Recognition of International Qualifications Issues for Providers of Education

1. Recognition of International Qualifications Issues for Providers of Education Qualifications Recognition - Ireland Dublin Castle Tuesday 25th April 2006 Dr Dermot J Douglas Secretary/Senior Executive – Academic Affairs Council of Directors of the Institutes of Technology

2. The Changing face of Ireland • “From Acholi (spoken in Uganda and Sudan) to Zulu, over 167 languages are spoken in Ireland (Irish Times 24th March 2006)” • “There are currently over 28,000 registered non-EEA students in Ireland, enroled at a variety of private, second level and third level educational institutions” • “The Government has set a target for international enrolments of 12 – 15% (in line with international averages). In order to achieve this, Irish institutions will have to increase their capacity and attractiveness” (Skills Needs in the Irish Economy: The Role of Migration (2005) Expert Group on Future Skills Needs)

3. Issues for both FE and HE providers • Recognition and evaluation processes for other national vocational, school leaving and higher education awards in the absence of an agreed national system. • English language proficiency of applicants – both spoken and written • Recognition of prior achievement, prior experential learning, work based learning etc. • Documentation and residency status of applicants • Identification of false transcripts/testimonials accompanying applications • Recognition of false personal information (passport/identity cards, letters regarding legal status etc.)

4. Main Issues for HE providers • Dealing with undergraduate applications • Evaluation of post-graduate applications • Issues at registration

5. 1. Undergraduate Issues: IOT- CEF • IOTCEF provides an agreed central scoring system for non-nationals seeking to gain entry to Institute of Technology undergraduate programmes through the CAO process • Each Institute of Technology is a separate autonomous admitting authority. Decisions of the Central Evaluation Forum are not application decisions – they are simply an agreed means of translating relevant academic achievement into a points score. • The CEF provides an open and transparent mechanism for non-Irish applicants to determine the appropriate level of points which equates their with achievement in secondary school leaving examinations in their country of origin.

6. Who is scored through this process • Applicants presenting with European school leaving qualifications – other than Ireland and the UK • Applicants from the rest of the world • Applicants from Ireland presenting the Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and FETAC Level V vocational certificates are scored directly by the CAO, according to agreed protocols. • Applicants presenting UK GCE/GCSE qualifications are scored directly by the CAO, according to agreed protocols.

7. Documentation to be submitted • Certified copies and English translations of qualifications not issued in English must be furnished with the application. • Certified copies of transcripts must be provided • Notarised English translations of all official documents (including transcripts) submitted are required • The IOTCEF will not deal with applications, which do not include notarised English translations of qualifications being presented in another language. If the evidence submitted in support of an application does not bear up under subsequent scrutiny then any offer of a place will be immediately annulled.

8. Principles • Only applicants who have gained full certification in their own countries are considered • Evaluation of the award is based on NARIC equivalencies (we subscribe to the UK NARIC, which is particularly well developed) • We look at entitlement to entry into HE in home country • We look at eligibility for entry into UK Higher Education • Applicants must pass subjects in their own country. We do not transpose scales where we have a lower threshold for passing. • Where a national school leaving system requires fewer subjects than is the case for the Irish Leaving Certificate (6 are used for points), we normalise the scale to that number • It is a transparent process. The scoring system for each country is available on the CAO website. This allows candidates calculate points themselves and query decisions of IOTCEF if they believe they were not treated fairly (http://www2.cao.ie/index.php?page=scoring)

9. Updating There is a need to constantly monitor changes in education systems around the world. Updating of the CEF processes is done on an annual basis as follows: • We look for changes in international recognition of the countries we have already listed and amend the recognition and scoring system, as required • We examine applications from candidates presenting from new countries. The CEF Process is added to as applications from new countries are received. • We invite anyone interested, or anyone interested in making an application, to examine the entry for their country on the website and to contact us with any relevant information or concerns.

10. Major Issues for Foreign Applicants • Recognition of foreign awards is deemed by many applicants to be: • Underdeveloped (leading to delays) • Inadequate (undervalued – particularly with African qualifications)) • It appears easier to get onto basic vocational programmes than to access upskilling/progression type programmes, particularly in HE. • Many applicants experience difficulties with satisfying both written and oral language requirements • The levels of fees being charged (particularly in HE) is a significant barrier for some (€9000 – €10,000 p.a. plus student services fee of nearly €1,000) • Ability to support themselves (and their families in some cases) without being a burden on the welfare services of the institution or the state. • Applicants who have been granted asylum, and who are undocumented, may only have recourse to mature entry processes. This is felt, by some, not to give them a fair chance as their language fluency may not be adequate to fully convince admissions officers about their capabilities and motivation

11. Region Total number o f Number in IOTCEF Countries Africa 54 34 Asia 37 16 Middle East 14 10 Europe 4 4 40 North A merica 3 3 Central America 7 1 South America 13 8 The Caribbean 13 countries; 12 territories 1 Oceania 15 2 Where in the World? As of the end of March 2006, we have developed scoring systems for 115 countries and 6 International Awards

12. 2. Postgraduate Issues • In order to retain Ireland’s attraction as a centre for knowledge based industry, it is now national strategy that we double the output of PhD graduates by 2013 . • This can only be achieved if we can increase student intake from a variety of sources. • As the country moves towards 4th Level Ireland, there will be a growing need to attract high quality international students to Masters’ and PhD programmes. • This is a globally competitive market and requires quick decisions and feedback to applicants

13. The Bologna Declaration and the Diploma Supplement • With the implementation of the Bologna Declaration, there is an increasing use of the Bachelor, Masters, PhD cycles of higher education • However, the arrangements provide for convergence, not standardisation, of European higher education. • This means that two main models of the first cycle of higher education have now emerged i.e the 180 ECTS Bachelor and the 240 ECTS Bachelor. • In Ireland we have standardised on the 240 ECTS (i.e 4 year honours) Bachelor as the common standard for entry into research Masters. We need to ensure that applicants from foreign countries have achieved an equivalent standard before they can be admitted. • The development of the Diploma supplement provides a very useful tool to facilitate understanding of other systems of undergraduate education, as well as giving a reasonably detailed description of graduate achievement on which admission decisions can be based.

14. Non- Bologna Countries • In relation to non-Bologna countries, each Irish higher education institution needs to develop an understanding of the relative merit of their individual Bachelor (or equivalent) degrees. • Experience with admissions in the past, in some cases, has provided reassurance or created reluctance to consider applicants from certain countries. Professor to professor links were often important in this regard. • In the case of many foreign applicants, admissions were often based on individual university reputation rather than any actual or perceived national standard. • As applications are received from outside the current institutional ‘comfort zones,’ more and more reliance is being placed on NARIC systems in Ireland and abroad.

15. 3. Issues for Admission and Registration English Language Requirement • The majority of programmes in higher education institutions require a minimum standard of achievement in mathematics and English. Foreign transcripts need to be examined for these subjects before they are scored • Instruction in Ireland is normally through English and applicants, who do not have Leaving Certificate English, must provide evidence of competence through school-leaving or matriculation examinations, achievement of a minimum standard in recognised tests of English or an approved English test administered by an institute of Technology • Competency in spoken English is necessary to complete registration. Institutions reserve the right to test oral language ability or require applicants to provide TSE scores

16. Minimum standard required in English language examinations Academic English General English General English Academic English Notes: Achievement of the minimum standard in EFL tests satisfies the English minimum entry standard, but it is not used to compute points. Competence in spoken English is nec essary in order to complete registration. Institutes reserve the right to test oral language ability or to require applicants to provide TSE scores.

17. ENTITLEMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION AND FEES IN THE CONTEXT OF IMMIGRATION, AND LEGAL RESIDENCY CATEGORIES [1] Residence Permits are issued to every non-EEA national who is lawfully residing in the State. It is renewed annually be the Aliens Office and is only valid if the stamp within the book reflects that the holder has the rignt to remain in the State.

18. [2] Only applies to marriage. Long term relationships, persons legally married to someone else, gay and lesbian partnerships do not qualify. [3] This category and the category above need to activate the “movement clause” in Community Law. However, the State in recognising the fundamental importance of the family, generally recognises derived rights for these categories even where the movement clause has not been activated. When in doubt, confirm with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

19. Abstracted from: Ward, Tanya (2001): Immigration and Residency in Ireland. Published by City of Dublin Vocational Education Co [4] Strictly speaking these persons are not entitled to free Higher Education. However, granting a place, given the uncertainty of their status, may mean depriving someone else of a place which subsequently becomes vacant.

20. How issues might be addressed • There is a need for a National web-based database that provides generic information on the comparability of foreign national vocational, school leaving and higher education awards with Irish awards. The current system only operates on a case-by-case basis.This would provide greater transparency for applicants. • A basic principle should be that the intrinsic value of an award is the same irrespective of the admitting authority • National awards indicate a standard of educational achievement. This can be a basis for admission to FE and HE. Special entry requirements, in the form of particular subject or performance criteria, are a matter for each autonomous admitting authority – not for National Recognition Systems. • There should be agreed national norms in relation to English proficiency for both FE and HE so that applicants know what target they must achieve before they apply. • There is some evidence that the current inflexible approach to fee-setting for non-EU nationals studying in Ireland is having a negative effect. • The Documentaion provided in relation to residency status (Residency Permit/ Letters from the Department of Equality, Justice and Law reform should indicate entitlement to education, to work and the fee level – EU or International)