REGULATIONS FOR THE EQAC VALIDATION OPTIONS

3. Regulations for Conferring a Doctor of Excellence

• 3.1. Definition of the Doctor of Excellence

The Excellentia Doctor is a professional recognition that provides an independent quality assurance reference for highly qualified professionals from all fields, for those who strive for personal excellence, and who become a motivating example in their communities. The Doctor of Excellence is a recognized mark of professional ability, outstanding professional career, services to the human kind and international achievements. A Doctor of Excellence or Excellentia Doctor (Latin: 'for the sake of Excellence') is not an academic degree, consequently the usual academic requirements of a doctorate are waived. The Doctor of Excellence is an honorary award that may be considered to have the same standing, and to grant the same privileges and style of address as the Doctor Honoris Causa.

• 3.2. Eligibility of Candidates for the Doctor of Excellence

Subject to these regulations, the Doctor of Excellence is open to any person demonstrating an excellent level professional ability, outstanding professional career, and international achievements. The EQAC Secretary is responsible for considering the initial eligibility of Doctor of Excellence applicants and must sign and endorse any Doctor of Excellence recognition before it passed to the EQA Commission for evaluation. In order to apply for a Doctor of Excellence, the candidates must submit in electronic format the following information: full name, complete contact data (address, telephone, email), birth date, ID picture, copy of passport or official identification, details of academic education, details of professional career to date, publications and research, and any achievements that may support the candidate's qualification for the Excellentia Doctor award. This information must be authenticated by the following affidavit: I declare that the information and documents presented are true and correct and that I understand the definition of the Doctor of Excellence Award.

• 3.3. Qualification of Candidates for the Doctor of Excellence

The EQAC secretary will reject any candidates that do not provide sufficient information and documents to demonstrate an excellent level professional ability, outstanding professional career, and international achievements. The Commission shall review the submitted documents and decide on granting the Doctor of Excellence award. Qualification for the Doctor of Excellence must be endorsed by 3 votes: the EQAC Secretary, the EQAC President and at least another member of the Commission. The applicant shall be informed in writing about the decision.

• 3.4. Denial or Revocation of the Doctor of Excellence

The Excellentia Doctor is a recognition granted by the EQAC on discretional basis. There is no obligation for any of the Commissioners for the conferment of this award, except for their own judgement on the level of excellency demonstrated by the candidate. In case of a negative decision, the EQAC Secretary may instruct the candidate about future eligibility options and other recommendation. The Doctor of Excellence will be revoked if the EQAC learns of any deception by the candidate in connection with the documents or information provided to qualify for this award. Any refund and other rights will be lost previous, during or after the qualification process. Before the EQAC’s decision concerning a denial or revocation of the Doctor of Excellence, the person affected shall be given the opportunity to comment on the charges against him or her.

• 3.5. Costs & Procedures for the Doctor of Excellence Award

The steps for the conferment of a Doctor of Excellence are:

1. Submit the Application Form, Curriculum Vitae and documents to the EQAC Secretary in electronic format.
2. The EQAC Secretary will instruct about your initial eligibility for this award.
3. If the EQAC Secretary endorses your eligibility you will be required to pay a fee of 900 Euros.
4. You may pay this donation in a maximum of 3 installments of 350 Euros.
5. Once the donation (or first installment) has been paid, your documents will be distributed among the Commission members. It takes three to seven weeks to get the response from the Commission Members.
6. The EQAC Secretary will register the votes required for the conferment of the award.
7. The EQAC Secretary will confirm that the fee is paid.
8. The Doctor of Excellence will not be awarded until the required fees have been paid.
9. The Doctor of Excellence Award is conferred in the form of two diplomas: The Excellentia Doctor (Old Latin version) and the Doctor of Excellence (English version)

• 3.6. Rights of the Doctor of Excellence Award

The Doctor of Excellence is an honorary award that may be considered to have the same standing, and to grant the same privileges and style of address as the Doctor Honoris Causa. Recipients of an honorary doctorate such the Excellentia Doctor may if they wish adopt the title of "doctor". In many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, it is now a matter of personal preference should an honorary doctor use the formal title of "doctor", regardless of the background circumstances for the award. The recipient of an honorary degree should always be made clear that the degree is honorary. For example:

Dr. John Smith, D. Hon. Ex.
Dr. John Smith, Doctor of Excellence (H.C.)
Dr. John Smith, Doctor of Excellence (Honoris Causa)

4. Regulations for granting degree validation diplomas

• 4.1. Definition of the degree validation diplomas

The degree validation diploma will certify the credit and degree equivalency of any certification earned at any of the EQAC accredited institutions. This validation diploma will also endorse the external quality review of the degree, institution and program of study. This validation service is intended to facilitate the acceptance of the degrees and credits earned from EQAC accredited institutions. The EQAC validation diplomas can not guarantee automatic acceptance of the degrees and credits credits validated at other institutions or the acceptance by employers. The acceptance of the degree validation diplomas is always the prerogative of the receiving institution or employer.

• 4.2. Content of the degree validation diplomas

The degree validation diploma is an official certificate issued by the Education Quality Accreditation Commission that will state the following information:

* You full name.
* Verification of the diploma and specialization earned.
* Verification of the total credits corresponding to this diploma and specialization.
* Verification of the credits composition.
* Certification of the credits equivalency to the US Semester credits system.
* Certification of the credits equivalency to the European ECTS credits system.
* Assurance that the awarding institution is meeting the EQAC education quality standards.
* Recommendation for the global acceptance of the degrees and credits by employers, professional associations, other institutions, colleges or universities.

• 4.3. Eligibility & Procedures for granting degree validation diplomas

The validation diploma  may exclusively be issued to students who have completed a program of study in any of the EQAC accredited institution while the accreditation status remains valid. The degree granting institution must be listed in the EQAC members list. To request this validation, the graduate must

1. Download and fill out  the EQAC Validation Order Form.
2. Attach a copy of the diploma and transcript to validate.
3. Pay the validation fee of 350 Euros. There are no refunds of this fee.

This process may be handled directly by the accredited institutions. In this case the institution may establish different fees in accordance with the EQAC Secretary.



5. Regulations for issuing ECTS Accredited Course Certificate

• 5.1. Free Courses Database

The Education Quality Accreditation Commission offers free education courses in a broad range of popular subject areas. This courses are elaborated with the assistance and non profit collaboration of the EQAC Accredited Institutions. In order to add a free accredited course to the free education courses database, the  EQAC Accredited Institutions must submit: course name, course description, the suggested bibliography for best achieving course expected learning outcomes of a minimum of 130 hours of study.

• 5.2. The ECTS Accredited Course Certificate

In order to get a complete course credit certification the candidate needs to demonstrate that the course learning outcomes are met. 5 ECTS credits will be awarded after completion of the learning activities required by the course of study and the successful assessment of the achieved learning outcomes through the presentation of a written report with a minimum of 15 pages about the selected textbook. The presentation of a 15 pages written report about one of the suggested subject textbooks (over 300 pages) is considered equivalent to 5 ECTS credits (130 hours of study work).

• 5.3. Procedures to get an EQAC ECTS credit certificate

First you need to pick free accredited course, check the suggested bibliography and select the most suitable subject textbook. Then you need to study the book and prepare a minimum of 15 pages written report based on the selected textbook. The EQAC Study tips will guide you in the preparation of this report. Once the report is completed you may submit it to the EQAC Secretary for evaluation and credit certification.

1. Submit the EQAC Validation Order Form and the report to the EQAC Secretary (by email attachment .pdf, or .doc formats)
2. Pay the course credit certification fee of 270 Euros.
3. The EQAC Secretary will send your work for evaluation to one of our associated instructors. The evaluation of your work will not start until the course credit certification fee has been paid. There are no refunds of this fee.
4. If you fail, the EQAC secretary will notify you the reasons why your report failed and you are given one more opportunity to resubmit the report with the required improvement. In this case you are required to pay an additional evaluation fee of 90 Euros. There are no refunds of this fee. If you fail a second time you will be dropped from the course certification process. You may apply again for the certification of the course.
5. If you approve, you will receive the EQAC ECTS Credit Certificate and a Certificate Supplement detailing the course learning outcomes and workload accomplished

6. Legalization of the EQAC Validation Services
The EQAC Validation Services may be legalized with the Hague Convention Apostille or with a Consulate Legalization as appropriate. The EQAC Secretary may take care of the corresponding legalization process. The EQAC Secretary may use or hire the necessary agents or intermediaries required to complete the legalization process of any of EQAC Validation Services. To order any legalization the applicant must send a request in writing to the EQAC Secretary. The EQAC Secretary will estimate a legalization budget (depending on the country legalization requirements) and communicate this to the applicant. All the fees required for the legalization process will be paid in advance to the EQAC Secretary and are not subject to any refund. The validation services that may be legalized are: Institution Accreditation Certificate, Doctor of Excellence, Degree Validation Diplomas and ECTS credit certificates.