Transcript 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: 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
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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
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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