request the creation of accreditation dossier. Additionally, in order to obtain the accreditation, the centers must obtain a favorable result in the evaluation of their activity (see Scoring criteria; the complete list of descriptors for the evaluation is in the document Accreditation. General information, p. 45 -65).

Organization and administration of the centre.
- 1.1. Organization and administration.
  1. Meet the country's safety standards.
  2. Have a minimum of two years’ experience in teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL), as an organization or as a centre.
  3. Have a student data management system.
  4. Have a system for assessing the satisfaction of external users of the centre.
  5. Have a system for dealing with suggestions, claims, and complaints.
- 1.2. Teams and individual staff.
  1. Have appropriate teams and individual staff to carry out the centre's administrative and academic activities.
  2. Have at least one person working exclusively on administrative tasks, with special training for their position, knowledge of languages, and at least one year’s experience in administrative management.
  3. Have a person responsible for academic coordination, and who has office hours exclusively dedicated to these tasks, enabling them to deal with students and teachers and the academic management of the centre.
  4. Have at least two Spanish-language teachers, who meet the following requirements:
    - 4.1. Have completed a university degree.
    - 4.2. Have completed accredited specialized SFL training (minimum of 60 hours).
    - 4.3. Have at least 600 hours of SFL teaching experience.
    - 4.4. Have a consolidated employment or professional relationship with the centre, formalized through a contract.
Teaching and learning services.
- 2.1. Academic planning.
  1. The centre must be dedicated to teaching as a professional activity, and offer face-to-face SFL teaching, whether as its sole activity or as a priority or secondary activity.
  2. Offer at least three levels of Spanish courses, on a permanent basis.
  3. Have a Teaching Plan that includes: definition of levels, description of objectives and content, methodological orientation, criteria for assessment, monitoring and guidance of student learning.
  4. Have programmes for different courses corresponding to at least three different levels in the centre's curriculum.
- 2.2. Courses and classes.
  1. Teach at least three levels of face-to-face SFL courses, whether as its sole activity or as a priority or secondary activity.
  2. Have lesson-planning documents for the Spanish courses taught at the centre.
  3. Have a system for class registration, including student attendance, content covered in class, and materials used.
- 2.3. Assessment of students.
  1. Have a Teaching Plan that includes student assessment criteria.¹
- 2.4. Student guidance and monitoring.
  1. Have a Teaching Plan that includes criteria for monitoring and guiding students' progress.
- 2.5. Coordination of academic activities.
  1. Have a person responsible for academic coordination, and who has office hours exclusively dedicated to these tasks, enabling them to deal with students and teachers and the academic management of the centre.
Supplementary services.
- 3.1. Supplementary services
  - 1. Have a programme of sports and social activities that promote the Spanish-language culture.
  - 2. (For centres already having accreditation.) Promote among the centre's students the value of official language proficiency certification, with particular emphasis on the Spanish-language diplomas issued by the Ministry of Education of Spain.
Teaching and learning facilities and resources.
- 4.1. Facilities and resources of the centre
  - 1. Have a locale with a valid activity license² in the name of the centre's owner, with a total surface area of at least 150 m². This surface area may be less if the centre's only activity is teaching Spanish.
  - 2. Have a space for the centre's teachers to use, in which computers connected to the internet and a printer are available.
  - 3. Have at least two classrooms that are preferentially assigned for teaching Spanish.
  - 4. Have a common space for breaks between classes.
  - 5. Have sufficient toilets for the centre's volume of activity.
  - 6. Have a library or, failing that, a multipurpose space which includes a library area.
  - 7. Have sufficient technical means for SFL teaching, based on the volume of activity (number of students and courses). The centre must have at least two classrooms in which audiovisual equipment can be used.
Information and publicity about the centre and its services.
- 5.1. Information and publicity about the centre and its services.
  - 1. Have a website and advertising brochures in at least two languages.
  - 2. Include in its advertising information regarding: the centre, its courses and their content, prices, conditions of the services purchased, and charges or conditions for reimbursement or cancellation of these services.

Notas

(1) The assessment criteria for courses taught at the centre must be available. These criteria may be included in the Teaching Plan or in the course programme. Return
(2) For centres located outside of Spain, legal requirements equivalent to those for carrying out teaching activities, and pursuant to the country's legislation in force. Return