Information on recognition

Seminar on the recognition of qualifications

Baku, 22 April 2005

Gunnar Vaht

Estonian ENIC/NARIC

What information is needed?

• educational system as a whole

• Status and type of institution

• system of quality assurance/accreditation

• study program

• access requirements; graduation requirements

• grading system, credit system

• purpose of studies - access to labor market and further studies

• International legal instruments and agreements

• National legislation and requirements

The applicant should present

• Application

• All certificates/diplomas since secondary education

• Transcripts (DS, academic transcripts, records)

• Certified translations

• ________________

• Is it enough to make a recognition decision? - NO

Information sources

• Individual contacts and Networks (ENIC)

• Published sources

• Unpublished sources

Networks

• International Networks– ENIC and NARIC

• www.enic-naric.net

– ENQA (European Network for Quality Assurance

• www.enqa.net

– EAIE (European Network of International Education) professional section ACE (Admission officers and credential Evaluators)

• www.eaie.nl www.aic.lv/ace

– NAFSA: Association of International Educators

• www.nafsa.org

Networks

• AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers)– www.aacrao.org

• AAU (Association of African Universities)– www.aau.org

• Association of Arab Universities– www.aaru.edu.jp

• Education Asia Network– www.eduasia.net

• AUAP (Association of Universities of Asia and Pacific)– http://sut2.sut.ac.th/AUAP

Contacts

• National Ministries of Education• Quality assessment agencies• Embassies• Educational institutions• Conferences/seminars• Training courses/workshops/information days• Education institutions• (individual contacts with experts)

Published sources

• Databases (International and national)

• Handbooks/reference books (international and national)

• Periodicals

• Recognition conventions

• University catalogues

• Websites of educational institution

• Foreign Language Dictionaries

Published sources (national)

• Higher Education System• Handbooks of higher education institutions (e.g.

“Spravochnik” in RF, or “Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education” in USA)

• Comparison of foreign qualifications• Fact sheets• Country education profiles (e.g. by AEI - International

Education Network/Australia; ECE - Educational Credential Evaluators/USA; publications of UNESCO-CEPES

Unpublished sources

• Internet search engine (eg “GOOGLE”)

• Files of previous cases

• Electronic mailing lists (e.g. ENIC list)

Persistent problems

• Too much of information

• Information is not structured

• Not well targeted information

• Not in widely used languages

• Different tasks of national ENIC offices

• Complications to get authoritative and up-dated information from other regions

Information provision by ENIC

• Information provision on education systems and on recognition is one of the core activities of the national centres in ENIC and NARIC Networks

• Acknowledging the need for relevant, accurant and up-to-date information, the national ENIC/NARIC office shall facilitate– a) access to accurate information on the national education

systems– b) access to information on foreign education systems– c) giving information on recognition matters and assessment of

qualifications

Information strategy and development

• ENIC/NARIC Working Party on Information Strategy (2003-2004)

• Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Information (adopted in 2004 by the Networks)

Code of Good Practice

• Aim– to offer guidance to national ENIC/NARIC and to the

Networks in fulfilling this important task. Also aims to indicate to higher education policy makers and other interested parties what might be expected of ENICs/NARICs

• The role of national information centre– principal provider of authoritative information on recognition

• higher education system and qualifications of the home country• recognition of foreign qualifications in the home country• foreign education systems

Code of Good Practice

• Standards of information provision– Provision of information that is of high quality,

i.e. both accurate, adequate and relevant to the user

• be meaningful to the users and respond to their needs• recognise that different users have different needs• be accessible in terms of content, language and style• terminology• be up to date

Code of Good Practice

• Target groups– individual holders of qualification– public authorities (e.g. Ministries of Education)– quality assurance agencies– higher education institution– mobility agencies– professional organisations– other ENICs/NARICs

– CREDENTIAL EVALUATORS AND RECOGNITION BODIES (in most cases)

Type of Information

• 1. General information on the educational system and recognition matters– provided by the national information centre

through general provision - handbooks, fact sheets, training courses, website, FAQ

• 2. Specific information– individual request including the information or

assessment of the individual qualification

Information on (I)

• General– educational structure– adult education and training– definitions and terminology

• Information on general (school) educational system

• Information on vocational education and training

Information on (II)

• Higher education system– administration and legal framework– legal acts on higher education – access qualifications– access requirements (general and specific)– admission procedure/admission of foreign students– list of recognised HEIs/programs– Description on levels/stages. Degree structure– qualifications framework (list of qualifications, learning outcomes)– evaluation and marking system– credit system (if applicable)– quality assurance– samples of credentials

Information on (III)

• Information on evaluation and recognition– nationla regulation of recognition of foreign

qualifications– description of national ENIC/NARIC activities– appeal procedure– list of competent authorities– implementation of international instruments

• Other information– list of (higher) education related institutions

• INFORMATION IS A POWER