The WEA Board of Trustees approved a motion to open the enrollment for the International Registry of Outdoor Leaders (IROL). This means that individuals with no affiliation to a WEA accredited organization can now obtain an IROL portfolio on their own. Until now, individuals seeking entrance into the IROL had to go through a WEA accredited organization to gain access to the IROL and begin their portfolio. This meant they had to call or email different representatives until they found a program that would work with them on their portfolio which has proven to be a difficult venture.
academic programs, representatives did not have the time or resources to work with so many individuals seeking a non-academic route into the IROL. Opening the enrollment process allows individuals to apply for an IROL membership and begin developing their portfolio prior to finding an accredited institution to review their portfolio for OL certification. This is espcially beneficial to individuals who are currently working in the outdoor leadership industry and have a host of outdoor leadership training and experiences from which to draw up on to populate their portfolio.
At any point a person in the IROL wishes to apply for Outdoor Leader Certification, they now have the opportunity to share their IROL portfolio with representatives at WEA accredited organizations for review. This allows accredited institutions to compare the individual's portfolio with the portfolio requirements of their institution and determine if that person has fulfilled the portfolio requirements or identify areas for improvement in the portfolio.
Opening access for individuals to have IROL portfolios broadens the reach of the WEA and encourages a wider range of outdoor professionals to begin maintaining a professional portfolio and provides them a structured place to document their proficiency and field experience. Though access to personal portfolios is now open, Outdoor Leadership Certification can only be authorized by a WEA Outdoor Leader Accredtied organization.
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