Becoming a member
Your commitment to excellence in continuing education
Benefits of becoming a member
By becoming a member of SOFEDUC, you highlight and strengthen the recognition of your excellence in the field of continuing education. You join a community committed to quality, transparency, and innovation, while benefiting from rigorous standards that attest to your credibility. This affiliation helps you maintain a training offer that is always relevant and competitive, anticipating market transformations and emerging needs. In short, joining SOFEDUC means investing in your professional reputation and that of your organization, enhancing your adaptability, and increasing the value of your services, in order to deliver training experiences that fully meet the expectations of today’s and tomorrow’s learners.
The benefits of SOFEDUC membership are numerous, including discounts and advantages tied to new strategic agreements with our partners, available to members in the new Members Zone Area. (If you have not received your password, please contact [email protected]).
Advantages of becoming an Institutional Member
Institutional Members (accredited), who are required to undergo regular audits by SOFEDUC (an independent and recognized body), position themselves as organizations that have demonstrated their ability to:
- Analyze the needs of clients and learners in order to create training programs that meet market demands;
Design structured training activities based on specific objectives and competencies; - Ensure excellence in the quality of continuing education;
- Deliver structured and high-quality training services.
Institutional Members thus benefit, among other things, from the privilege of using a recognized quality label (CEU) valued by many organizations, such as:
- Professional orders;
- Professional associations and networks;
- Private enterprises;
- Public and parapublic organizations;
- Ministries and government bodies.
SOFEDUC members are recognized as stakeholders in the development of a genuine culture of continuing education by learners (employees), companies (clients and employers), and trainers.
They offer:
To learners (participants):
- Assurance of the quality of the continuing education provided;
- Recognition and enhancement of their competencies;
- Formal acknowledgment of their learning (certificate of achievement) or of their participation (certificate of attendance) in a training activity;
- Development of a standardized and cumulative record of completed training;
- Support in their personal efforts to have their continuing education achievements officially recognized.
To clients and employers:
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A systematic process for analyzing the relevance of the training received by an employee, within the framework of a training activity offered by an accredited Institutional Member.
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Quality training supported by a record clearly identifying the data related to the completed training;
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Rigorous management of the pedagogical system in place;
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Promotion of a corporate culture centered on updating and developing competencies;
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A structured process for monitoring training activities or programs.
For trainers :
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Recognition of their teaching competencies;
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Increased credibility with participants in their training activities;
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Support from peers committed to maintaining a high level of quality;
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In addition, Institutional Members (accredited) by SOFEDUC are required to implement mechanisms and strategies that ensure measurable results in the development of learning and competencies.
Finally, if necessary, they can seek the SOFEDUC expertise to implement a continuous improvement plan to respond more effectively to the demands of corporate, trainers and participants.
Membership Categories
Become an Institutional Member (accredited) if you are an organization (public or private) duly incorporated under the laws in force in your province or territory and wishing to issue CEUs.
An organization that becomes an Institutional Member undertakes a process of recognition and continuous improvement; thus, the new Member commits to an initial period of 5 years.
The Institutional Member is required to pay the Membership fees (annual dues) as well as the file opening fee (a one-time payment upon submission of the membership application) and the fees related to the audit (initial and reaccreditation).
Become an Affiliate Member if you are an organization (public or private) duly incorporated under the laws in force in your province or territory and wishing to:
- Become an Institutional Member in the short term, but do not yet have a track record in continuing education;
- Develop your expertise in continuing education;
- Support SOFEDUC’s activities without intending to issue CEUs.
The Affiliate Member is required to pay the Membership fees (annual dues) and the file opening fee (a one-time payment upon submission of the membership application).
Become an Individual Member if you are a natural person working in the field of:
- Continuing education;
- Teaching;
- Human resources;
- Skills development;
- Organizational management.
The Individual Member is only required to pay the Membership fees (annual dues).
How much does membership cost?
Annual membership fee
Institutional Member
from 650,00 $
(+ taxes)
Affiliated Member
from 450,00 $
(+ taxes)
Individual Member
95,00 $
(+ taxes)
File opening fee
All applicants for Institutional Member and Affiliate Member status must pay a file opening fee in the amount of $195.00 + taxes as of June 1, 2023.
File Review and Audit Fees (Accreditation Visit)
Only applicants for Institutional Member status are required to pay the file review and audit fees (accreditation visit): starting at $650.00 + taxes.
The fees are determined following the preliminary evaluation of the candidate’s file in order to take into account the time and resources required to carry out the audit, based on the organization’s structure, the complexity of the file, and the specific characteristics of each candidate.
*Additional audit fees may be charged if a second audit is required by the Accreditation Committee when the report identifies major corrections as a condition for obtaining Institutional Member status.
Are you ready? So…
Renewal
1. Annual Renewal
The annual renewal takes place on June 1 of each year. Members must pay the Membership fees (annual dues) within 30 days of the issuance of the renewal invoice, that is, before July 1.
Members must also ensure that they report any changes within their organization that could have an impact on their membership file.
Institutional Members are required to produce a Report of the training activities offered and CEUs issued for the period (year) that has ended.
2. Audit Visit (Reaccreditation)
Currently, reaccreditation audit visit of the Institutional Member (or accreditation renewal visit) takes place every five years. The visit is conducted by an auditor (expert reviewer) appointed by SOFEDUC.
The purpose of this visit is to verify compliance with the Quality Standards and the awarding of CEUs, and to discuss with those responsible the process of improving the quality of continuing education services.
The written audit report (the visit) is submitted to the Executive Management as well as to the Accreditation Committee, accompanied by a recommendation from the auditor (expert reviewer) for analysis and decision.
The Accreditation Committee may require the Institutional Member to submit an action plan and implement corrective measures in order to comply with SOFEDUC’s Standards and guidelines.
In extreme cases, the Committee may present a motion to the Board to suspend the Member’s status, or as a last resort, revoke it. This motion must then be ratified by a resolution of the Board of Directors.
The Member must pay the audit fees (accreditation renewal visit).