Standards in international recognition of qualifications
Standards and guidelines on all aspects of the international recognition of qualifications. These are the main results of the European Area of Recognition project (EAR) in which Nuffic has had a leading role. A practical manual containing the standards and guidelines is now available.
The manual is primarily meant for the recognition offices in the European Region, to improve and streamline recognition practice. The current differences in applying the criteria of the Lisbon Recognition Convention are seen as an obstacle to student mobility.
For this reason, the Bologna Follow-Up Group installed a Working Group on Recognition two years ago. This working group had strong links to the EAR project team, and strongly advocates the use of the EAR manual as an important new recognition tool.
Practical examples
The manual consists of sixteen chapters with topics such as substantial differences, qualification frameworks, learning outcomes and accreditation. It includes flow-charts, recommendations, practical examples and useful links.
It also contains a schematic outline of the recommended procedure for the assessment of foreign qualifications, a glossary, an overview of relevant publications and sources, and an index.
Implementation phase
What starts now is the hard work to promote and implement the good practices collected in the EAR manual.
First of all, the national recognition centres should adapt their daily practice to the recommendations of the manual. This process may receive a strong boost if the manual is mentioned in the Communiqué of the Ministerial Conference in Bucharest (April 2012), which seems likely at the moment.
Furthermore, Nuffic is currently coordinating follow-up projects which involve training of the networks in using the EAR manual and keeping the manual up to date (EAR2 project). In addition, the projects focus on developing and disseminating a recognition manual for the European higher education institutions (the EAR-HEI project).
Background information
The EAR manual is based on the Lisbon Recognition Convention and its subsidiary texts, and incorporates all relevant recommendations, studies and earlier project results on recognition. It was produced by a broad consortium of European recognition centres, guided by a small steering group of international experts.
The EAR project was initiated and coordinated by Nuffic’s recognition experts. It was co-funded by the European Commission and actively supported by the Council of Europe and UNESCO.
The EAR manual is available at: www.eurorecognition.eu.