A blended cohort program that meets the ICF MCS Standard Path: 41 hours of MC-aligned education with 21 synchronous and 20 asynchronous hours, plus ACC BARS and PCC Markers level-specific evaluation training. Ten live classes across 10 weeks, peer mentor coaching field work, and a single Tandem certificate of completion. Created and led by Cherie Silas, MCC.
MCS required for every credentialed mentor coach as of January 1, 2027.
The ICF MCS Standard Path requires 41 hours of education aligned with the six 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies, with at least 50% delivered synchronously. MCS Path is built to that spec - 41 hours total, 21 sync and 20 async (51% sync) - so what you submit to ICF is a clean match to what ICF asks for. Foundations, evaluation training, and live mentor coaching practice in a single 10-week cohort. Nothing to assemble from multiple courses.
The full Foundations curriculum - six modules across Ethical Practice, Engagement Agreements, Process Management, Formative Appraisals, Client Skill Development, and Group Mentor Coaching. 22 video lessons, 15 downloadable working tools, three auto-scored quizzes, and six instructor-graded written submissions reviewed by an MCC instructor. Delivered as just-in-time pre-work before specific live classes.
The credentialed-evaluation curriculum delivered inside the cohort: ACC Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales and PCC Markers. Video lessons with embedded session-recording analysis, scoring algorithm walkthroughs, MSR consistent-vs-inconsistent matrices, and bias-management practice. Calibrated against the 2026 ACC + PCC Minimum Skills Requirements. MCC-credentialed coaches receive the Tandem MCC BARS Training as a free self-paced bonus module - not part of the live cohort and not counted on the certificate.
Two-hour live Zoom classes weekly, led by Cherie Silas, MCC. Each class blends framework review, structured practice, and debrief of the field work you have just completed with your peer Mentor and Mentee. Slide deck, recording analysis, BARS practice, ethics and data security design, bias-management practice, and three live Group Mentor Coaching sessions.
You are assigned four roles in Class 1 and hold them for the entire cohort: Coach (you coach a peer Coaching Client across 6 recorded sessions), Coaching Client (you receive coaching from another peer), Mentor (you mentor coach a peer Mentee through their 6 recordings), and Mentee (your Mentor evaluates your coaching across the same 6 recordings). Plus one Group Mentor Coaching assignment. The role-chain is what turns evaluation-on-paper into delivered mentor coaching.
You deliver three 30-minute ACC-level coaching recordings and three 45-minute PCC-level coaching recordings to your peer Mentor. You evaluate the same six recordings from your peer Mentee using the Tandem ICF-aligned Session Observation Form (ACC) and Competency Review Form (PCC), maintain Tandem Three-Cycle Tracking Forms across each cycle, and deliver six live mentor coaching feedback sessions. Every recording, every form, every conversation - at the cadence ICF mentor coaches deliver them in real engagements.
On completion you receive a single Tandem certificate of completion documenting all 41 CCE hours aligned with the 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies - the artifact you upload to your ICF MCS application under the Standard Path.
A complete lesson from each side of the cohort - the Mentor Coaching Foundations curriculum (async pre-work) and the ACC BARS evaluation training (the cohort's first live framework). Watch them straight through to feel the teaching style and the calibration depth before you reserve a seat.
Each class is 2 hours of live instruction. Between classes, you do your own coaching with your peer Coaching Client, evaluate your peer Mentee's recording, and deliver mentor coaching feedback live. The cohort moves from ACC-level evaluation through PCC-level evaluation through Group Mentor Coaching across 10 weeks.
Cherie Silas holds the ICF Master Certified Coach credential and qualifies for the MCS Standard Path herself. She has been mentor coaching in accredited training programs since 2013 and built the MCS Path curriculum from scratch against the 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies and the 2026 Minimum Skills Requirements.
Master Certified Coach, mentor coach, and coach educator. Cherie has been mentor coaching in accredited training programs since 2013, supporting candidates through credential applications at ACC, PCC, and MCC level. She is the lead facilitator on every MCS Path cohort - Class 1 through Class 10 - and the evaluator on the recordings used in the ACC BARS, PCC Markers, and MCC BARS training. Co-founder of Tandem Coaching Academy.
The ICF Mentor Coach Specialization Standard Path requires 41 hours of education aligned with the six 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies, with at least 50% of education delivered synchronously, plus level-specific evaluation training in ACC BARS and PCC Markers. MCS Path is built to that spec - 41 hours of MC-aligned education with 21 sync and 20 async, plus the ACC BARS and PCC Markers training - so what you submit to ICF is a clean match to what ICF asks for.
| ICF MCS Standard Path requirement | Where it lives in MCS Path | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MCC, PCC, or renewed ACC credential | Prerequisite - confirmed at enrollment. (PCC and MCC do not require renewal as a prerequisite; ACC must be in renewed status.) | - |
| 41 hours of education aligned with the 6 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies (2024) | Mentor Coaching Foundations (10 async) + 10 live classes × 2 hours (20 sync) + sync orientation and integration (1 sync) + ACC BARS Training (5 async) + PCC Markers Training (5 async) = 41 hours total. | 41 |
| At least 50% of education delivered synchronously | 21 sync hours / 20 async hours = 51% sync. Meets the ICF Standard Path floor. | 21 sync |
| Formative evaluation methods | Foundations Module 4 (Conducts Formative Appraisals) - 4 video lessons + Formative Appraisal Quick Reference + Tandem ICF-aligned Session Observation Form + Tandem Three-Cycle Tracking Form. | 2 hrs |
| Feedback practices | Foundations Module 5 (Facilitates Client Skill Development) + applied feedback writing in every ACC and PCC unit + live feedback delivery to your peer Mentee in 6 mentor coaching sessions. | 2+ hrs |
| Facilitation of client skill development | Foundations Modules 5 and 6 (incl. Group Mentor Coaching) + 6 live mentor coaching sessions you deliver + 3 live Group Mentor Coaching sessions in Classes 8-10. | covered |
| Level-specific skills evaluation criteria training (ACC BARS, PCC Markers) | Tandem ACC BARS Training (5 hrs) + Tandem PCC Markers Training (5 hrs). Delivered inside the cohort and counted toward the 41 hours. | 10 hrs |
| Aligned with 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies (all 6) | Foundations modules map 1:1 to the six competencies: Ethics (M1) · Engagement Agreements (M2) · Process Management (M3) · Formative Appraisals (M4) · Client Skill Development (M5) · Group Mentor Coaching (M6). Live classes apply each. | covered |
| Aligned with 2026 ICF Minimum Skills Requirements (ACC + PCC) | ACC MSR + PCC MSR taught directly inside the BARS and Markers training. Consistent-vs-inconsistent behaviors per competency. The 67% proficiency threshold practiced through worked examples. | covered |
The first MCS Path cohort opens in Q3 2026 with seats locked at the founding price of $1,997. After cohort #1, the program lists at $2,497. The founding-cohort price is not a temporary discount - it is a one-time founding-cohort rate that does not return.
Founding-cohort seats are filled from the waitlist in order. Add your name and email and you will receive the cohort start date, the seat-reservation link, and the locked $1,997 price as soon as enrollment opens.
If you already meet the CPL requirements (current credential, 5 mentor coaching clients credentialed in the past 3 years OR an attestation letter from an accredited program where you actively mentor coach, plus 10 hours of MC-aligned education), the CPL path satisfies MCS without the Standard Path cohort. The 10-hour education requirement for CPL is satisfied by Tandem's Mentor Coaching Foundations async course - $299, finish in two weeks.
If you do not meet the CPL evidence requirements, you need the Standard Path: 41 hours of education, ≥50% sync. MCS Path is the cohort built specifically for the Standard Path.
An ICF MCC, PCC, or renewed ACC credential. ACC must be in renewed status; PCC and MCC do not require renewal as a prerequisite. The cohort is structured around peer mentor coaching, so every student needs a current credential to act as Coach, Coaching Client, Mentor, and Mentee for the others. There is no exception to this prerequisite.
Mentor Coaching Foundations is 10 hours of asynchronous education - enough for the CPL path, not enough for the Standard Path. MCS Path includes the full Foundations curriculum AND the live cohort (10 classes), AND the ACC BARS / PCC Markers evaluation training, AND the structured peer mentor coaching field work. Foundations is one component of MCS Path. MCS Path is the complete program.
Those packages are mentor coaching services - you hire a Tandem Mentor Coach to mentor coach you toward your own credential application. MCS Path is mentor coaching training - it teaches you to become a mentor coach so you can mentor coach other credential candidates. Different audience, different outcome, different artifact: those packages produce your performance evaluation; MCS Path produces a 41-hour CCE certificate that supports your MCS application.
The course is intensive and requires 3-8 hours per week, including the live class and the field work between classes.
Tandem runs cohorts of 9-12 people and builds each cohort directly from the waitlist in the order seats are reserved.
The first two cohorts run in Q2 and Q3 2026 - one Europe-friendly time zone (US morning), one Americas/Asia-Pacific-friendly (US evening). Exact dates are announced to the waitlist first. Reserve a founding-cohort seat in the Pricing section above and check the time zones that work for you - we use that signal to build the right cohort balance.
No. ICF issues the MCS specialization, not Tandem. MCS Path produces the certificate of completion and the documented hours that satisfy the MCS Standard Path education requirement - the artifact you upload to your ICF MCS application. The application is filed by you, with ICF, and ICF reviews and issues the specialization.
A note on terminology: ICF describes MCS as a specialization rather than a credential. The credentials are ACC, PCC, and MCC. MCS is a designation that layers on top of an existing credential and recognizes you as a qualified mentor coach.
$50 ICF member intro / $125 non-member intro through April 2027. After April 2027, $125 / $200. The application fee is paid directly to ICF and is not included in the MCS Path tuition. One application fee covers MCS at one, two, or all three credential levels (MCS-ACC, MCS-PCC, MCS-MCC). Renewal is required every 3 years with 10 CCE hours aligned with the MC Competencies.
The course is rigorous, and everyone's success depends on full cohort participation. Tandem requires that participants have the ability to focus for the entire 10-week cycle. Students must commit to completing the field work between sessions and to being present in the live sessions. Participants who cannot meet this requirement should plan to attend a future cohort when they can fully commit. Missing classes or field work may result in removal from the current cohort, with the opportunity to retake the program with a future cohort.
All components of the course are pending ICF CCE approval. Certificates of completion will be retroactively credited with CCEs at the time of ICF approval. Once ICF opens the MCS Accreditation application, the program will be submitted for accreditation.
