The ECTE Manual
The ECTE Manual – 6th Edition, 2018 is organized in six main parts. The first defines the Identity and the Mission of the ECTE which, in addition to its historic distinctiveness as an accreditation association, is evolving in its self-understanding as a network of European theological institutions.The second part is dedicated to Membership, and describes the standards and procedures for membership in the ECTE. The third part contains vital information about ECTE Accreditation, from procedures, stages and standards and guidelines in preparing a Self Evaluation Report. The fourth part groups together several important Appendices, the fifth part contains several Forms that will be needed in different stages and the last part contains Visitation Guidelines.Schools interested in ECTE accreditation will make use of the entire manual, while schools interested only in becoming part of the ECTE network will need to consult the first and second chapters and selected appendices.The 2018, 6th edition of the ECTE Manual does not contain any substantial modifications on standards or procedures from the 2012, 5th Edition, but important additions and improvements have been made.
Policy area
Items of updated or innovated ECTE policy will be uploaded here.
Counting of hours for Distance Education
Some educational systems (e.g. in the USA) count credits in relation to classroom hours which evidently poses a problem with distance education. In line with the EU definition of the ECTS credit system, the ECTE counts credits on the basis of hours of learning activities (usually about 25 hours per 1 ECTS). So a course that is worth 10 credits should prescribe about 250-300 hours of learning activities. This is true both for residential and non-residential learning such as distance education and elearning. The ECTE accredits within a freer space where schools can design online learning in a variety of ways, with many different kinds of learning activities. An online course submitted for accreditation needs to demonstrate why it has chosen determinate learning activities (linked to the outcomes) and that, in terms of time, those learning activities actually do add up to nominal amounts of time that correspond to the declared credits. (EEAA Council – October 2013)Forms
Click on the following links to download the desired form:
- Membership Application form (to be used by schools applying for membership)
- Preliminary Questionnaire (to be used by schools applying for Candidacy)
- Annual Progress Report (APR) (to be used by accredited and candidate schools for annual reporting on programmes, for indicating changes and for requesting formal advice from the Accreditation Commission on prospected plans. This form is also used to report student numbers for invoicing purposes)
- School Review Form (to be used by VETs to report to the Accreditation Director on Candidacy and Accreditation visitations
- VET Evaluation Form (to be used by schools to evaluate VETs after reviews)
- Summary Assessment Form (to be used by Accrediting Council to summarize and publish reports)
- Abbreviated Self Evaluation Report for Dual Accreditation (to be used by schools with other accreditation or validation requesting dual accreditation with the ECTE)
- Self Evaluation Report guidelines for Review Visit (to be used by schools in view of their 5-year Review visit)
- Certificate Order Form (to be used by accredited schools to order certificates for graduates)