ACCREDITATION

ISAAT’s accreditation process serves to further develop and assure the basic ethical stance and professional quality of continuing education and training in the field of animal assisted intervention.

Essential components of this quality are:

  • The development and sustainable maintenance of a basic animal-ethical attitude by the teachers and the participants of the continuous education courses.
  • The conscious consideration of the professional and personal responsibility of the teachers towards the participants as well as the animals involved in context of education and training courses.

The accreditation process serves to promote transparency regarding the implementation of courses and the organization of other education institutes.

The accreditation process follows clearly defined criteria regarding the course content, the qualification of the teachers, the minimum number of hours and the examinations. ISAAT’s accreditation is based on given international standards and a framework curriculum. Following the defined tasks of the respective standards is mandatory for a successful accreditation process.

The comprehensive tasks of the accreditation process demand the assignment of external experts. Whether or not an accreditation can be granted, depends on the judgement and expertise of the experts, who attest the competency. Therefore, the accreditation is based on the recommendation of independent reviewers by the Board of Directors.

COURSE OF ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

Application

The application for accreditation can be done in English or German. The complete application form including all documents must be submitted as pdf to info@isaat.org

The documents you find below.

Please contact the lead of accreditation chai, Bettina Freimut, before sending your documents.

Accreditation fee

The accrdditation fee for Full Programs is 1’000 EUR, for Basic Training Human-Dog-Team or Basic Qualification other species 500 Euro (for each application).

The accreditation fee has to be payed unasked parallel to the application. The review process starts after all necessary documents have been received and the fee is payed completely.

Receipt confirmation

You will receive a confirmation of receipt by email.

The coordinatior checks your documents for completeness; additional requests will be necessary.

External assessors

The quality assurance is carried out to external assessors upon first accreditation, upon re-accreditiation it´s done by one external assessor and one ISAAT board member.

Core of external assurance is the comprehensive professional expertise of independant assessors to support the quality standards of ISAAT.

The Lead accreditation chair summerizes the results of the reports and makes a recommendation to the ISAAT board.

Decision about accreditation

The Isaat board makes a decision about accreditation and membership, rising from it.

With submitting the application the applicatn agrees to accept the decision of the ISAAT board; this is not contestable.

The ISAAT board can decide on a possible subsequent submission of documents.

ISAAT membership

Through accreditation, the institution becomes a ISAAT member. An additional membership in another organization, that offers accreditations in Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) is not permitted.

The annual membership fee is 150 Euro.

Re-Accreditation

If more than 10 % of the originally accreditation documents, contents or/and teachers is chancing, also when there are personnel changes (e.g. of the leader) or changes of location (movement, branch), ISAAT has to be informed unpromted. 

The accreditation period for Full Programs is about 5 years, for Basic Trainings Human-Dog-Teams or Basic Qualification other species about 3 years. The application for re-accreditation has to be submitted at least 3 months before the end of the accreditation period.

The ISAAT membership expires automatically without valid accreditation. The re-accrdeditation fee for Full Program is about 1000 EUR, for Basic Training Human-Dog-Team or Basic Qualification other species about 500 Euro (per application).

Right of appeal for participants of Full Programs, Basic Trainings & Basic Qualifications other species

We expressly point out that tthere is the right of appeal for participants of Full Programs, Basic Training or/and Basic Qualification other species. This serves to ensure the quality.

Actually complaints will cause to the ISAAT board; an independent commission is in planning.

Accreditation forms

You could download the apllication forms and documents here:

CONTACT

For further information please feel free to contact us anytime.

Accreditation Fee

The fee for a specific professional field continuous education is EUR 1.000 and for the base-education EUR 500. Please transfer the fee together with submitting your application. The application will only be processed upon payment. The fee is not refundable.

Confirmation of Receipt

The ISAAT secretary or the secretary’s office confirms receipt of the documents. The accreditation coordinator checks the documents for completion. If necessary, further documents will be requested.

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External Review

External experts and a ISAAT member undertake the assurance of quality. The core of the quality assurance is the experts’ comprehensive spectrum of expertise. They support ISAA’s work by contributing various aspects. The head of the accreditation committee summarizes the different expertise and delivers a recommendation to the board of directors.

The ISAAT Membership

The applicant institution gains automatically the ISAAT membership together with the accreditation. Another membership with an organization that accredits animal-assisted intervention curricula (for example: ESAAT) is not permitted. The annual membership fee is EUR 150.

Re-Accreditation

It needs to be justified immediately to the ISAAT board of directors, when more than 10 percent of the lecturers named on the original application change, or in case that the content changs. All accredited continuous education programs of a special professional field must be re-accredited every 5 years, and the basic training of Human-Dog-Teams every 3 years! The ISAAT membership expires without a successful re-accreditation. The re-accreditation-fee for the continuous education program of a specific professional field is EUR 1000, and for the basic education EUR 500.

Please note that new forms, frameworks of curricula and checklists for accreditations will be valid at November 2023 – please contact the lead of accreditation chair, Bettina Freimut, before sending your documents!

Decision regarding the Accreditation

Subsequently, the board of directors decides regarding the accreditation and thus regarding an ISSAT membership. The applicants are being informed by the president. By applying, the applicant commits to fully accept the decision of the board of directors. The applicant waives the option of an appeal. The option of submitting additional documents exists.

Documents Necessary for the Accreditation

Accreditation documents can be downloaded here:

Participants’ Right of Complaints

We would like to point out, that participants of ISAAT accredited education and training programs have a right to submit a complaint to the ISAAT Board of Directors. This right guarantees the quality of the education and trainings. ISAAT will appoint a complaint committee of a minimum of 3 representatives, that will make further decisions. The committee comprises board members, experts, and members.