Prepare submitted documents for processing

Documents (whether physical or digital) submitted by the applicant are processed according to internal policies and procedures and are compared against your organization’s document requirements.

  • Create an applicant file, or process and update an applicant file submitted through your organization’s application platform, using:
    • a paper-based process; and/or
    • a digital process.
  • Store and process all documents received, including both digital documents and digitized copies of physical documents (if applicable), according to your organization’s records and information-management policy, as well as any applicable legislation on personal information protection and privacy.
  • Compare the application package received against your organization’s document requirements:
    • check submitted documents, through an initial quick screening, for acceptable format, quality, and mode of document delivery;
    • identify missing documents as well as any reason why the package is incomplete (if applicable).
  • Confirm, by checking acceptable identification such as valid government-issued ID and official proof of name change (if applicable), the applicant’s essential demographic information, such as:
    • name;
    • date of birth;
    • country of birth;
    • address.
  • Compare the submitted documents against information in the applicant file for any inconsistency, such as:
    • name change;
    • missing documents.
  • Record any new information that may lead to an update of your organization’s document requirements.
  • Update the status of the application and inform the applicant that the application package has been received.

In the process, maintain and update your organization’s information for prospective applicants to:

  • provide clear, current, accurate, publicly accessible, and inclusive information about the assessment process, such as:
    • types of assessments and application fees;
    • a list of required documents;
    • acceptable modes of document delivery;
    • the time needed to process an application;
    • the appeal process;
  • customize information by the issuing country and/or type of assessment (if applicable), such as:
    • names of academic credentials, both current and historical, commonly used in issuing countries;
    • special requirements for some countries, educational institutions, or programs;
    • documents required for some types of assessments but not for others;
  • respond to inquiries about the application process;
  • examine, for possible acceptance, new formats of academic documents and modes of delivery or transmission (e.g., due to technological advances), such as:
    • digitized documents or digital data, sent from verified official email accounts or shared through trusted secure transmission channels;
    • digital credential wallets;
    • authorized and trusted document-issuing services other than educational institutions;
    • trusted document exchange and verification platforms.
Comply with the Pan-Canadian Quality Assurance Framework for the Assessment of International Academic Credentials (QAF)

  • This step complies with guiding principles 1, 5, 6, 9, 12, 17–21, and 35 of QAF.
  • Consult QAF to get more information.

 

Comply with the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, also known as the Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC)
  • This step complies with articles III.1, clauses 1 and 2; III.2; and III.5 of LRC.
  • Consult LRC to get more information.

 

Comply with the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education (the Global Convention)

 

Consult additional resources. You may find useful information in resources such as:

  1. UNESCO and the Council of Europe. (2010). Revised Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications, section IV, paragraphs 15–17.
  2. NUFFIC. (2023). European Area of Recognition (EAR) Manual, 2nd ed., part 2, item 4.
  3. NUFFIC. (2023). Digitalisation of Credential Evaluation Workflows: Practical Guidelines for the ENIC-NARIC Networks.
  4. NUFFIC. (2020). Digital Student Data and Recognition: A White Paper for the ENIC-NARIC Networks.
  5. World Education Services – Canada. (2012). Best Practices: Strategies and Processes to Obtain Authentic International Educational Credentials, chapters 4 and 6.