The validity of ATA accreditation for agencies (D) Thread poster: Terry Thatcher Waltz, Ph.D.
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Hello,
I am wondering if the practice of allowing agencies to claim ATA accreditation is really kosher here -- after all, the ATA gives accreditation to individuals only, not to agencies, after passing an examination. An agency may say that it has a freelancer who is accredited, but what is to guarantee that that particular person is available at any given time? And why should the credential of a person who is NOT the agency go to make the agency look better?
I don't ha... See more Hello,
I am wondering if the practice of allowing agencies to claim ATA accreditation is really kosher here -- after all, the ATA gives accreditation to individuals only, not to agencies, after passing an examination. An agency may say that it has a freelancer who is accredited, but what is to guarantee that that particular person is available at any given time? And why should the credential of a person who is NOT the agency go to make the agency look better?
I don't have a problem with agencies saying they are professional, and it's certainly encouraging to see that they appreciate the ATA credentials. But it doesn't seem right for an organization to claim the credential of an individual, especially when in some cases agencies claim hundreds of these credentials. I might believe eight or ten or twenty, based on the number of employees who are actually full-time with the company, but when a company claims accreditation in every language from A to Z...well, it just doesn't seem right.
Don't know what others think about this.
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2005-02-02 20:51] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It happens with the English-Vietnamese language pair, too! | Aug 26, 2003 |
This agency claims that they have ATA credentials for the English-Vietnamese pair.It is funny because ATA currently does not offer accreditation in this language pair. I wonder how many people actually believe their claim.
Hang Nguyen-Padfield
Vietnamese Language Services
6657 Bouganvillea Crescent Drive
Orlando, Florida 32809, USA
Voice: 407-826-9386... See more This agency claims that they have ATA credentials for the English-Vietnamese pair.It is funny because ATA currently does not offer accreditation in this language pair. I wonder how many people actually believe their claim.
Hang Nguyen-Padfield
Vietnamese Language Services
6657 Bouganvillea Crescent Drive
Orlando, Florida 32809, USA
Voice: 407-826-9386
Fax: 407-540-9351
Web: www.viet-translate.com
[Edited at 2003-08-26 20:11]
[Edited at 2003-08-26 20:11] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Hmmmm...isn't there some icon saying ProZ | Aug 26, 2003 |
It seems to me that the accreditation "icons" have a word next to them saying that they were "confirmed"...by ProZ...is that so in those cases??
---well, seems that there isn't always...in one agency profile I picked at random, none of the icons had that "confirmed" thing next to them. But I still feel it is misleading at best.
[Edited at 2003-08-26 20:30]
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Spain
Local time: 22:34
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| There is "ATA confirmed" and simply "ATA" | Aug 26, 2003 |
And I have seen "ATA" in the profiles of paying members.
The old ATA icon for people who had passed the tests was changed into "ATA confirmed".
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| ATA is one thing, accredited is another! | Aug 26, 2003 |
An agency can be a MEMBER of the ATA; this is completely normal.
However, as an agency cannot be ACCREDITED by the ATA, I submit that these listings are inappropriate.
| | | | | How about asking ATA about anything suspicious? | Aug 27, 2003 |
They have a strong interest in protecting their name, and I think they enjoy checking whether any stated accreditation is correct in form and extent, and if they don't even offer that language direction..
[Edited at 2003-08-27 06:02]
| | | | | Good idea, Harry... | Aug 27, 2003 |
[quote]Harry_B wrote:
They have a strong interest in protecting their name, and I think they enjoy checking whether any stated accreditation is correct in form and extent, and if they don't even offer that language direction..
quote]
I have thought the same thing for a long time. It would be interesting to have an ATA check, although I think that proz does well, there are so many of us on the site now that it must be quite a job to check everyone in due time.
| | | | | Would it not be more appropriate to... | Aug 27, 2003 |
call this to the attention of our own membership and/or staff, and let it be handled here?
I see no need to embarass ProZ in front of the ATA if it is a simple oversight, which I am sure it is. ProZ does not set out to willingly misrepresent anything. The agencies really *ought* to know better, IMHO, but from claiming 5,297 languages to claiming accreditation is probably not that big a step in some cases.
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| Different problems - different solutions | Aug 27, 2003 |
Agencies showing "ATA accreditation" (or any other accreditation being only applicable to natural persons) is a conceptual problem to be overthought by ProZ.
Whereas prosecution of fraudsters is such a wide field it cannot be left to ProZ alone, although it can be helpful to discuss such cases in our "inner circles" first..
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