Front-End Coaching Intensive

Front-end Coaching Intensive (FECI)

FECI Spring 2025 Schedule [Click to View a PDF of the schedule for the week of the FECI]

Program’s Response to Global Pandemic (since 2020)

Due to the impact of COVID-19 in the metro-New York City region of the United States, The Columbia Coaching Program (3CP) had been unable to offer our standard 1-week residential front-end coaching intensives (i.e., External Coaching Intensive - ECI & Internal Coaching Intensive - ICI) since the Spring cycle of 2020. As a result, we offered our newly designed Virtual Front-end Coaching Intensive by combining ECI & ICI into a single 1-week, high-impact digital learning experience for the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Fall 2021 as a virtual program. For the Spring 2022, the Front-end Coaching Intensive (FECI) was concurrent hybrid with some participants in-person at the Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center and some participants virtual. 

Current Program Delivery Approach

The Front-end Coaching Intensive (FECI) program for the Spring 2025 will continue to be concurrent hybrid in terms of the delivery mode with some participants in-person at the Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center and some participants virtual.  Please note that FECI was initially designed to be conducted in-person and was converted to virtual and then concurrent hybrid in response to the global pandemic.

Our approach to concurrent hybrid (with in-person and virtual participants) employs four learning modalities, in logging a total of 42 contact hours during the week:

1. Asynchronous Units (video-based, self-paced, introduction to program content with knowledge checks)
2. Synchronous Units (entire cohort gatherings to process content, raise questions, share observations, and reflections, and engage in reinforcement activities)
3. Facilitated Learning Spaces (opportunities to “try-out” coaching foundations, from the perspective of coach, client, and observer, with immediate, observational feedback for program facilitators)
4. Core Groups (time allocated for participants to engage in various “team learning” tasks to share perspectives and plan to apply program learning)

Factors to Consider in Deciding on Participation Option (In-Person or Virtual)

Further, while participating virtually is an option that is provided given the lingering effects of Covid-19, there are clearly advantages to participating in the program in-person. We try our best to make the experiences of both the virtual and in-person program comparable, while acknowledging aspects of the in-person experience that are difficult to replicate in mixed environment for virtual participants (e.g., informal connections that are forms during breaks, over meals, and exploring the estate; spontaneous, unplanned interactions with other participants, facilitators, and program staff).

In addition, based upon our feedback and discussions with our virtual participants from the most recent FECI and ACI (1-Week Advanced Coaching Intensives), many virtual participants had expressed that they would have opted for participating in-person for the intensive had they been given the opportunity to do so again. Please take all of these points into consideration when selecting your attendance option (in-person residential; in-person daily [for those who live within 30 miles of Tarrytown Estates and Conference Center]. In Short, we strongly recommend attending the FECI program in-person.

Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center Website 

Note: Registration for the Spring 2025 FECI is currently open. Please register by making a deposit by going to "Step 1: Register" and clicking on "Make Payment." We are taking deposits on a first-come, first-served basis until we reach capacity and will start a wait list from there.

If you are making a payment via check or wire transfer, please send an email to CoachingCertification@tc.columbia.edu for further instructions as that email will serve as your time stamp. 

Due to the high volume of inquiries that our offices receive, we are unable to confirm anyone's enrollment until next week. Thank you for your patience. 

Given that FECI is offered on an open enrollment basis,  we ask that you only complete Part 1 of the application and do not submit. After completing the Advanced Coaching Intensive, you will be required to complete Part 2 of the application and submit as part of the certification process. We hope this is clear.

The Front-end Coaching Intensive is intended for individuals wishing to coach a variety of clients from an array of organizations (e.g., for-profit corporations and professional services firms; non-profits including schools, colleges and universities, community-based organizations; and a range of governmental institutions). Participants apply their learning in a range of roles beyond coaching, including serving as educators, managers, leaders, executives, consultants, facilitators, trainers, and various talent development professions. Since launching The Columbia Coaching Certification Program (3CP), we have attracted mid-career professionals and beyond, located across the U.S. and over 40 countries and counting. Use the link below for locations of prior cohorts participants (at the time of enrollment): 

https://www.tc.columbia.edu/coachingcertification/people/participants/

The key benefits are as follows:

Start A Transformational Development Journey

Participants interested in establishing and enhancing their career as a professional, executive coach will begin the certification process with this 5-day residential coaching intensive. Participants will have an opportunity to ground their professional practice in the historical, philosophical, and ethical foundations of coaching, combined with leading-edge best practices, current research and emerging trends.

The Intensive provides extensive practice applying foundational coaching skills across a variety of case-based situations that will enhance your capabilities as a coach and establish a clear value proposition for clients.

This is achieved by: (1) establishing a clear coaching "point-of-view" (i.e., guiding principles of effective coaching); (2) exploring strategies and tactics for establishing credibility and building trust with clients; (3) learning the core coaching competencies; and (4) receiving feedback from program instructors and peers during practice sessions designed to demonstrate coaching knowledge and skills. Participants will also examine creative marketing tools for coaches.

Individuals interested in enhancing their coaching competencies are invited to take this Intensive as an "open-enrollment," professional development seminar, without committing to completing the Columbia Coaching Certification Program.

Requirements for Certificate of Achievement

Attendance for all 42-contact hours for FECI is required; missing any portion of the program that week will not only impact your learning, it also impacts the program facilitators, your peers, and the entire cohort.

The 42 contact hours from FECI is a prerequisite for attending segment 2 of the program, the 8-month practicum - there is no way to "make-up" the contact hours. We hope the attendance expectations outlined here are clear - they have proven critical to a successful week of learning, community, and growth, during the Front-end Coaching Intensive segment of our yearlong program.

Additionally, in order to obtain the Certificate of Achievement for the FECI, you must submit all 6 completed daily workbooks along with the completion of the 6 Knowledge Checks that align with each Asynchronous Unit.

Teachers College, Columbia University is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET 4.2 CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard.  IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

Requirements for Certificate of Participation

If you are unable to meet the requirements outlined above, you will be awarded the Certificate of Participation for the FECI instead.

The next leg of the transformational journey is the 8-month, technology enable, field-based practicum. Use the link below to learn more about this program element:

https://www.tc.columbia.edu/coachingcertification/programs/coaching-practicum/

Those who successfully complete all practicum program requirements are invited to attend the program’s 1-Week Advanced Coaching Intensive (ACI), leading to our rigorous, graduate level, professional coaching credential. Use the link below to learn more about this program element:

https://www.tc.columbia.edu/coachingcertification/programs/advanced-coaching-intensive/