Following a visit from the Accreditation Team of the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP) in October 2023, the CELE Preliminary Year courses Oral Communication Skills A (OCSa) and Reading and Writing in Academic Contexts (RWAC) have achieved full BALEAP Accreditation. We are one of only a handful of institutions outside of the UK to have received this accreditation, and only the second in China.

BALEAP supports the professional development of those involved in learning, teaching, scholarship and research in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) since its establishment in 1972. Its assurance and enhancement scheme, BAS, was set up with the aim of establishing and sustaining standards required of specialist EAP provision and enhancing best practice across diverse education contexts and academic communities. BAS has been accrediting courses since 1991, based on the standards set out in a code of practice first established in 1989. These standards have been reviewed regularly in consultation with institutions who have gone through the accreditation process.

BAS reviewed course documentation and visited the campus to determine whether the EAP provision being assessed was contextualised, constructively aligned and collaborative.

The accreditation confirms CELE’s teaching and learning activities and assessment are informed by the context students are in and hoping to progress to; aligned to learning outcomes; and underpinned by clearly articulated principles and/or theory.