1. Name

Association of Language Centres in Higher Education, hereinafter referred to as ACLES, is registered as a non-profit association in accordance with the provisions of the 191/1964 Associations Act of 24 December, Decree 1940/1965 of 20 May and other complementary provisions, and has established its office in Salamanca in the address C/ Libreros, 30, 37008 Salamanca. The Association shall remain in force until it is formally dissolved (see section 7).

2. Planned Territorial Scope of Action

The territorial scope of action planned for the Association expands throughout the Spanish territory.

3. Aim

ACLES aims to further the objectives of both its domestic and international partners, promote their common interests and ensure collective support for their activities, while also enabling their shared goals and values.

3.1. Objectives

  • To promote learning and teaching of modern languages ​​in the field of Higher Education through the implementation of the most appropriate methodologies.
  • To encourage language acquisition and learning and the development of the most effective teaching methods in the field of language learning and teaching.
  • Promote the standardisation of language proficiency levels and the assessment systems of such levels, in compliance with the guidelines issued by the Council of Europe.
  • To promote the creation and development of Modern Languages Centres in Higher Education, by publicising their functions both nationally and abroad.
  • To provide opportunities for high quality language learning to students who are not specialised in degrees of linguistic nature and to university staff.
  • To fulfil the objectives in the teaching and learning of modern languages ​​and multilingualism promotion as indicated by the relevant agencies at European level.
  • To promote the collaboration and cooperation among ACLES members and between the latter and CercleS members.
  • To collectively address and coordinate issues and activities of common interest.
  • To represent their local, national and international members.

3.2. Activities

  • Plenary meetings and general assemblies.
  • Congresses.
  • Creating specific interest groups (SIGS) and regular meetings thereof.
  • Expert committees.
  • Newsletters and other forms of transmission of information.
  • Academic publications.

4. Partners

ACLES' can be:

  1. Full partners: all Language Centres and, as the case may be, the legal persons in which they are embodied and which have well-defined objectives, headquarters, budget and staff within the scope of the Spanish State.
  2. Benefactor and honorary partners: individuals or corporate entities to whom the Association grants benefactor or honorary status.

4.1 Types of partners:

  • 4.1.1 Full partners

    Those centres or entities defined as full partners in paragraph 3 a. may be represented by name partners from those who work at the centre or entity (whether appointed in the statutes of the institution itself, or formally approved within its scope). There may only be a single full partner per higher education institutions.

  • 4.1.2. Individual partners

    All those people who work in full partner organisations, as defined in the statutes of their organisation or formally approved within the scope of their institution.

  • 4.1.3. Benefactor partners

    Persons or organisations that endorse ACLES' objectives and wish to contribute material or moral support to the association.

  • 4.1.4. Honorary partners

    Those appointed by the association, based on their reputation or their services to the association.

4.2. Admission

The admission of any kind of partner shall take place following a formal approval procedure by a General Assembly or a committee of admissions (subject to the authority of the General Assembly). To be admitted, two-thirds of the valid votes cast must be in favour.

Payment of subscriptions shall be made after admission.

4.3 Rights and obligations of partners

  • 4.3.1 CercleS

    All ACLES partners will be members of the Confédération Européenne des Centres de Langues de l'Enseignement Supérieur (CercleS) following the acquisition by the Association (ACLES) of CercleS' member status and after the payment of the relevant subscriptions.

  • 4.3.2. Voting procedure

    • 4.3.2.1. Voting rights

      Only full partners (4.1.1) have the right to vote; all other partners will have a voice in the meetings without the right to vote.

    • 4.3.2.2. Weighing

      All full partners will have one vote.

  • 4.3.3. Fees

    Membership status is subject to payment of fees, as determined by the association.

4.4. Suspension or expulsion

The suspension or removal of any kind of partner including members of the Executive Committee shall take place following a formal procedure approved by a General Assembly or a disciplinary committee (subject to the authority of the General Assembly). Decisions are made by a two-thirds majority.

5. Structure

The ultimate responsibility of the Association shall rest with the General Assembly. The responsibility for the daily management of the Association shall be granted to the elected managers who, together, make up an Executive Committee which shall report annually to the General Assembly.

5.1 General Assembly

All members of the Association (full, individual, benefactors and honorary members) shall be entitled to attend the General Assembly, while only full members are entitled to vote (4.3.2.1). Votes can be cast by proxy.

The General Assembly shall meet at least once a year. When a quarter of the members with voting rights are present it shall constitute a quorum. The agenda of the General Assembly shall be issued by the presidency at least one month in advance of the meeting. Extraordinary meetings of the Association may be called by one third of the voting partners or by more than half of the Executive Committee members.

5.2 Executive Committee

The daily management tasks of the Association shall be performed by an elected Executive Committee from among those partners of the General Assembly who are entitled to vote. The work of the Executive Committee may be delegated to committees of experts at the request of the Executive Committee, which shall meet as and when deemed necessary and at least twice a year.

5.3. Representative positions

The Executive Committee shall consist of at least three persons, each of whom may have a substitute person. EC members can remain in office for four years (with a maximum of eight years in the case of a re-election). EC members are entitled to represent the Association in the  CercleS Coordination Committee. The positions involving specific responsibilities in the EC shall be at least three:

  • 5.3.1. Chair

    The Chairperson shall be enabled to represent the Association in all matters. Legal representation may be delegated to other representative positions. The Chairperson may only be re-elected once.

  • 5.3.2 Secretariat

    The Secretary shall be enabled to represent the Association in all matters. The Secretary may only be re-elected once. The Secretariat of the Association shall be created, as a rule, within the institution to which it belongs.

  • 5.3.3. Treasury

    The Treasurer shall be enabled to represent the Association in all matters. The Treasurer may only be re-elected once. He/she shall also ensure that the financial statement of the Association is communicated annually to all partners in the ACLES General Assembly.

  • 5.3.4. Others

    Other ad hoc positions may be established with other responsibilities such as public relations, head of affiliations, head of publications, head of congresses etc., as required. Such positions shall not be entitled to legally represent the Association. They may be re-elected once only.

6. Resources

The financing of the Association's activities shall be guaranteed by annual membership fees. The General Assembly shall decide the amount of such fee.

Contributions and other possible resources shall be used exclusively within the framework of the objectives set by the statutes.

7. Final provisions

The statutes of the Association may be amended by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall decide, by the same majority and always according to the legal requirements of the autonomous community where the headquarters thereof are established, the conditions of the dissolution and liquidation of the Association. In case of dissolution, the resulting credit, once the liquidation is completed, shall be donated to a charity chosen by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority.