VALUE OF ACEEE ACCREDITATION

How can I ensure that I become the first accredited entrepreneurial tertiary institution or one of its units in my country/region/state?

While we cannot ensure that you become the first accredited first accredited entrepreneurial tertiary institution or one of its units in your country, region or state, some recommendations can be given. As dual accreditation procedures generally take longer than a single accreditation, you might want to focus on one accreditation first. However, if you like to be recognised as the first institution that achieved ACEEE 's dual accreditation in your country, region or state, you might want to start with a dual accreditation right away. This is your decision.

How can I exploit the full value of my accreditation?

ACEEE accreditation provides your organisation and those working in your organisation with a variety of benefits. To fully benefit from the accreditation, we recommend:
• to widely communicate the achieved accreditation (a marketing guidebook will be provided to you in the “download documents and forms” area of the website
• to make use of ACEEE ’s yearly workshop and conference offer which you get free of charge as part of your membership
• to actively network with other institutions that have achieved ACEEE accreditation to share and learn, ultimately helping you to further advance your approach towards entrepreneurship and enterprise education (please refer to the members directory in the members area on the ACEEE website)

ELIGIBILITY

Are only tertiary institutions allowed to apply?

While ACEEE’s name (The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Education) specifically refers to tertiary institutions, other informal education institutions can also apply.

I would like to accredit only my faculty/department/school, not the entire tertiary institution. Is this possible?

Yes. We have the option of getting divisional accreditation. Your faculty/department/school can therefore apply for either Institutional Accreditation or Divisional Accreditation independently from your tertiary institution.

Is there a fee to be paid for the eligibility application?

There is no fee to be paid for your eligibility application. You only have to pay the fees when declared eligible

APPLICATION

When applying for the accreditation, should we apply for the ACEEE membership at the same time? Is it obligatory?

The application fee of the initial accreditation procedure covers ACEEE membership for the time of the application process. Therefore, there is no need to pay it additionally at this stage

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

How will the Peer Review be carried out? How much are the charges and how long it takes?

The peer review visit will be carried out by three experts selected based on your organisation’s profile and accreditation type. Our general practice is to have out of those 3 members 2 of them who are from the applicant’s country. Besides the peer review fee to be paid to ACEEE, the applicant tertiary institution is expected to cover the expenses of the peer review team during their visit. The review is supposed to be 1.5 days so 2 nights are to be expected in terms of accommodation. You can either directly pay for these expenses (flights and accommodation, peer member daily allowance and other direct expenses) or we can calculate how much those costs would be and invoice you.

Not all tertiary institution employees that might be involved in the Peer review visits are smoothly speaking English. Can we use a translator during meetings?

If you have a translator, you are free to bring one; however, ACEEE is unable to supply translators.

What is Invoice terminology?

The first invoice (covering 6-9 steps) is termed “Application fee” while the second one (covering steps 11-20) is termed “Peer review and final evaluation fee”. “VAT” is referred to as “VAT” in our invoices.

Do we need to pay VAT, if so, how much?

In Nigeria VAT is 7.5% percent, but if your tertiary institution has a VAT number, we do not charge it.

Why are members charged a yearly fee?

ACEEE aims to support institution in their journey of becoming a more entrepreneurial tertiary institution. This journey does not end with the award of the accreditation, but requires continuous improvement. Therefore, ACEEE provides its members with various services that help them to stay ahead of competition, primary by proving new knowledge, skills and tools and by linking members for knowledge exchange. Example services include: - Access to a good practice database (250+ cases) and a good practice finder - Access to a toolbox, hosting more than 100 models and instruments for entrepreneurship and enterprise education development - Free access to a ACEEE or ACEEE partner conference for one member representative.

SELF-EVALUATION REPORT (SER)

Do I need to submit two SERs for Dual Accreditation?

Yes there is one contract, but you are required to submit two separate self-evaluation reports for two accreditations. You should upload each in its respective entry on AMS platform. The peer review will be done at the same time to maximise efficiency and reduce costs. Please note, that passing one accreditation does not entitle you to passing the second accreditation. Basically, these are two separate processes.

ACCREDITATION DURING COVID-19

How will Peer Review be carried out in COVID-19 context?

Our Council passed the decision for our Peer Review visit to take place online or in hybrid format. Therefore, due to COVID-19, we will be moving all our visits to online/hybrid format, for the time being. While the format of the visits change, all relevant aspects such as external expertise, briefing of experts, independence, confidentiality and interviews with multiple stakeholders remain valid in the online and hybrid peer review visit. One important change is that the visit time will be spread across more days to make the online meetings more productive. For a Single accreditation process (institutional or divisional), the visit will take from 12 to 16 contact hours, spread across at least 3, preferably 4 days. A physical peer review visit in this case takes 1 to 1.5 days long. For a Dual accreditation process, the peer review visits will take from 16 to 20 contact hours, spread across at least 4, preferably 5 days. A physical peer review visit in this case takes 1.5 to preferably 2 days long.

The COVID-19 situation in my country is getting better, but there are still restrictions to getting in the country, what kind of Peer Review visit do you suggest?

If you are doubting between hybrid and online visit, I would say the advantage of hybrid one (half physical; half online) would be the possibility to inspect some premises, facilities etc. But if you think it would be difficult to execute due to unavailability of employees, the safe option would be fully online one. Additional caveat, should you apply for the hybrid, is that one of the peer review members needs to be willing to visit the premises physically. Since the situation changes constantly, we are unable to promise that in advance.

What are the costs involved in the Online/Hybrid Peer Review?

The online/hybrid peer review includes an additional cost of N750,000 (e.g. to cover extra planning efforts; technical support; ACEEE facilitator in virtual meetings). If the tertiary institution chooses a hybrid format, it will also have to cover the expenses of the person of the peer review team that visits the institution on-site (flights and accommodation and other direct expenses). If the visit is fully online, there will be no such costs, so the tertiary institution would simply be responsible for paying the regular Peer review and final evaluation fee, plus the N750,000 fee for organising the online visit.