Candidacy, Consultation & Verification (the authorisation process)

In a nutshell, schools express their interest in becoming an IB World School for one or more of the IB programmes. A school’s leadership and its governing body conduct a feasibility study for offering a programme. Required documentation and information are submitted to the IB as part of the application for candidacy, in order to become a candidate school in the initial stages.

Once approved, the school is granted candidacy and is assigned an IB consultant to liaise with the school’s designated programme coordinator to support the candidacy process remotely. The school agrees on dates with their consultant for a virtual or in-person two-day consultation visit to support meeting the programme standards and practices, as well as requirements for authorisation.

This process is very supportive in nature, and the consultant meets with members of the school community during the visit to discuss the success and challenges of implementing the programme.

Sample agendas can be found on the IB Programme Resource Centre (PRC).

After the visit, the school receives an initial consultation report, which outlines strengths and any opportunities for development or further growth. The school also receives an end-of-consultation report, which the school then uses to prepare to submit the application for authorisation (AFA) with support from the designated programme relationship manager. After submission of the AFA, the school’s application is reviewed by a member of the IBEN (IB Educator Network) team and feedback is provided on the school’s application and submitted documentation. Keep in mind that once a school completes one year of trial implementation, you are eligible to submit your application for authorisation. The IB programme relationship manager supports the school with the next steps towards the final verification visit on agreed dates. The two-day verification visit involves two members of IBEN who work with the coordinator to organise a two-day virtual or in-person verification visit. These two members are known as the team leader (who is the point of contact) and the team member.

After the verification visit, the team’s findings are reviewed by the IB authorisation department to determine whether the school has met the requirements for authorisation to become an IB World School. Once authorised, the school is assigned to an IB World School Manager (IBWSM) to support ongoing programme implementation.