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
The application for ISAAT accreditation can be made in English or German. The completed application form including all documents must be submitted to the ISAAT secretary/ the secretary’s office. The application forms can be found below.
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!
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
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!
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.