Consider the reliability of the documents from their format, mode of delivery, and verification process

Consider the reliability of the documents by checking their format, mode of delivery, and verification process in the context of the education system of the issuing country.


  • Assume that the documents are genuine, unless there is evidence that suggests otherwise.
  • Check the formats of the documents, and update your organization’s information system about any new acceptable format (e.g., an encrypted digital document transmitted through a trusted digital exchange network or wallet).
  • Confirm that the documents meet your organization’s standards for secure mode of delivery. Such modes may include being:
    • mailed by the issuing educational institution in a stamped and sealed envelope;
    • sent by the issuing educational institution from a verified official email account;
    • shared by the issuing educational institution or an authorized document-issuing third-party service through a secure trusted transmission channel (e.g., a digital exchange network or wallet).
  • Conduct external verification based on the issuing country, educational institution, or documents submitted (if applicable), such as:
    • contacting the educational institution directly;
    • using document-verification services offered by the educational institution, a competent authority, a trusted digital exchange network or wallet, or a trusted third party;
    • finding alternative evidence, such as official lists of graduates and databases of graduation theses and dissertations.

In the process:

  • consider the contexts of the issuing countryand educational institution, as well as the time during which study and academic credential issuance occurred. Be mindful of:
    • what is typically expected of all applicants in similar situations;
    • practices (e.g., official email accounts not based on the educational institution’s domain) that are anomalous in some countries but common in others;
    • official or widely accepted document-delivery mechanisms (e.g., authorized document-issuing services other than educational institutions, along with their data formats and methods of transmission);
    • previously reported situations in which fraudulent practices may have been encountered relatively frequently, such as:
      • the purchase of fake documents;
      • illegitimately issued documents;
      • the alteration of original documents;
      • the use of non-trusted document-delivery mechanisms;
  • recognize the digitalization trends in document issuance, delivery, and verification and the growing third-party services authorized to issue and/or verify academic documents;
  • beware of digital frauds (e.g., email and website spoofing, non-trusted digital exchange networks or wallets).
Comply with the Pan-Canadian Quality Assurance Framework for the Assessment of International Academic Credentials (QAF)

  • This step complies with guiding principles 29, 31, and 35 of QAF.
  • Consult QAF 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 25 and 26.
  2. NUFFIC. (2023). European Area of Recognition (EAR) Manual, 2nd ed., part 2, item 7.
  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 2–5.