Toastmasters International -DCP Moves Forward in Pathways

The Toastmasters Distinguished Club Program (DCP) helps clubs provide their members with a consistently high-quality experience. While that continues to be the purpose in Toastmasters’ new education program, the DCP format is different, reflecting the structure of the Pathways learning experience.

In the traditional education program, six educational goals—and 10 altogether—comprise the DCP. The six goals represent a combination of education awards earned by club members:

Traditional DCP

Traditional Program Education goals

Two CC awards
Two more CC’s
One ACB, ACS or ACG award
One more ACB, ACS or ACG
One CL, ALB, ALS or DTM award
One more CL, ALB, ALS or DTM

In Pathways, the educational goals take a different form. (The other four DCP goals have not changed.) The number of goals remains the same in Pathways—six—but they represent the work members do in the program’s learning paths rather than in the manuals of the traditional program.

Pathways now includes 11 paths. In each one, members advance through five levels of achievement, each level building on the previous one. The DCP educational goals in Pathways reflect this structure. For example, the first goal for a club is to have four members complete Level 1 in their respective learning paths.

The six goals in Pathways function the same as the six goals in the current DCP. For example, the fifth Pathways goal—one member completing Level 4 in a path—will earn the member’s club the same amount of DCP credit as the fifth goal in the traditional format: one member earning a CL, ALB, ALS or DTM. However, it’s impossible to achieve exact parity since the two education programs are structured differently.

The six educational goals in Pathways represent a combination of members completing the following:

DCP in Pathways

Pathways education goals

Four Level 1’s
Two Level 2’s
Two more Level 2’s
Two Level 3’s
One Level 4
One Level 5

As with the traditional program, the six goals have to be achieved by separate individuals in each category—one member can’t achieve the same goal twice. In other words, four Level 1’s can’t be completed by three members, only by four separate members.

While all members are encouraged to work in Pathways now, clubs have about a year before the new DCP format applies to all members. The transition period, during which the traditional education program runs concurrently with Pathways, ends June 30, 2020. Members can participate in one program or the other (or both, if they choose).

In the transition period, clubs have flexibility with the DCP format. They can still aim for completing six educational goals—but they can choose from 12 options: Members can meet the six traditional program goals, the six Pathways goals or a mix of goals from both education programs. (See the chart at the bottom of the page.)

The idea is to make the switch to the DCP in Pathways as seamless as possible. Once the transition period ends, the six Pathways goals will be the official measure of DCP success for all clubs.

Visit the Toastmasters website more information about the Toastmasters Pathways learning experience.

For more information about the DCP in the traditional education program, see the Distinguished Club Program and Club Success Plan, item 1111.