Statement of Recognition by National Accreditation Council does not give any foreign institution approval to offer programmes here

The National Accreditation Council (NAC) seeks to provide additional information on the services it offers. Today, I will address the Equivalency and Recognition Services. Please note the following: The NAC advises on the recog1 nition status of post-secondary and tertiary programmes and institutions operating

2 3 4 Dear Editor,

Persons who wish to pursue a course of study, or who have completed a programme at a post-secondary or tertiary institution both locally and internationally, may apply for the Statement on Recognition and Equivalency which provides information on the accreditation and recognition status of the institution of interest and its programmes. A person seeking to have their qualifications recognised by the NAC is required to provide some information to the Assessment Officer by filling an application form for Equivalency Assessment and pay a processing fee. This form can be accessed from NAC’s website www.nac.gov.gy. The Assessment Officer does a research on the institution of interest and its programmes. The 5 6 NAC Officer would search to see whether or not the institution is accredited with the official body within the country of origin, the quality of the programmes offered, and whether the programmes meet the requirements of the awards offered. For example, if the person claims to have a Master’s degree, the NAC Officer would check the information about the programme to see if the admission requirements, course content, credits, course outcomes, and programme duration meet the requirement of a Master’s programme. At the end of the process, the NAC issues a Statement of Recognition and Equivalency that generally states the following: the accredited status of the institution in its home country and the accreditation agency from which the status is obtained. the level at which the qualification is comparable on Guyana’s Draft Qualifications Framework. whether or not NAC recognises the institution, its programmes, or qualifications. A person seeking information about a foreign institution and its programmes will go through a similar process at the end of which, the NAC will issue a Statement of Recognition for that institution. The National Accreditation Council wants to make it emphatically clear that a Statement of Recognition issued by the NAC does not give any foreign institution the approval to offer programmes in Guyana. Any foreign or local individual or institution who wants to offer programmes in Guyana at the post-secondary or tertiary levels MUST go through NAC’s quality assurance process and be registered with the NAC. Further, local institutions that want to offer foreign programmes at the post-secondary and tertiary levels must be registered with the NAC and have the approval to offer the desired programmes.

The public is advised to beware of those persons who are claiming to have NAC’s approval to offer foreign programmes using a Statement of Recognition offered by the NAC.

Many persons have been calling NAC’s Office for information and we wish to encourage the communication between the NAC and public whom we serve. You can call us on 225-8360, 223-7935, and 223-7901.

Yours faithfully, Deborah Jack Executive Director NAC