Twelve weeks. Nine students per cohort. 5 observed mentor coaching sessions per participant with written feedback. ICF Facilitator Guide-led ACC BARS and PCC Markers training. A two-part capstone (portfolio + live readiness review) demonstrating you are ready to mentor ACC and PCC candidates. Led by Cherie Silas, MCC.
MCS required for every credentialed mentor coach as of January 1, 2027.
The ICF Advanced Accreditation in Mentor Coaching (AAMC) requires 60+ student contact hours with at least 80% Mentor Coaching-Specific Education, a 50% sync floor, ICF-anchored evaluation tool training, 5 observed mentor coaching sessions per participant, 5 hours of mentoring-on-mentoring, and a final assignment. This cohort is built to that spec - 70 hours total, 41 sync and 29 async (59% sync) - so what you submit to ICF is a clean match to what the accreditation asks for. Foundations, ICF Facilitator Guide-led evaluation training, supervised mentor coaching practice, and a two-part capstone in a single 12-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.
ACC Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) and PCC Markers evaluation training delivered inside the cohort in alignment with the ICF Facilitator Guide for equivalent training. Pre-class delivery before the live classes that apply them, with structured practice on session recordings, scoring algorithm walkthroughs, and bias-management work calibrated against the 2026 ACC + PCC Minimum Skills Requirements. MCC-credentialed enrollees receive a self-paced Tandem MCC BARS bonus module - not part of the accredited 70 hours.
Two-hour live Zoom classes weekly, led by Cherie Silas, MCC. Each class blends framework review, structured practice, and live debrief of the field work you have just completed with your peer Mentor and Mentee. The 12-class arc moves from the ACC mentor coaching arc (Classes 2-4) through the PCC mentor coaching arc (Classes 5-7) into Group Mentor Coaching observed sessions (Classes 8-10) and the two-part capstone reviews (Classes 11-12).
The capstone is the program's evaluation instrument. Part 1 is a portfolio submission due Class 9: ethics and data security policies, mentor coaching agreement and plan for two mentor coaching clients, three session observation forms and one competency review form per client, plus a recording of the third mentor coaching session for each client. Part 2 is a 10-15 minute live readiness review (Classes 11-12) covering strengths and continuing development areas, what you learned about yourself as mentor and mentee, personal change from the cohort, impact on coaching and mentoring clients, and readiness to mentor ACC and PCC candidates.
You deliver three ACC-level mentor coaching sessions and three PCC-level mentor coaching sessions to your peer Mentee, each documented with the ICF-aligned Session Observation Form for that session and the Competency Review Form summarizing across sessions. Every recording, every form, every live feedback conversation - at the cadence ICF mentor coaches deliver them in real engagements.
On completion you receive a single Tandem certificate of completion documenting all 70 program hours (29 async + 41 sync) aligned with the 2024 ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies and the AAMC required components - 5 observed mentor coaching sessions, 5 hours of mentoring-on-mentoring, and the two-part capstone. This is the artifact you upload to your ICF MCS application.
A complete lesson from the Mentor Coaching Foundations curriculum plus a cohort overview. Watch them straight through to feel the teaching style and the depth of the role distinctions before you reserve a seat.
Each class is 2 hours of live instruction. Between classes, you deliver mentor coaching to your peer Mentee, evaluate their coaching recording, and bring the session into the next live class for live debrief and written observation documentation. The cohort moves through an ACC arc, a PCC arc, Group Mentor Coaching observed sessions, and the two-part capstone across 12 weeks.
MC Competencies review. The six MC role distinctions. Role and scope of mentor coaching. ACC Minimum Skills Requirements and BARS orientation.
Each week you deliver a mentor coaching session on your peer Mentee's ACC-level coaching recording. The live class debriefs the mentor coaching session you just delivered, with written observation documentation on the Session Observation Form. Three ACC mentoring sessions across the arc; developmental feedback frameworks, competency-gap recognition, and the bridge into PCC Markers in Class 4.
Three PCC-level mentor coaching sessions across the arc, each debriefed in the following live class with written observation documentation on the Session Observation Form and Competency Review Form. Ethics and boundary management, power dynamics and psychological safety, cultural humility and inclusion, and the bridge into Group Mentor Coaching in Class 7.
Faculty-observed Group Mentor Coaching rounds. Each student facilitates the group through mentor coaching and receives live feedback from the lead faculty in class. Capstone Part 1 portfolio due by Class 9.
10-15 minute live readiness presentation per student: strengths, growth edges, what you learned about yourself in the cohort, and readiness to mentor ACC and PCC candidates.
Cherie Silas holds the ICF Master Certified Coach credential and qualifies for the Mentor Coach Specialization herself. She has been mentor coaching in accredited training programs since 2013 and built this cohort curriculum from scratch against the published ICF Advanced Accreditation in Mentor Coaching (AAMC) standard, 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 cohort - Class 1 through Class 12 - 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 Advanced Accreditation in Mentor Coaching (AAMC) standard, published 2026-05-27, requires 60+ student contact hours with at least 80% Mentor Coaching-Specific Education, a 50% synchronous floor, evaluation tool training from ICF's facilitation guides, 5 observed mentor coaching sessions per participant with written feedback on at least 3, 5 hours of mentoring-on-mentoring, and a final assignment demonstrating readiness. Tandem's cohort is built to that spec - 70 program hours, 59% sync, all Core Competency, ICF Facilitator Guide-led evaluation training, a two-part capstone - so what you submit to ICF after graduation is a clean match to what the accreditation asks for.
| AAMC requirement | How this cohort delivers it | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 60+ total student contact hours | 12-week cohort: pre-class async (14 hrs) + 12 live classes (24 sync) + interleaved fieldwork (16 async + 12 sync) + ad-hoc 1:1 written-feedback debriefs (3 sync) + 1 hr orientation. | 70 |
| 80% Mentor Coaching-Specific Education (≥48 Core Competency hours) | All 70 hours map to the ICF Mentor Coaching Competencies (2024) and Core Competency Deep Dive. 0 Resource Development hours. | 70 CC |
| 50% synchronous floor | 41 sync / 29 async = 59% sync. Above the floor with intentional cushion if you miss a class. | 41 sync |
| Evaluation Tool Training via ICF facilitation guides | ACC BARS Training (5 hrs async) + PCC Markers Training (8 hrs async), both delivered from the ICF Facilitator Guide in pre-class weeks 3-4. | 13 hrs |
| 5 observed mentor coaching sessions (written feedback on ≥3) | Written feedback on 3 recorded mentoring sessions (ACC arc, PCC arc, and capstone portfolio) + live feedback on 2 observed Group Mentor Coaching sessions in Classes 8-10. | 5 sessions |
| 5 hours of mentoring-on-mentoring | The live debrief of each written feedback: 3 hrs of 1:1 review sessions across the ACC arc, the PCC arc, and the capstone + 2 hrs of mentoring-on-mentoring delivered live inside the observed Group MC sessions in Classes 8-10. | 5 hrs |
| Final assignment demonstrating readiness | Two-part capstone: Part 1 portfolio (ethics + data security, MC agreement and plan for 2 clients, 6 session observation forms, 2 competency review forms, recordings of the 3rd MC session for each client) due Class 9; Part 2 10-15 min live readiness presentation in Classes 11-12 covering strengths, growth edges, what you learned about yourself, and your readiness to mentor ACC and PCC candidates. | capstone |
| Mentor Coaching Competencies coverage | Role and scope (Class 1) · distinction between coaching, supervision, and mentor coaching (Class 1) · developmental feedback frameworks (Class 2) · evaluative vs developmental feedback (Class 2) · ethics and boundary management (Class 5) · power dynamics and psychological safety (Class 5) · individual vs group mentor coaching (Class 6). | covered |
| Core Competency Deep Dive | Advanced application across the ACC and PCC arcs · developmental progression ACC→PCC (Class 4) · recognizing competency gaps (Class 3) · ethics integration (Class 5) · cultural humility and inclusion in evaluation (Class 5). | covered |
| Observation hours | Recorded review across the ACC and PCC arcs · live Group Mentor Coaching observation in Classes 8-10 · live mentor coaching session debriefs in Classes 2-7. | covered |
| Eval Tool Training aligned with the level prepared for | ACC + PCC declared. ACC BARS + PCC Markers from the ICF Facilitator Guide. | covered |
| Faculty: ACC+1 renewal, PCC, or MCC; MCS by first renewal | Cherie Silas, MCC (lead, all 12 classes) + Kalina Terzieva (assist) + Alex Kudinov, MCC (assist). MCS held by the first AAMC renewal. | - |
Each cohort runs 12 weekly live classes over 12 weeks, led by Cherie Silas, MCC. The founding cohort opens Q3 2026 at $1,997. Subsequent cohorts run at the $2,997 list price.
10 weekly sessions — pick the cohort that works for your schedule.
Exact cohort dates are released to the founding-cohort waitlist first. Reserve a seat to get the start date and the locked $1,997 founding-cohort price by email.
The first Mentor Coach Training cohort opens in Q3 2026 with seats locked at the founding price of $1,997. Subsequent cohorts list at $2,997. 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. This cohort is built to the new ICF Advanced Accreditation in Mentor Coaching (AAMC) standard - 70 program hours, 59% sync, 5 observed mentor coaching sessions, a two-part capstone, and ICF Facilitator Guide-led evaluation training. Graduating produces the certificate of completion you upload to your MCS application.
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. This cohort includes the full Foundations curriculum AND 12 live classes, AND ICF Facilitator Guide-led ACC BARS / PCC Markers training, AND structured supervised mentor coaching, AND a two-part capstone. Foundations is one component; the cohort is the complete 70-hour AAMC-aligned program.
Those packages are mentor coaching services - you hire a Tandem Mentor Coach to mentor coach you toward your own credential application. This cohort 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; this cohort produces a 70-hour certificate of completion built to the AAMC standard that supports your MCS application.
Approximately 3 hours per week of field work - delivering mentor coaching to your peer Mentee, reviewing recordings, and completing the Session Observation Form between classes - on top of the 2-hour live class. Plan for about 5 hours per week on average.
Tandem runs cohorts of 9 students and builds each cohort directly from the waitlist in the order seats are reserved.
The founding cohort opens in Q3 2026. Cohorts run in two time-zone windows to balance worldwide participation - one Europe-friendly (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. This cohort produces the certificate of completion and the documented hours that satisfy the MCS 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 cohort 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. If you already know you will miss classes during this cycle, you should consider attending a future cohort to optimize your learning. Students must complete all assignments to graduate, even if they miss a live class. Students who miss too many sessions may be required to make up the missed sessions in a future cohort in order to graduate.
The program is built to the published ICF Advanced Accreditation in Mentor Coaching (AAMC) standard. ICF released the AAMC standards on 2026-05-27 and is opening applications mid-June 2026. Tandem is preparing to submit in the first window. Until accreditation is granted, the program is offered as a rigorous coach-education cohort led by an MCC instructor of record; certificates of completion document 70 program hours and the components delivered (5 observed mentor coaching sessions, capstone, ICF Facilitator Guide-led ACC BARS and PCC Markers training).
