Recognition: the national centre and the ENIC Network

Seminar on the recognition of qualifications

Baku, 22 April 2005

Gunnar Vaht

Head of the Estonian ENIC/NARIC

Recognition Networks

• ENIC (European Network of Information Centres on Academic Recognition and Mobility)– Council of Europe / UNESCO-CEPES

• NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centres)– European Union

National ENIC office

• Establishment

• Lisbon Recognition Convention - acknowledging the need for relevant, accurate and up-to-date information, each Party shall establish or maintain a national information centre

National ENIC office

• Main functions by Lisbon Recognition Convention– facilitate access to information on the national

higher education system and qualifications

– facilitate access to information on the foreign higher education systems and qualifications

– give advice or information on recognition matters and assessment of qualifications

– (promotion of use the Diploma Supplement)

National ENIC offices

• Establishments - the following type of institutions are in practice– Department of Ministry of Education or contact

person in MoE– State institution other than MoE– Foundation or other independent public

institution established by the Government– Private agency

Joint ENIC/NARIC Charter

• Joint ENIC/NARIC Charter of Activities and Services (approved by the Networks and by Lisbon Recognition Committee, June 2004)

– The purpose of the charter is to assist ENIC (and NARIC) centres to better respond to the challenges posed by the changing of the recognition environment and to set up a legitimate operation framework for the work of the national centres.

– The charter defines tasks and activities of the national ENIC(/NARIC) centre and the ENIC (and NARIC) networks

Common tasks and activities (I)

• TWO MAIN FIELDS

• information provision

• assessment of foreign qualifications

Common tasks and activities (II)

• Provide adequate, reliable and authenticated information on qualifications, educational systems and recognition procedures to the partners and stakeholders– close cooperation with Ministry of Education (or other

departments of the Ministry) in gathering the information

– information on systems and recognition procedures according to the national and international legislation or other regulations

– everybody should have an access to the information

Common tasks and activities (III)

• Advice a formal decision on the recognition of qualifications on the basis of their assessment by applying existing criteria and procedures developed by the Networks– (1)credential evaluation-(2)comparison-

(3)recommendation for recognition on the purpose of further study or employment (non-regulated professions)

– other ways to advice credential evaluators, providing only some information about the degree granting institution, or marking system or about the assessment criteria

Common tasks and activities (IV)

• Serve as the main information point on the recognition of higher education and access qualifications– advice with recognition system and policy– information on national and international legal

instruments (national acts, bilateral agreements, conventions, intl. recommendations, declarations, etc

– information point for regulated professions (EU directives)

Common tasks and activities (V)

• Cooperation with higher education institutions, quality assurance agency, student union, competent professional recognition authorities, labor unions– exchange of information

– advice institutions in development of internal regulations (e.g. admission rules; qualification requirements to the certain posts; etc)

– Bologna developments

Common tasks and activities (VI)

• Contribution to higher education policy development and legislation at national, regional and international level– fields (national level): degree structure, designation of

degrees, qualifications framework, quality assurance, marking and credit system, admission policy and procedure, graduation requirements, recognition policy, implementation of recognition instruments and tools, terminology, students rights, mobility, internationalisation of higher education

– contribution to develop the international agreements

Common tasks and activities (VII)

• Collecting and regularly updating information on educational systems and qualifications in different countries, and their comparability to the qualifications in the home system– close cooperation with ENIC offices (Network task) in

other countries

– library of information sources of foreign education systems and/or electronic links to the educational systems

– general comparisons of general qualifications are recommended, according to the evaluation practice

Common tasks and activities (VIII)

• Promotion a fair recognition of qualifications based on learning outcomes– there is assessment in practice where evaluators

are looking for identity of every single detail in the inputs (list of subjects, number of hours, titles of subjects, length of learning). THERE IS NO IDENTIC INPUTS AND IDENTIC QUALIFICATIONS

Common tasks and activities (IX)

• Focus more on recognition for the purpose of employment (non-regulated professions)– academic recognition - recognition on the purpose of

further studies (in general), and that is why the main focus may have on the assessment of qualifications to the education institutions only

– (in Estonian ENIC/NARIC approx 70% of foreign diplomas assessed to the labor market)

National ENIC office

• Staff (example)– head of the centre

• administration, management, projects, representation in international networks and national commissions/working parties. May also work partially as credential evaluator and/or information specialist

– credential evaluator(s)• depends on the number of applicants, there are specialised (on

country, region or field) evaluators or all-over evaluators

– information specialist(s)• publications and other information on national system

– administrative staff (IT manager, secretary, assistants, accountant, etc) - may have common part with umbrella organisation

ENIC Network

• Established in 1994 by the Council of Europe and UNESCO in order to develop joint policy and practice in all European countries for the recognition of qualifications

• Key role in implementation of the Lisbon Recognition Convention– national ENIC shall appointed as a member of the ENIC Network

– ENIC Network uphold and assist the practical implementation of the Convention

• ENIC Bureau - three members (President and two Vice-Presidents)

• Secretariat - jointly provided by CoE and UNESCO-CEPES

• Close cooperation with the NARIC Network of the European Union

ENIC Network

• ENIC Network is a body set up by the national authorities (national ENIC offices)

• Annual meetings - adoption of documents, working plans, mandates to the ENIC Bureau, statements

• ENIC Bureau meets 2…3 times a year

• Working parties

• Information exchange between the national ENICs (electronic list)

• website - www.enic-naric.net

ENIC Network

• Activities of the Working Parties• Within the ENIC Network, a number of policy and information issues are

prepared by Working Parties which submit their proposals to the annual Network meetings

– Recognition issues in the Bologna Process– Transnational Education– Diploma Supplement– Joint activities with quality assurance network– Criteria and procedures fir the assessment of foreign qualifications and periods of

study– Europe - USA: Mutual recognition of qualifications– Europe - Russian Federation: Mutual recognition of qualifications– ELCORE - Working Party on electronic information– Information strategies

ENIC Network

• Targets– Ministries responsible with education– other governmental institutions– students– parents– higher education institutions– quality assurance agencies– employers– international organisations

ENIC Network - development

• Benchmarking, setting and promoting best practices, development and methodologies on recognition in line with the criteria and procedures defined in the Lisbon Recognition convention

• cooperation with quality assurance agencies and networks (ENQA) in order to establish a common framework

• close cooperation with employers (and associations) to promote

• cooperation with other parts of the world in information provision about European Higher Education Area and recognition of qualifications