ACCREDITATION AND RECOGNITION IN EUROPE

Accreditation is the statement by a recognized body that a particular institution or degree program meets certain quality standards. This statement can then be trusted by other institutions, including employers, who will then deem the diploma granted by the accredited institution as valid and acceptable for transfers, admissions or employment. Accreditation (institution-wide or program specific) can be granted: by Ministries of Education (most authoritative and normative means) by public or private agencies recognized by Ministries of Education (US method) by private agencies or associations such as the MBA Association or EQUIS.

ACCREDITATION IN EUROPE

(Source: <http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/rec_qual/recognition/in_en.html>)

In order better to understand the (EU) Community rules on the recognition of diplomas, a distinction must first be made between recognition for academic purposes (i.e. : you would like your title to be recognized because you wish to continue your studies) and recognition for professional purposes (i.e. : you would like your title to be recognised because you wish to work in a certain profession).

Academic recognition

As regards academic recognition of a title or a period of study abroad in order to continue studying in the country of origin, each Member State is responsible under the Amsterdam Treaty for its own educational content and organization. Second, there are no Community provisions imposing mutual recognition of diplomas (except for certain regulated occupations that are referred to below under the heading of recognition for professional purposes). That is why there are currently no diplomas that are recognized at European level for academic purposes.

Universities, which are autonomous institutions, are entirely responsible for the content of their curricula and for awarding diplomas and certificates to students. In most cases (public establishments) The diplomas and certificates are recognized by the authorities of the Member State concerned.

However, the European Commission has encouraged mutual recognition (for academic purposes) between the various education systems in Europe through such Community programmes as Erasmus.

Since there is no assured mechanism for academic recognition in Europe, three factors are important:

(1) The individual reputation of the institution (e.g. HEC in France)

(2) The legal status of the institution (public, semi-public, "recognized", private, etc)

(3) The academic documentation of the programs by means of ECTS and Diploma Supplement

In recent years, academic associations and private accreditation agencies have also appeared, but none has official status with the EU Commission or individual Member States.

In the UK, NARIC is the recommended institution for evaluations.

EUROSTATE ACCREDITATION

EUROSTATE University Institute is an academic unit within EUCLID (Euclid University) which is the actual degree granter.

EUCLID University is an intergovernmental university chartered by treaty and its degrees are explicitely accredited by the Ministries of Education of the Member States.

In spite of the fact that EUCLID's office were allowed to be settled in Brussels by the founding States (EUCLID Statutes, Article II/2), it should be noted that:

(1) EUCLID is not a European degree granter and has no need to request this status which would be automatically granted in Belgium to all associations with such a provision in their statutes,

(2) no EU Member State is a EUCLID Member at this time, although some EUCLID Participating have very close ties with major EU Member States and most EUCLID Participating Parties maintain a diplomatic representation to the EU institutions in Brussels.

Hence, a EUROSTATE/EUCLID degree is recognized and accredited as an international, indeed intergovernmental (but non-EU) title on the basis on mutual governmental and intergovernmental recognition (i.e. Commonwealth, Organization of American States, African Union, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, etc.)

Importantly, EUROSTATE/EUCLID programs / degrees are Bologna Process compliant and come with full academic documentation, ECTS + US credit hours transcripts + diploma supplement.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Secretariat.