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Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (ACESC)

Evaluating Excellence

• Secretariat: The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC)

Quality Assurance Framework

I. Quality Assurance Framework

A. Preamble

The formation of the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (the Alliance) arose out of the recognition of the importance of developing a quality assurance framework for credential assessment services that would promote high quality and portable assessments across Canada.

Membership in the Alliance is voluntary and open to any private or public credential assessment service that meets the quality assurance standards specified in this document. Credential assessment services become members of the Alliance when they sign the declaration to abide by and follow this quality assurance framework. Membership is based on self-assessment and mutual trust.

The Alliance recognizes that education is the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces and territories of Canada and that educational systems vary from one jurisdiction to another. In all cases, assessments provided by members of the Alliance are advisory and respect the autonomy of employers, post-secondary institutions and professional regulatory bodies with regards to hiring, admission, membership, and certification decisions. The Alliance also acknowledges the importance of the portability of educational credentials from one jurisdiction to another, and has built within its own framework, mechanisms for inter-provincial recognition of credential assessments among member services.

On a global level, the formation of the Alliance in Canada is consistent with and serves to reinforce the international norms for good practice in the assessment of foreign credentials established in the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region.

The founders of the Alliance are the International Credential Evaluation Service (British Columbia), the International Qualifications Assessment Service (Alberta), the Service des équivalences d'études (Québec) and Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC). Together these services with CICIC collaborated to define the quality assurance framework for the Alliance. CICIC provides a coordinating role within the Alliance and serves as an ex-officio member of the Alliance.

To ensure a wide forum of consultation, the Alliance links with representatives from the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Access to Professions and Trades who are involved or interested in credential assessment. The main objectives of this forum are to provide suggestions and advice to the Alliance, to assist in promoting portability of assessments, and to facilitate information dissemination and exchange (see Section G for more details).

B. Objectives of the Quality Assurance Framework

The quality assurance framework offers effective mechanisms to establish quality criteria and standards among Alliance members. These mechanisms also prescribe consistent standards of good practice to the assessment of educational credentials. Consistent standards ensure similar assessments for similar cases. However, decisions may vary according to the territorial or provincial system of education.

The quality assurance framework is not intended as a monitoring process. Alliance members will not play an active monitoring role for other member services. Membership is voluntary and relies on a process based on self-reporting and mutual trust.

The primary beneficiaries of this quality assurance framework are individuals who require an assessment of their foreign educational credentials, and organizations that use credential assessments. The major objectives of the quality assurance framework are:

• Assuring clients and organizations that use credential assessments (e.g., employers, professional regulatory bodies, immigration officers, and post-secondary institutions) that Alliance members follow quality criteria and standards.
• Ensuring fair and equitable treatment of all clients of Alliance member services.
• Improving the portability of credential assessments and facilitating the recognition of quality services across Canada.
• Promoting the consistent application of fair and credible assessment standards across Canada.
• Providing guidance in the establishment of new services in Canada.

C. Membership Criteria

Membership in the Alliance is open to any public or private credential evaluation service. In order for Alliance applicants to be admitted as members, all of the following requirements must be met and maintained at all times:

• The applicant’s service must operate as part of a provincial or territorial authority, or be mandated by a provincial or territorial authority to provide foreign credential evaluation services.¹
• The applicant’s service must serve a broad-based clientele, and not be limited to individuals applying for admission, membership, or certification with only one type of institution such as university, college, or membership organization.
• The applicant’s service must provide multi-purposed assessments (i.e., for general employment), and cover a full range of countries of origin, disciplines, and levels of credentials (e.g., primary/secondary through doctorate levels, and academic or vocational/career programs).
• The applicant’s service must have complied with the above criteria for at least one year and have performed a significant number of assessments (at least 250 during this time period).
• The applicant’s service must demonstrate compliance with the all of the quality assurance criteria through the self-assessment survey process (see Appendix I).

D. Responsibilities of Alliance Members

Members of the Alliance have the following responsibilities:

• Assure the quality of their respective service and maintain standards of good practice.
• Inform all members of the Alliance of any changes in circumstances that might prevent a service from complying with any membership criteria, and indicate how to remedy the situation.
• Recommend, review, and implement policies, standards, and criteria related to the development and maintenance of a quality assurance process for the Alliance.
• Develop, maintain, and disseminate the Alliance’s policies and procedures.
• Promote and raise awareness of the Alliance with stakeholders and organizations within the member’s jurisdiction.
• Participate in the activities and the annual general meeting of the Alliance.
• Review Alliance membership applications from new services and provide guidance based on the requirements set out in the Alliance’s membership application process.

E. Rights of Alliance Members

Members of the Alliance are committed to developing effective communication strategies. This ensures that all potential users of credential assessments benefit from the quality assurance framework. Membership in the Alliance will signal to all prospective clients and organizations who use assessments that these member services conform to quality assurance criteria, and that their assessments will be accepted by other member services across Canada.

Members of the Alliance have the following exclusive rights:

• Use of the Alliance name: Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (the Alliance)/Alliance canadienne des services d’évaluation de diplômes (l’Alliance).
• Inclusion in the Alliance Web site and Alliance promotional documents and brochures.
• Use of the following Alliance Member Statement. This can be added to evaluation reports and promotional material of member services:

  "XXX is a member of the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (the Alliance). The Alliance ensures that individuals have access to fair and credible credential assessment services. Members of the Alliance follow principles of good practice that are consistent with international standards. Further information on the Alliance can be obtained from the Web site (http://www.canalliance.org/) or by contacting individual members of the Alliance."

A member may withdraw its membership with the Alliance by submitting to the Alliance a notice of intent to withdraw. Their decision to withdraw becomes effective immediately, and the service must cease to use any reference to the Alliance.

F. Limitations and Liabilities of Membership

A service cannot transfer its Alliance membership to another service.

Members may not use any language that implies that this membership gives them any authorization, certification, licensure or other forms of legal recognition.

Neither the Alliance nor individual members are liable for other members of the Alliance. Each member is responsible for assuring the quality of its own assessment services and for applying standards of good practice as defined in this document.

Nothing in this Framework shall be construed as creating a partnership or as imposing upon any member any partnership duty, obligation, or liability to the other parties. Each member shall indemnify and hold harmless the other members, their employees, and their agents from any and all claims, demands, actions, and costs whatsoever that may arise out of, directly or indirectly, the indemnifying member’s performance or participation in this Alliance or that of the indemnifying member’s employees or agents. Such indemnification shall survive the dissolution of this Alliance.

Each member shall, at its own expense and without limiting its liabilities herein, be responsible for insuring its operations under a contract of Comprehensive General Liability, in an amount not less that $1,000,000 per occurrence (annual general aggregate, if any, not less than $2,000,000) insuring against bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage including loss of use thereof. Coverage shall include blanket contractual liability, and shall include employees as additional insureds. An appropriate self-insurance or self-assumption program is considered compliance with the insurance requirement. Written evidence of an appropriate self-insurance or self-assumption program at the required levels or above will be accepted in the place of a certified copy.

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II. Quality Criteria

A. Principles of good practice

Members of the Alliance must comply with standards outlined in the “General Guiding Principles for Good Practice in the Assessment of Foreign Credentials” (see Appendix II).

B. Additional Principles

In addition to complying with the standards outlined in the “General Guiding Principles for Good Practice in the Assessment of Foreign Credentials,” members of the Alliance must meet the following requirements.

Translation

Key educational documents issued in a language other than one of Canada's official languages must be translated by recognized organizations or certified translators.

Assessment Outcomes

An assessment report or certificate must be provided to applicants. The assessment outcome should be an official document outlining measures taken to prevent falsification. It must include a general statement of comparability for each credential evaluated. The assessment outcome must clearly indicate the purpose for which the evaluation was performed (e.g., general employment, or advice for admission). A client should have access to the rationale and basis for the assessed outcome on demand.

C. Operational Criteria

Documentation and reference centre

A documentation centre must give access to a broad range of information resources (published and unpublished) such as historical and up-to-date information on educational systems from a variety of countries.

Continuous research activities must be conducted in order to obtain all the information required to assess specific credentials, and/or to understand foreign educational systems. The service should have the research capacity to obtain information on educational documents through a number of different channels including mail, electronic mail, fax, electronic databases, or other electronic sources.

File management

The file management system must permit easy access to information while ensuring the protection of confidential information. Services should have an articulated policy protecting the confidentiality and privacy of client files. Release of confidential client information to outside organizations must require the explicit consent of the client. File management procedures must ensure the safety and security of client files, including all original documentation contained in those files.

Record keeping of assessment decisions should be structured in such a way that it allows for organized and systematic research on precedent decisions. The service must retain information on the client application for at least five (5) years.

Human resources requirements

Sufficiently trained personnel must provide fair and consistent credential assessments. Assessors or evaluators must have a bachelor degree or the equivalent, and must have completed a documented training program in educational credential assessment.

At least one assessor or evaluator must have a minimum of one year of full time substantive supervised experience in foreign credential assessment covering all levels of education. This experience must be recent and relevant to the services offered.

Evaluators must maintain currency by being involved in training activities, consulting with peers, and/or carrying out research. The service should provide professional development opportunities for its evaluators, such as attending conferences and/or workshops.

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III. Application Process

A. Overview of Application Process

This section provides an overview of the application process to interested services. Services interested in applying for membership to the Alliance can submit a completed application to the Alliance through the CICIC office (see Appendix III). Application forms are also available through the Alliance web site (http://www.canalliance.org/). The application process involves the following steps:

Completion of Self Assessment Survey

Alliance applicants must demonstrate compliance with quality assurance criteria by completing the “Self-Assessment Survey” (see Appendix I) and submitting supporting documentation for review by Alliance members.

Application time lines

The Alliance will confirm the receipt of the applicant’s completed “Self-Assessment Survey” within one month. Normally, the Alliance will complete the review within six months of receipt of the completed survey. In cases of substantial delay the Alliance will inform applicants of the reason for the delay, and the approximate time required to review the application.

Application review

Application review will begin only after all the information requested has been received. Alliance members will review the completed “Self-Assessment Survey” and supporting documentation to ensure consistency with quality assurance criteria.

Notice of results

The Alliance will notify the applicant in writing of the results of the review. Applicants will gain membership if their application and supporting documentation is consistent with quality assurance criteria. The Alliance will identify any inconsistencies to the applicant and, where possible, suggest mechanisms to address inconsistencies.

Membership duration and renewal

Alliance membership is for one year. An annual review process will determine a service’s continued membership. This process is based on a “Renewal Declaration” signed by the member service identifying changes and/or indicating continued compliance with membership terms.

B. Self-Assessment Survey

Applicants must complete the “Self-Assessment Survey” attached as Appendix I, and submit four (4) copies of the survey and other required documents to the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada, care of CICIC.

September 1999 (revised Dec. 15, 1999)

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Note:

¹ The applicant’s service must have received a clear mandate for providing credential evaluation services to the population from a provincial or territorial ministry. This mandate should:

• Originate from a competent authority in this ministry.
• Specify the nature of the deliverable services.
• Indicate the duration of the mandate.
• Mention any limitation.
• Specify any accountability or reporting mechanisms between the service and the ministry.