An asynchronous, MCC-built program designed for the Credit for Prior Learning path - 10 hours of CCE-aligned education, 22 video lessons, 6 instructor-graded submissions, all 6 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies. Created by Cherie Silas, MCC and Alex Kudinov, MCC.
MCQ required for every credentialed mentor coach as of January 1, 2027.
Right now, any ICF-credentialed coach can sign off on the 10 mentor coaching hours that go into a candidate's ACC, PCC, or MCC application. Starting January 1, 2027, that signature only counts if you hold the new ICF Mentor Coach Qualification (MCQ) at the matching credential level.
Both paths lead to the same MCQ designation. The difference is how you demonstrate readiness.
Minimum 41 hours of MC-aligned education, at least 50% synchronous, plus separate ACC BARS, PCC Markers, or MCC BARS evaluation training for each level.
Minimum 10 hours of MC-aligned education (sync or async) plus evidence of prior MC practice - five credentialed mentees in 3 years, or an attestation letter from an accredited program.
Mentor Coaching Foundations is the 10-hour CPL course - built for credentialed coaches who already practice mentor coaching and need formal grounding before the deadline.
Four changes that redefine mentor coaching for every credential candidate after January 1, 2027.
Coaches who mentor credential candidates need formal qualification at ACC, PCC, or MCC level.
Standard Path (41 hours + BARS / Markers) or Credit for Prior Learning (10 hours + practice evidence).
From April 1, 2027 the SPE recording requirement for ACC and PCC Portfolio is replaced by formative evaluation through MCQ-qualified mentor coaches.
10 hours of MC-aligned continuing education plus an active credential at the matching level.
Mentor Coaching Foundations was designed for credentialed practitioners who already do this work informally - and who need 10 hours of formal, ICF-aligned education to qualify under the Credit for Prior Learning path before January 1, 2027.
PCC, MCC, or renewed ACC who has mentored 5+ credential candidates over the last three years.
You're already mentoring credential candidates today - Foundations gives you the formal CCE record before the deadline.
You'll qualify under the introductory window in 2026 and want CCE hours that count toward the three-year renewal cycle.
Not sure which persona fits? Read the free MCQ Decision Guide - eight questions, a flowchart, and a sample attestation request you can copy.
The program maps 1:1 to the 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies. The arc moves from grounding (who you are as a mentor coach) through deepening (how you work) to the skill-intensive core (formative appraisal and developmental feedback) and closes with group mentor coaching design - the most complex delivery mode, requiring all prior skills.
Distinguish mentor coaching from five adjacent roles. Apply the ICF Code of Ethics to MC-specific scenarios. Establish reflective practice as a core MC discipline.
Draft compliant MC engagement agreements. Master ICF requirements for hours, ratios, and timing. Design intake and closing sessions that establish clear development partnership.
Map the Kolb Learning Cycle to a mentor coaching engagement. Co-create development plans that adapt to the client's skill level, readiness, and unique coaching style.
The skill-intensive core. Identify ICF Core Competency demonstrations in a real coaching recording with timestamped behavioral evidence. Track development across sessions using the Session Observation and Competency Review forms.
Write developmental feedback that is evidence-based, competency-referenced, and non-judgmental - following the ICF Evaluation Feedback Guide. Then practice on the same recording you analyzed in Module 4.
Design group MC sessions that meet ICF requirements for ratio, format, and inclusive participation. Choose between four ICF-recognized group MC approaches and manage the dynamics that shape a group container.
Foundations is built for credentialed coaches with full practices. The 10 hours are delivered async on our Learning Portal, broken into 22 short videos across 15 units. You can finish in two focused weeks - or pace it across a quarter. Every unit follows the same four-beat rhythm, so you always know what to do next.
One or two short videos (5-8 minutes each). MCC instructor narration over slide visuals. Mobile-friendly. Captions included.
One downloadable working tool per unit - templates, worksheets, frameworks, decision matrices. Built for reuse in your live MC practice.
One of the three module quizzes (15, 10, and 12 questions, scenario-based) or a written submission graded by an MCC instructor against an ICF-aligned rubric.
Engagement beats and reflection prompts at the end of every unit ask you to apply the framework to your current MC practice - not in the abstract.
Cherie Silas and Alex Kudinov are co-founders of Tandem Coaching Academy and two of the few coach educators credentialed at ICF's highest level. Every module of Foundations is taught by one of them - Cherie leads Modules 1, 3, 5; Alex leads Modules 2, 4, 6. The recording you analyze in Modules 4 and 5 is reviewed by both.
Cherie has been a Master Certified Coach since 2017 and has trained, mentored, and supervised hundreds of credential candidates through Tandem's ICF-accredited Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 programs. She co-authored Enterprise Agile Coaching (2021) and serves as a coach to executives at Fortune 500 organizations.
Alex earned his ICF Master Certified Coach credential in 2018 after a decade of executive and team coaching across enterprise organizations. He co-authored Enterprise Agile Coaching and has built the technical infrastructure that scaffolds the assessment, feedback, and tracking systems used inside every Tandem program.
ICF accredits asynchronous CCE programs that demonstrate verification of learning. Foundations uses three quizzes and six instructor-graded written submissions to confirm capability before issuing your certificate. The submissions mirror real mentor coaching work - they are not busy-work.
Scenario-based, ≥80% to pass, retakeable unlimited times.
Written work reviewed by Cherie or Alex against an ICF-aligned rubric. One revision attempt per submission.
Issued only after all verification is complete. Upload directly to your ICF MCQ application.
One enrollment, lifetime access, all 22 videos, every framework, every quiz, six instructor-graded submissions, and your CCE certificate on completion. If the program isn't what you needed, email us within 14 days for a full refund - no questions, no friction.
Program A · 10-hour async CCE program for the MCQ Credit for Prior Learning path.
Email hello@tandemcoach.co within 14 days of purchase for a full refund. No questions asked. We process refunds within 3 business days.
Pulled from real conversations with credentialed coaches navigating the MCQ rollout. If your question isn't here, email hello@tandemcoach.co - we will answer in writing.
The MCQ is an individual qualification from the International Coaching Federation - announced in April 2026 and effective January 1, 2027. It formally recognizes coaches who are qualified to provide mentor coaching to ICF credential candidates at a specific level (ACC, PCC, or MCC). The MCQ is evaluated against the 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies and is separate from your own ACC, PCC, or MCC credential.
Two dates matter. On January 1, 2027, every mentor coach who signs off on the 10 mentor coaching hours in an ACC, PCC, or MCC application must hold the MCQ at the candidate's credential level. On April 1, 2027, the ICF Performance Evaluation (SPE) recording-and-transcript requirement for ACC and PCC Portfolio candidates is replaced by formative evaluation through MCQ-qualified mentor coaches. The change is live, not theoretical - candidates submitting applications after January 1, 2027 will need MCQ-qualified mentor signatures.
Both paths lead to the same MCQ designation with the same standing. The Standard Path requires a minimum of 41 hours of MC-aligned education with at least 50% delivered synchronously. Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) requires 10 hours of MC-aligned education (synchronous or asynchronous) plus evidence of prior practice - either five mentor coaching clients who earned credentials in the past three years, or an attestation letter from an ICF accredited coaching education provider verifying mentor coaching to at least five students in the past three years.
Yes - that's the design. Mentor Coaching Foundations delivers all 10 MC-aligned education hours required under CPL, fully aligned with the 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies. ICF CCE accreditation is currently submitted and pending review. Your certificate is issued only after you complete every quiz and submission, so it stands up to ICF documentation requirements.
For the CPL path, evaluation training (ACC BARS, PCC Markers, MCC BARS) is always separate and additional - it does not count toward the 10 hours. You take it directly through ICF for each level you want MCQ at. Foundations is the 10 MC-aligned hours; BARS / Markers is the level-specific evaluation training.
The attestation letter is accepted by ICF as evidence of prior mentor coaching practice under the CPL path - in lieu of documenting five specific candidates who earned credentials. Per ICF, any ICF accredited coaching education provider can write one, verifying that you have provided mentor coaching to at least five students in the past three years. Graduates of Tandem Coaching Academy who meet the threshold can request the attestation letter on submission of their MCQ application.
Yes. ICF's MCQ renewal cycle requires 10 hours of MC-aligned continuing education within each three-year window. The 10 CCE hours from Foundations satisfy that requirement once - so you can use them for initial MCQ qualification or for renewal, but not both. Most coaches use it for initial qualification and complete different MC-aligned education for the renewal cycle.
You have lifetime access. Most credentialed coaches finish in two focused weeks at ~5 hours per week, but you can spread it across a quarter or longer. The only constraint is the January 1, 2027 deadline if you want your MCQ application to be processed under the introductory fee window - and you'll want to allow time for ICF to review your CPL submission.
The three quizzes are retakeable unlimited times - you need 80% to pass. Each written submission gets one revision attempt with specific instructor feedback if your first attempt is rated "Needs Revision." More than 95% of practitioner-level coaches pass on the first or second attempt - the rubrics are calibrated to ICF expectations, not arbitrarily strict.
A PDF certificate with: your name as it appears on your ICF credential, the program title, completion date, a unique certificate ID, the 10 CCE hours (Core Competency, asynchronous, aligned with the 2024 Mentor Coaching Competencies), instructor signatures from Cherie Silas, MCC and Alex Kudinov, MCC, and the ICF CCE accreditation reference number (added once ICF approval lands). You upload it directly to your ICF MCQ application.
Both Cherie and Alex hold ICF MCC and have provided mentor coaching to dozens of credential candidates over the past several years. Both will apply for MCQ at the MCC level under the CPL path during the introductory fee window. Their teaching of Foundations does not depend on the qualification - they have been doing this work for years - but they will hold MCQ-MCC formally as soon as ICF processes their applications.
Mentor Coaching Practicum opens in Q3 2026. It's a 31-hour blended program (10 async + 21 synchronous) designed to satisfy the Standard Path's "at least 50% synchronous" requirement when paired with Foundations. Together: 41 hours = Standard Path complete. Tuition is TBA. Your enrollment in Foundations counts toward the 41-hour total when you continue into Practicum - you don't repeat the 10 hours. Join the Practicum waitlist on the MCQ hub for launch pricing and an early look at the syllabus.
$299 launch pricing through September 30, 2026. 14-day money-back guarantee. Lifetime access. Built and taught by two ICF MCCs - the most experienced mentor coaches you can study under for this price.
For coaches who want to read offline, share with a colleague, or take to a procurement decision: the full Mentor Coaching Foundations brochure. Curriculum, pricing, faculty, verification design, what's included, and how the program slots into your MCQ application.
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