Ministers’ Deputies

Information documents

CM/Inf(2004)53[1] (restricted) 22 December 2004

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The Committee of the Convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European region
Abridged Report of the Third Session (Strasbourg, 9 June 2004)

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The Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European region held its third meeting on 9 June 2004, at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The agenda for the meeting appears in Appendix 1 and the list of participants can be obtained from the Secretariat.

The Committee adopted:

 - the Council of Europe – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)/European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES) Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees and its Explanatory Memorandum as reproduced in Appendix 2 to the present report, as a subsidiary document to the Convention in accordance with Article X.2.5;

 - the Joint European National Information Centres on Academic Regonition and Mobility (ENIC) - National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) Charter of Activities and Services as reproduced in Appendix 3 to the present report.

The Committee took note of the activities and developments concerning recognition of qualifications between its second meeting held in 2001 and 2004, most notably:

 - new signatures and ratifications of the Lisbon Recognition Convention;

 - possible measures to further the implementation of the Convention, with special consideration of the strategy of the European National Information Centres on Academic Recognition and Mobility and the National Academic Recognition Information Centres networks and the developments within the Bologna Process and;

 - message from the Berlin Ministerial Conference concerning the construction of the European Higher Education Area by 2010 concerning the importance attached to the ratification of the Lisbon Recognition Convention by all countries participating in the Bologna Process.

The Convention Committee elected its Bureau as follows:

President: Mr. Andrejs Rauhvargers (Latvia);

First Vice President: Ms. Carita Blomqvist (Finland);

Second Vice President: Mr. Rolf Lofstad (Norway);

Rapporteur: Mr. Christoph Demand (Austria);

and noted that the Bureau would serve until the end of the next ordinary session of the Committee, which takes place in 2007.

APPENDIX 1

Agenda

ITEM 1:             OPENING OF THE MEETING

ITEM 2:             ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

ITEM 3:             REPORT OF THE SECOND MEETING OF THE LISBON RECOGNITION CONVENTION COMMITTEE

ITEM 4:             OVERVIEW OF SIGNATURES AND RATIFICATION PROCESS AT NATIONAL LEVEL

ITEM 5:             ENIC/NARIC CHARTER

ITEM 6:             THE UNESCO-CEPES/COUNCIL OF EUROPE DRAFT RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF JOINT DEGREES AND ITS EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

ITEM 7:             IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LISBON RECOGNITION CONVENTION AT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL – PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE ACTION

ITEM 8:             ELECTION OF THE BUREAU

ITEM 9:             ANY OTHER BUSINESS

ITEM 10:           DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

ITEM 11:           CLOSING OF THE MEETING

APPENDIX 2

RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF JOINT DEGREES

Adopted by the Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region on 9 June 2004

Preamble

The Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region:

Consideringthat the aim of the Council of Europe and UNESCO is to achieve greater unity between their members, and that this aim can be pursued notably by common action in cultural matters;

Having regard to the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (ETS no. 165);

Having regard to the European Cultural Convention (ETS no. 18);

Having regard to the process towards the establishment of a European Higher Education Area, and in particular to the Declaration of the European Ministers of Education adopted in Bologna on 19 June 1999 as well as to their Communiqués adopted in Prague on 19 May 2001 and Berlin on 19 September 2003;

Having regard to the Diploma Supplement elaborated jointly by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO, to the UNESCO/Council of Europe Code of Good Practice in the provision of transnational education, to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and to the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications;

Having regard to the practical action in favour of improving the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education carried out by the Council of Europe/UNESCO European Network of National Information Centres on Academic Recognition and Mobility ("the ENIC Network");

Considering that the Council of Europe and UNESCO have always encouraged academic mobility as a means for better understanding of the various cultures and languages, and without any form of racial, religious, political or sexual discrimination;

Consideringthat studying or working in a foreign country is likely to contribute to an individual's cultural and academic enrichment, as well as to improve the individual's career prospects;

Consideringthat the recognition of qualifications is an essential precondition for both academic and professional mobility;

Convincedthat the joint development of curricula between higher education institutions in different countries and the award of joint degrees contribute to academic and professional mobility and to the creation of a European Higher Education Area;

Convincedthat the development and improved recognition of joint degrees will contribute to developing the European dimension of higher education and entail important benefits for individuals as well as for European society as a whole;

Aware thatthe recognition of qualifications originating in such joint arrangements is currently encountering difficulties of a legal as well as of a practical nature;

Conscious of the need to facilitate the recognition of joint degrees;

Recommends the governments of States party to the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (hereinafter referred to as “the Lisbon Recognition Convention”):

(i). to take into account, in the establishment of their recognition policies, the principles set out in the appendix hereto which forms part of this Recommendation;

(ii). to draw these principles to the attention of the competent bodies concerned, so that they can be considered and taken into account;

(iii). to promote implementation of these principles by government agencies and local and regional authorities, and by higher education institutions within the limits imposed by the autonomy of higher education institutions;

(iv). to ensure that this Recommendation is distributed as widely as possible among all persons and bodies concerned with the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education;

Invites the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Director-General of UNESCO, as appropriate, to transmit this Recommendation to the governments of those States which were invited to the Diplomatic Conference entrusted with the adoption of the Lisbon Recognition Convention but which have not become parties to that Convention.

APPENDIX TO THE RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF JOINT DEGREES

General considerations

1.         The present Recommendation is adopted within the framework of the Lisbon Recognition Convention and applies to the Parties to this Convention. The principles and practices described in this Recommendation can, however, equally well be applied to the recognition of qualifications in countries other than those party to the Lisbon Recognition Convention or to qualifications issued between or among national education systems.

2.         The purpose of the present Recommendation is to improve the recognition of joint degrees.  While degrees that are considered as belonging to the education system of a Party to the Lisbon Recognition Convention even where parts of the degree have been earned in other education systems fall under the provisions of the Convention, the present Recommendation concerns joint degrees.

3.         While the scope of the Lisbon Recognition Convention as well as of subsidiary texts adopted under the provisions of Article X.2.5 of the Convention concern the recognition of qualifications in countries other than that in which they have been earned, the provisions of the present recommendation may equally well be applied, mutatis mutandis, to joint degrees issued by two or more institutions belonging to the same national higher education system.

Definitions

4.         Terms defined in the Lisbon Recognition Convention are used in the same sense in the present Recommendation, and reference is made to the definition of these terms in Section I of the Convention. 

5.         A joint degree should, for the purposes of this Recommendation, be understood as referring to a higher education qualification issued jointly by at least two or more higher education institutions or jointly by one or more higher education institutions and other awarding bodies, on the basis of a study programme developed and/or provided jointly by  the higher education institutions, possibly also in cooperation with other institutions. A joint degree may be issued as:        

(a). a joint diploma in addition to one or more national diplomas;

(b). a joint diploma issued by the institutions offering the study programme in question without being accompanied by any national diploma;

(c). one or more national diplomas issued officially as the only attestation of the joint qualification in question.

General principles

6.         Holders of joint degrees should have adequate access, upon request, to a fair assessment of their qualifications.

7.         Competent recognition authorities should recognize foreign joint degrees unless they can demonstrate that there is a substantial difference between the joint degree for which recognition is sought and the comparable qualification within their own national higher education system. Competent recognition authorities of Parties whose higher education institutions confer joint degrees should recognize these degrees with the greatest flexibility possible.

Legislation

8.         Governments of States party to the Lisbon Recognition Convention should, where appropriate, therefore review their legislation with a view to removing any legal obstacles to the recognition of joint degrees and introduce legal provisions that would facilitate such recognition.

Quality assurance and institutional recognition

9.         Competent recognition authorities may make the recognition of joint degrees conditional on all parts of the study programme leading to the degree and/or the institutions providing the programme being subject to transparent quality assessment or being considered as belonging to the education system of one or more Parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention.           

10.        Where the joint degree is issued on the basis of a curriculum developed by a group or consortium consisting of a number of recognized higher education institutions, recognition of the degree may be made contingent on all member institutions or programmes of the group or consortium being subject to transparent quality assessment, or being considered as belonging to the education system of one or more Parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention, even if only some of these institutions  provide courses for any given degree. 

Information

11.        Institutions providing joint degrees should be encouraged to inform the competent recognition authorities of programmes giving rise to such degrees.

12.        As approproate, in order to facilitate recognition, candidates earning joint degrees should be provided with a Diploma Supplement, and study programmes leading to joint degrees should make use of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

13.        The Diploma Supplement issued with a joint degree should clearly describe all parts of the degree, and it should clearly indicate the institutions and/or study programmes at which the different parts of the degree have been earned.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO THE RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF JOINT DEGREES

Adopted by the Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region on 9 June 2004

INTRODUCTION

The Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region is the main international legal text concerning the recognition of qualifications.  It was adopted on 11 April 1997 and entered into force on 1 February 1999.  A list of ratifications and signatures may be found at http://conventions.coe.int by searching for ETS 165.

The Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention is also one of the key standards for the Bologna Process aiming to establish a European Higher Education Area by 2010, the main goals of which include improving the mobility of students, staff and graduates, facilitating the recognition of qualifications and increasing the transparency of higher education systems in Europe.

The Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention has a double function.  In legal terms, it is a treaty between states, and as such it is valid as a legal standard for the recognition of qualifications belonging to the higher education systems of the parties to the Convention as well as the qualifications covered by its subsidiary texts.  In a broader sense, the Convention also serves as a guide to good practice, and in this sense, its provisions may, mutatis mutandis, be applied to all higher education qualifications, regardless of their origin.  In this sense, the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention is in fact used as a standard well beyond its strictly legal function.

In article X.2.5, the Convention foresees that the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention Committee may adopt subsidiary texts to the Convention.  So far, three such texts have been adopted:

(i). a Recommendation on International Access Qualifications (1999);

(ii). a Recommendation on Criteria and procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications (2001);

(iii). a Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education (2001).

As will be seen, two of the three subsidiary texts adopted so far concern qualifications that are not a part of national education systems.  This is partly because the Convention itself in a legal sense only covers qualifications belonging to the education system of Parties, and partly because the importance of qualifications not belonging to any national education system have increased vastly in importance since the Convention was adopted in 1997.  This development is, with the increased emphasis on quality assurance, the most significant development in the recognition field since 1997. 

Joint degrees

The increased importance of joint degrees is a part of this overall development towards qualifications not formally recognized as belonging to any – or any single – national education system, although it is a phenomenon of a different nature than transnational education. 

While qualifications arising from transnational arrangements often fully stand outside national qualifications systems, in the case of joint degrees each component most often belongs to a national system and it is the combination of these elements that make competent recognition authorities (and others) consider joint degrees either as belonging to more than one national system or not fully belonging to any single national system.

This problem of typology should, however, not overshadow the considerable potential of joint degrees as an excellent means of stimulating academic mobility and cooperation between higher education institutions.  As such, joint degrees have the potential to play an important role in helping establish the European Higher Education Area, as was underlined by the Prague Higher Education Summit (May 2001):

In order to further strengthen the important European dimensions of higher education and graduate employability Ministers called upon the higher education sector to increase the development of modules, courses and curricula at all levels with ”European” content, orientation or organisation. This concerns particularly modules, courses and degree curricula offered in partnership by institutions from different countries and leading to a recognized joint degree.

(Prague Communiqué, adopted by the Ministers of the Bologna Process)

However, this role can only be fulfilled if joint degrees are given adequate recognition.  The purpose of the present Recommendation is therefore to help ensure fair recognition for a kind of qualification that has considerable potential, but that is in a strict legal sense not covered by the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention.

Within the Bologna Process, joint degrees have been the subject of a major study carried out by the European University Association (EUA) and financed by the European Commission^[2].  The present Recommendation is indebted to the study and seeks, as appropriate, to translate its main recommendations into legal provisions applicable in the context of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention.  In so doing, it also takes account of the round table debate of the Council of Europe’s Higher Education and Research Committee (CDESR) on the European Higher Education Area at the 2002 plenary session of the CDESR (Strasbourg, 2 – 3 October 2002).

Preamble

The Preamble places the Recommendation in the context of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention and the European Higher Education Area and points to the main developments that call for improved provisions for the recognition of joint degrees.  

General considerations

The general considerations place the present Recommendation in the context of the Convention and points to the double function of the Convention as an international legal instrument and as a guide to good practice. Attention is also drawn to the fact that while joint degrees are most commonly issued as a result of cooperation between higher education institutions located in different countries and issuing their degrees within different higher education systems, joint degrees may in principle also be issued by higher education institutions located in the same country and issuing degrees within the same higher education system. With appropriate adjustments, the provisions of the present Recommendation may equally well be applied to such cases.

Definitions

This part of the Recommendation seeks to define joint degree as a generic term and to explore the main types of joint degrees. It is worth noting that the European University Association study on joint degrees found that there is no common definition in use today, whether explicitly or implicitly, but a joint degree can be said to have all or some of the following characteristics:

 - the programmes are developed and/or approved jointly by several institutions;

 - students from each participating institution physically take part in the study programme at other institutions (but they do not necessarily study at all cooperating institutions);

 - students’ stay at the participating institutions should constitute a substantial part of the programme;

 - periods of study and examinations passed at the partner institutions are recognized fully and automatically;

 - the partner institutions work out the curriculum jointly and cooperate on admission and examinations. In addition, staff of participating institutions should be encouraged to teach at other institutions contributing to the joint degree;

 - after completing the full programme, students either obtain the national degree of each participating institution or awarding body or a degree (usually an unofficial “certificate” or “diploma”) awarded jointly by the partner institutions^[3].

The main kinds of joint degrees may be illustrated by a number of examples, which may include very different levels of actual cooperation in curriculum development and mobility of staff and students.

Thus, joint doctoral degrees may range from joint supervision of thesis by professors from different countries to actual joint doctoral programmes where parts of the research towards the doctoral degree are carried out at different universities in different countries. At first and second degree level at one end of the spectrum there are examples of (virtual) universities established in cooperation between two or several countries with a view to offering joint curricula leading to joint degrees, such as the Transnational University of Limburg between the Flemish community of Belgium and the Netherlands, the Öresund University between Sweden and Denmark or the Interuniversity Europe Centre established in Bulgaria and Romania with the assistance of Germany. At the other end of the spectrum one will find cooperation on joint degrees which is rather a franchise of one country’s degrees in another country (e.g. several cases where British degrees are awarded at Dutch hogescholen). 

Several broader joint degrees consortia are known that have a curriculum jointly approved by all consortium members, organize studies for each student at two or more partner institutions and issue unofficial joint degree certificates on top of a national qualification (e.g. a joint degree consortium in construction engineering). However, most commonly, due to legal difficulties and formal regulations, the joint curriculum with study periods at several institutions still lead to just one national degree.

While this relatively wide definition is aimed at allowing and facilitating the recognition of degrees from past as well as current and future arrangements, it should be emphasized that the further development of joint degrees as powerful instruments to further the European dimension of higher education and the establishment of the European Higher Education Area will depend on basing joint degrees on a high level of institutional cooperation, including the development of integrated curricula, and the review of national funding systems for higher education.

The term “joint degree” is used as the established term for the qualifications covered by the present Recommendation. The term “diploma” designates the official document attesting the qualifications.

General principles

This part of the Recommendation outlines the main principles on which it builds.  These conform to the main principles of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention (see in particular Articles IV.1, V.1 and VI.1 of the Convention).

The point is also made that joint degrees should be recognized at least as favourably as other qualifications from the education system from which they originate.   This is a particularly important provision in view of the findings of the European University Association study referred to above, in that in current practice, it often seems more difficult to obtain recognition of a joint degree than of a “pure” foreign national degree.  This is unjustified in view of the overall policy goal of stimulating international and inter-institutional cooperation and academic mobility.

It is also paradoxical and unjustified from another point of view, and to fully appreciate the paradox, it may be useful to bear in mind that recognition of joint degrees may concern three different situations:

(a). recognition of the joint degree in a country one of whose institutions has provided a part of the study programme giving rise to the qualification;

(b). recognition in a country one of whose institutions participates in the consortium having issued the degree, but this institution has not provided any part of the degree in question, i.e. the applicant has studied at other institutions participating in the consortium;

(c). recognition in a third country, i.e. a country that has not in any way been involved in the study programme and/or consortium granting the qualification;

 

(d). recognition of a degree, in any country, all or a part of which has not been subject to transparent quality assurance.

It should further be kept in mind that while recognition of all parts of the study programmes giving rise to a joint degree is automatic among the partner institutions, such recognition is not necessarily granted outside of this consortium.

In situations (a) and (b) described above, recognition of a joint degree should in fact be easier than recognition of a “pure” foreign qualification since in a joint degree, the study programme leading to the degree has been elaborated jointly by one or more institutions belonging to the education system of the country in which recognition is sought in one or more foreign institutions.  A recognized institution in the country in which recognition is sought will therefore already have assessed the profile, level and quality of the foreign components of the joint degree, and it would seem paradoxical if this assessment were not to be accepted by (other) competent recognition authorities in the country in which recognition is sought.

If recognition of a joint degree is sought in a third country (situation (c)), it is at least difficult to see why recognition of the joint degree should be more difficult than the recognition of a national qualification from any of the countries whose institutions have contributed to the joint degree.

It would therefore seem reasonable that the only justifiably difficult situation would arise if significant parts of a joint degree were delivered by an institution or higher education programme that does not belong to a national education system and/or that has not been the subject of transparent quality assessment (d), cf. also paragraph 11 of the Recommendation.

So far, there is no evidence of cases where the joint degree would have been given on the basis of many short periods of study at a large number of institutions.  Rather, in the case of large joint degree consortia, it is the joint programme that has been jointly elaborated and approved by a dozen or more institutions, but students actually spend study periods at a limited number of consortium partners – e.g. two or three institutions.  The principles of the Recommendation can well be applied also to such (so far hypothetical) cases, bearing in mind that when assessing a qualification awarded after studies of relatively short periods at a greater number of institutions, attention has to be paid to the integrity of the programme.

Legislation

Paragraph 9 makes the case for reviewing national legislation with a view to removing any remaining legal obstacles to the recognition of joint degrees and/or introducing legal provisions that would facilitate such recognition. 

This is also an important provision in the light of the findings of the study.   For example, it still seems legally difficult in many countries to issue one single qualification in the name of several institutions, especially when at least one of these institutions is foreign.

Another example is that it is not uncommon that higher education institutions have rules requiring that at least one half of the credits toward any given degree be taken at the institution in question for the degree to be issued by this institution.  If a student seeks a joint degree from two or more institutions practicing this rule, the results are predictable.  This is an obvious case where rules and regulations prevent a laudable initiative, but legislation may also impede fair recognition in less obvious ways.  The call for a review of national legislation in this sense was made by the 2002 plenary session of the Steering Committee for Higher Education and Research (CDESR), and it is important to include the point in the present Recommendation.

Finally, it should be noted that the fact that national legislation does not specifically prevent joint degrees from being established or recognized is not a sufficient measure.  In many cases, an absence of legal provision positively recognizing the concept of joint degrees may in itself constitute an impediment to the recognition of such qualification.  Any review of national legislation should therefore consider positive provision for the recognition of joint degrees rather than just abolishing any explicit impediments to such recognition.

Quality assurance and institutional recognition

The increased importance of quality assurance and the acceptance of close link between the quality assurance and recognition of institutions and study programmes on the one hand and individual qualifications on the other hand is one of the major development since the adoption of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention in 1997.  Whereas in 1997, there was still discussion of whether quality assurance was needed as general norm, the discussion now focuses on what kind of quality assurance is needed. 

The close link between quality assurance and recognition was underlined by the Prague Higher Education Summit (May 2001), where the Ministers of the Bologna Process in their communiqué “called upon the universities and other higher educations institutions, national agencies and the European Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), in cooperation with corresponding bodies from countries which are not members of ENQA, to collaborate in establishing a common framework of reference and to disseminate best practice”.  Cf. also the comments to the General principles, above. 

The Recommendation indicates that where a part of the study programme giving rise to a joint degree has not been the subject of quality assessment or is not considered as belonging to the education system of one or more parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention, this may be a valid reason not to recognize the degree.  In such cases, recognition authorities should, however, consider whether partial recognition may be granted, in keeping with the provisions of the Recommendation on Criteria and procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications^[4].

It is important to note that in these cases where the studies for the joint degree have actually taken place in a limited number of institutions, but the joint degree is awarded in the name of a larger consortium, it seems rightly to require that all the consortium members are recognized institutions and that at least the institutions in which the student has actually studied for the joint degree, have been quality assessed.

Information

Information on education systems as well as on individual institutions, programmes and qualifications is one of the key challenges facing those working with the recognition of qualifications.  As identified by the conference on Recognition Issues in the Bologna Process, organized in Lisbon on 11 – 12 April 2002 by the Council of Europe and the Portuguese authorities^[5], the problem is not one of a lack of information, but rather of a lack of pertinent and focused information.  The Diploma Supplement (cf. also Article IX.3 of the Convention) and the European Credit Transfer System are important information instruments that help facilitate the recognition of qualifications.  In the case of joint degrees, it is particularly important that a Diploma Supplement be issued with the degree that would clearly describe the various components of the degrees in relation to the education systems within which they have been earned.

APPENDIX 3

JOINT ENIC/NARIC CHARTER OF ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

Adopted by the Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region on 9 June 2004

The Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region

Conscious of the responsibilities of the European National Information Centres (ENIC) and National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) Networks for different aspects of recognition: academic recognition, recognition for the purpose of access to regulated professions and for access to the non-regulated part of the labour market;

Desiring to increase the relevance and the added value of the Networks in terms of promoting the European Region dimension in recognition;

Attachinggreat importance to the necessity of enhancement of the visibility of their activities, while providing users with the same level of quality throughout the European Region;

Conscious of the responsibilities of the European National Information Centres (ENIC) and National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) Networks, where applicable, for the development of the recognition policies and practice under the Bologna Process aiming at realising a European Higher Education Area by 2010;

Conscious of the fact that the organization, provision of resources for and allocation of the various tasks described in this Charter are a national responsibility;

Endeavouringto further increase the relevance of the work of the Networks on the recognition of qualifications in an ever more globalising world of higher education;

Conscious of the fact that the European National Information Centres Network encompasses members of the European Union as well as other countries party to the European Region, and that the specific provisions and legislation of the European Union apply only to national centres of countries of the European Union, the European Economic Area and European Union candidate countries;

Interestedin favouring international dialogue and cooperation within the field of recognition between various constituencies of the European Region;

Has adopted the present Joint European National Information Centres / National Academic Recognition Information Centres Charter of Activities and Services (here after called “The Charter”):

SECTION I.                   DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the purpose of this Charter, the terms used have the meaning as defined in the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (Lisbon Recognition Convention) and the European Union Directives on regulated professions.

SECTION II.                  TASKS AND ACTIVITIES

II.1 Tasks and activities of a national ENIC/NARIC centre

The tasks to be fulfilled by an European National Information Centres / National Academic Recognition Information Centres centre are the following:

 - provide adequate, reliable and authenticated information, within reasonable time as prescribed by the Lisbon Recognition Convention, national and European Union legislation, on qualifications, education systems, and recognition procedures to individual holders of qualifications, higher education institutions, employers, professional organisations, public authorities, European National Information Centres / National Academic Recognition Information Centres partners and other interested parties;

 - provide information, advice or formal decision on the recognition of qualifications on the basis of their assessment by applying existing criteria and procedures developed by the Networks, as well as new criteria for assessment of qualifications described in terms of workload, level, learning outcomes, competences and profile;

 - provide to citizens information on their rights regarding recognition;

 - serve as the main information point on the recognition of higher education and higher education access qualifications at national level;

 - cooperate in related matters with other information centres, higher education institutions, their networks and other relevant actors in the national context;

 - in the European Union context, and as far as National Academic Recognition Information Centres have competence in professional recognition matters, cooperate with the National Coordinator^[6] and the competent authorities for the professional recognition of the regulated professions (European Union Directives);

 - contribute to higher education policy development and legislation at regional, national and European level;

 - cooperate within the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks on the development of an overarching framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area and accordingly contribute at national level to the further development of the education systems;

 - participate in the elaboration of publications, informations and other materials on the home education system and participate in publications, surveys, comparative studies and other research activities undertaken by the European Commission, Council of Europe, UNESCO and other international organizations;

 - collect and regularly update information on: education systems, qualifications awarded in different countries and their comparability to the qualifications in the home country, legislation on recognition, information on officially recognised and accredited institutions, admission requirements;

 - develop cooperation with relevant organisations in countries in other regions of the world working in the field of recognition;

 - create, maintain and regularly up-date the information on the national education system in the format given in the Annex to the present document;

 - where entrusted by the national authority, elaborate and maintain the description of the national education system to be included in the Diploma Supplement;

 - promote the activities of the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks  in countries in other regions of the world;

 - refer to the membership of the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks in all publications and correspondence and on web-sites and make appropriate use of its logo^[7];

 - other tasks as decided through national regulations.

II.2 Tasks and activities of the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks

The mandates of the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks and their responsibilities under the Bologna Process presuppose the following tasks:

 - exchange information on the assessment of the qualifications and on the national qualifications system;

 - provide a forum for amicable settlement of recognition disputes;

 - provide and disseminate updated information on education systems and recognition procedures;

 - improve knowledge about other network partners' systems, qualifications, recognition criteria and working methods and procedures;

 - benchmarking, setting and promoting best practices, development of methodologies on recognition in line with the criteria and procedures defined in the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (Lisbon Recognition Convention);

 - improve the range of information tools for the national centres by development of suitable databases, information materials etc;

 - provide the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres with guidelines on the structure and the organization of the information they offer to relevant target groups, in particular: higher education institutions and bodies, public authorities, quality assurance agencies, employers, professional organizations and individual holders of qualifications;

 - develop and implement common Information Strategies for production, selection, quality assurance, presentation and provision of information on recognition-related issues;

 - further strengthen the network functions of the two Networks through contacts between the national European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres as well as by helping the individual centres in their capacity building;

 - promote cooperation with quality assurance bodies and networks, in particular European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in order to establish a common framework, share information and increase mutual trust between education systems;

 - ensure coherence and interactivity with other partners and networks in related fields: recognition, quality assurance, accreditation, education and training, employment;

 - provide a forum for the debate and development of policies that promote and facilitate the recognition of qualifications in the European Region;

 - enhance the European dimension in recognition in the Lifelong Learning context of the European Higher Education Area

SECTION III.     RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE

The European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres staff should be versed in evaluating foreign qualifications in line with international best practices in methodology and procedures of recognition, including:

 - conducting research into home and foreign education systems;

 - identifying the status of the institution awarding a qualification;

 - identifying the value of a given qualification by taking into account the academic and professional rights that qualification gives to the holder in the country in which it was conferred;

 - identifying the most appropriate comparison to the foreign qualification in the home education system;

 - providing a well-founded statement of existence/absence of substantial differences between the foreign qualification and the home one.

III.1. Staff

The European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres centre shall be adequately staffed by each country taking into account: the size of the country, the numbers of institutions, the number of national and foreign students, the average number of applications for recognition, the intensity of information flow and the specific position of the European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres centre within the legal and administrative framework and higher education system of the given country.

The European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres personnel involved in recognition should meet the following basic requirements:

 - Higher education qualification or equivalent;

 - familiarity with the international and national legal framework for recognition;

 - skills in assessment of foreign qualifications;

 - knowledge of foreign languages;

 - computer literacy and skills in using ICT.

III.2. Documentation

Each European National Information Centre/National Academic Recognition Information Centre is expected to possess:

 - reference works on foreign education systems;

 - reference works on national education system of the country in which the centre is working: national education legislation (in national and foreign language), legislation in the field of recognition, lists of officially recognised and accredited institutions/programs, description of the national education system, description of the national criteria and procedures for recognition of foreign qualifications, etc.;

 - national/international institutional catalogues;

 - recognition conventions, bilateral agreements, EU Directives, other relevant documents emanating from the European region and other relevant bodies.

III.3. Technical equipment

Each European National Information Centre/National Academic Recognition Information Centre is expected to have appropriate hardware and software equipment in order to:

 - maintain e-mail connection;

 - have access to the Internet;

 - work into interactive databases;

 - have access to publishing on the web;

 - maintain a database on previous evaluations carried out by the European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres centre.

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for a recognition of higher education diplomas awarded upon completion of professional education and training of at least three years’ duration, may be found at www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11022b.htm .

Council Directive 92/51/EEC of 18 June 1992 on a second general system for recognition of professional education and training to supplement Directive 89/48/EEC, may be found at www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11022c.htm.

Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher education in the European Region (the Lisbon Recognition Convention), may be found at http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/cadreprincipal.htm -search for ETS 165.

Council of Europe/UNESCO Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications and Periods of Study (adopted by the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee at its second meeting, Riga, 6 June 2001), may be found at http://www.coe.int/T/E/Cultural_Co-operation/education/Higher_education/ENIC_Network .

Draft Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees (adopted by the ENIC and NARIC Networks, Vaduz, 20 May 2003), may be found at www.cepes.ro/hed/recogn/.

External Evaluation of the NARIC network – Final report – August 2002.

Operational Guidelines for National Information and Recognition Centres in Europe, PHARE Multi-Country Project on Recognition (1998).

Realising the European Higher Education Area, Communiqué of the Conference of Ministers responsible for Higher Education in Berlin on 19 September 2003 (Berlin Communiqué), may be found at http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de/en/communique_ministers/index.htm.

Recognition issues in the Bologna Process- final report (of the ENIC Working Party on Recognition Issues in the Bologna Process), Strasbourg/Bucharest, 2001, see http://www.lu.lv/

Statement by the ENIC and NARIC networks prior to the Bologna Conference, and adopted in Vilnius in June 1999.

Statement by the ENIC and NARIC Networks on the European Higher Education Area, 10th Joint meeting of the ENIC and NARIC Networks, Vaduz (Liechtenstein), 18-20 May 2003 (Vaduz Statement), may be found at www.bologna-berlin2003.de/pdf/Naric.pdf.

The European Higher Education Area Joint Declaration of the European Ministers of Education convened in Bologna on the 19 June 1999 (Bologna Declaration), may be found at www.bologna-berlin2003.de/pdf/bologna_declaration.pdf

Towards the European Higher Education Area, Communiqué of the meeting of European Ministers in charge of Higher Education in Prague on 19 May 2001 (Prague Communiqué), may be found at www.bologna-berlin2003.de/pdf/Prague_communiqueTheta.pdf.

UNESCO/Council of Europe Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education, may be found at http://www.coe.int/T/E/Cultural_Co-operation/education/Higher_education/ENIC_Network

APPENDIX 4

RECOMMENDED FORMAT OF THE INFORMATION ON THE NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM

 - Legal basis and description of the education system (a short version of which could be used for the Diploma Supplement);

 - Lists of recognised and accredited higher education institutions and programs;

 - General description of the national system for evaluation and accreditation with web-sites of the relevant bodies;

 - Description of the national procedure for academic recognition of foreign qualifications in terms of:

National legal framework for recognition;

Description of the assessment methodology;

Processing time and possible delays;

Rights and possibilities for appeal;

Requirements regarding information applicant must provide;

National requirements on the certification of foreign qualifications;

Fees for evaluation and/or translation of educational documents (where applicable);

Possible requirements regarding the translations.

ACCOMPANYING NOTES

The purpose of the present Charter is to elaborate on minimum services to be provided by every national European National Information Centre/ National Academic Recognition Information Centre. The document also outlines the minimum structural needs of an European National Information Centre/National Academic Recognition Information Centre in terms of political support, equipment, human resources and funding.

Special attention is devoted to the public aspects of the Charter including quality, format and minimum services to both the Networks and the public. The Charter identifies the different components of the common services, thus enhancing the visibility and the effectiveness of the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks.

Having as starting point the recommendations in the National Academic Recognition Information Centres Network evaluation report, the present Joint European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres Charter has the ambition to become a useful tool for further improvement of the two Networks in terms of both activities and services in a rapidly changing recognition environment.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks operate in an international legal framework which is largely in place. The Council of Europe/ UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (the Lisbon Recognition Convention), as well as the European Union Directives on professional recognition provide the necessary legal grounds for developing recognition policy and practices in the European Region. Moreover, the developed transparency instruments like the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and Diploma Supplements assist the two Networks while fulfilling their tasks.

The 1999 Bologna Declaration initiated one of the major reforms in the European higher education in terms of both scope and content. Already on the day the Bologna Declaration was adopted, the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks declared their willingness to contribute to the creation of a European Higher Education Area and they have outlined how recognition of qualifications may be developed to help make that area a reality by 2010.

At their annual meeting in Vilnius in June 1999 the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks adopted a statement outlining their contribution and in 2001 they adopted a Report on Recognition Issues in the Bologna Process. The report set a comprehensive recognition agenda meeting the priorities of the Bologna Process.

Since the Prague meeting of European ministers in charge of Higher Education in 2001, the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks were quite active by complementing the Lisbon Recognition Convention in the light of the Bologna – related developments with a set of important documents adopted or prepared for adoption by the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee (Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education, Recommendations on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications,   Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees).

In May 2003 the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks adopted the Statement on the European Higher Education Area (Vaduz statement), thus expressing their willingness to continue to be part of the Bologna Process and to further contribute to the realization of some of the most important goals of the Bologna Process via recognition of qualifications.

The present document takes into account the main Bologna action lines as defined in the Bologna declaration (1999), the Prague Communiqué (2001) and the Berlin Communiqué (2003) and more precisely the intermediate priorities for  2003 - 2005 as defined in Berlin, among which the “recognition of qualifications and periods of study” holds a key position. The document goes further in compliance with the initiative for a design of an overarching framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area as well as with the initiative for orientation towards “qualifications described in terms of workload, level, learning outcomes, competences and profile”.

The document also takes into account the emerging need of changes within the field of recognition in order to fulfil the Bologna objectives. These changes are mainly related to the shift from the formal recognition of a foreign qualification towards a more substantial and sophisticated assessment, and from pure academic towards professional recognition for the labour market.

The document makes use of the previous experiences acquired in the framework of the PHARE Multi-Country Project on Recognition.

Finally, the document was developed in compliance with the main strategic documents of the two Networks, among which one can mention the Information Strategies which cover the short and long-term priorities in the information provision to the general public.

BACKGROUND TO THE JOINT ENIC/NARIC CHARTER

In 2002 the National Academic Recognition Information Centres network was the subject of an external evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess relevance and added value of the network in promoting European dimension in academic recognition. Some of the recommendations in the evaluation report were focused on the efficiency and effectiveness of the National Academic Recognition Information Centres network in achieving its objectives and tasks, as well as to the quality of its image to customers and stakeholders, and more precisely:

- Recommendation N 1: Charter of minimum National Academic Recognition Information Centres services;

- Recommendation N 2: Public aspects of the Charter;

- Recommendation N 10: Identification of common services.

The National Academic Recognition Information Centres network had a first discussion on the evaluation report at their annual meeting in Brussels on January 27, 2003 and endorsed its conclusions.

An ad-hoc National Academic Recognition Information Centres working group with the participation of the National Academic Recognition Information Centres Advisory Board (NAB) and invited by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), discussed the outlines of the document on February 14, 2003.

The first draft of the Charter was discussed by the National Academic Recognition Information Centres Advisory Board at the invitation of European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture on December 8, 2003.

Subsequently to this meeting a second draft of the Charter was sent for comments to the members of the National Academic Recognition Information Centres Advisory Board and to the Secretariat of the European National Information Centres Network with the intention to proceed towards a joint European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres charter in compliance with the traditionally established and further developed cooperation between the two Networks.

The document was largely discussed by the National Academic Recognition Information Centres network at its annual meeting on January 12-13, 2004. Several concrete and valuable comments were made, thus providing grounds for further improvement of the document.

Further consultations took place with the National Academic Recognition Information Centres Advisory Board and the Secretariat of the European National Information Centres Network, thus preparing the draft Joint European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres Charter of Activities and Services.

The draft Joint European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres Charter was discussed at the Joint European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres Meeting in June 2004 and subsequently endorsed by the competent bodies of the European Commission, the European Union, Member States, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

The endorsed Joint European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres Charter will be further presented to the States represented in the National Academic Recognition Information Centres network to adopt suitable initiatives as a sign of their political commitment to assist its implementation at national level, as well as to the Bologna Signatory States.

The National Academic Recognition Information Centres Advisory Board and the European National Information Centres Bureau will follow the implementation of the Charter at international/national level and will regularly inform the two Networks on the results of the monitoring process, thus ensuring reliable feedback on the usefulness of the present document.

SECTION II.                  TASKS AND ACTIVITIES

The scope of the activities of the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks is defined in their mandates. For the National Academic Recognition Information Centres Network it is formulated in the European Commission’s Decision establishing the SOCRATES II: “It will collect and disseminate authenticated information, which is necessary for the purpose of academic recognition, also bearing in mind synergies with professional recognition of diplomas”.

According to the Terms of Reference for the European National Information Centres Network it “is set up under the authority of the Committee of Ministers (Council of Europe) and the regional Committee (UNESCO) with a view to facilitating cooperation between national information centres on academic mobility and recognition in the European Region”.

The European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks provide a forum for the development of European recognition policies and practices through networking between individual European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres from the Member States.

European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres should promote, at institutional, national and European level, simple, efficient and fair recognition, while paying due attention to the diversity of qualifications.

The increasing globalisation of education and training requires close cooperation between the two Networks and their counterparts in other regions of the world, in terms of further development of adequate criteria and procedures for recognition in a changing qualification framework. In order to do so, the European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres Networks will permanently improve the effectiveness, will cooperate with networks in the field of accreditation and quality assurance in the European region, and notably European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

SECTION III.     RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE

Each European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres centre should meet the expertise requirements in the field of recognition, by recruiting well trained staff, knowledgeable of internationally accepted good practices for foreign qualification evaluation, capable to apply the relevant methodologies and procedures.

Preparing, disseminating and providing information to students, academics, higher education institutions, employers, social partners, agencies, citizens etc. and assisting the general public to navigate through that information is another core function.

In order to fulfil its duties, each European National Information Centres/National Academic Recognition Information Centres should be given adequate human, documentary and equipment resources, as well as appropriate national funding.

European National Information Centres and National Academic Recognition Information Centres should give their staff members the possibility to regularly upgrade their qualifications by participation in national and international training courses and seminars. The centres should also organize internal staff training in order to present and implement the last developments in the field of recognition.