General
Woolf is an accredited higher education institution in Europe.
There are 49 countries in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Degrees issued in the EHEA are normally automatically recognized between all member countries, but final decisions are always made by the country.
EHEA countries use a credit system called ECTS–the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.
ECTS system is the most widely recognized form of accreditation in the world.
Degrees with ECTS accreditation are normally automatically recognized by receiving institutions around the world, including Canada and the United states.
Woolf issues degrees with ECTS accreditation.
Woolf degrees are recognized by about 57 countries who are under treaty obligation as signatories to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The full list of signatory countries can be found on the United Nations website and the Council of Europe website.
Multiple Education Credential Assessment agencies, like ECE and FIS, have already recognized Woolf master’s degrees as equivalent to US master’s degrees. ECE also determined the Woolf’s accreditation is equivalent to US regional accreditation.
Woolf has been deemed “a recognized university” for purposes of immigration and citizenship in Canada.
Woolf is a collegiate higher education institution: all constituent member colleges benefit equally from Woolf’s accreditation and have the power to enroll students in their college in degrees.
What is “Education Credential Assessment” (ECA) or degree recognition?
A process where a neutral party evaluates whether a degree in one country is equivalent to a degree in another country.
There are two kinds of ECA: assessment for academic purposes and assessment for immigration purposes.
What is “Education Credential Assessment” (ECA) for Academic purposes?
ECA for academic purposes evaluates the academic benchmarks of a degree in comparison with those in another country. For example, a Woolf master's degree has been evaluated by ECE.org to be equivalent to a US master’s degree. ECE.org has been a member of NACES.org since 1987.
Foundation for International Services, a member of NACES.org since 1987, has evaluated Woolf. FIS deemed a master’s degree from Woolf to be equivalent to one “from a regionally accredited institution in the United States”.
ECA for academic purposes is used for further study such as those seeking to pursue a PhD.
ECA for academic purposes is used for employment, and demonstrates to employment in a target country that a degree earned in another country meets their standards.
Has Woolf been evaluated with “Education Credential Assessment” (ECA) for Academic purposes?
Woolf (MT) has been evaluated by ECE.org, a non-profit body and member of NACES.org since 1987. ECE is authorised in the United States and Canada for ECA.
The institutional status of Woolf has been evaluated to be “Equivalent to US Regional Academic Accreditation.”
Program and credit evaluations of a Woolf graduate degree conducted by ECE determined that a “student will have the United States equivalent of a master’s degree recognition.”
ECA for Academic purposes typically take 5-10 weeks to complete.
What is “Education Credential Assessment” (ECA) for Immigration Purposes?
In some countries the government’s civil service evaluates degrees directly for immigration purposes, in other countries the government relies on third-parties.
Canada relies on third-party evaluators to perform ECA for both immigration and academic purposes.
Immigration evaluation consists of Academic Evaluation plus additional reviews (including primary and secondary school information). The time for a review is longer: 5-7 weeks for academic evaluation, but 10-30 weeks for immigration evaluation.
Has Woolf been evaluated with “Education Credential Assessment” (ECA) for Immigration purposes?
Yes, Woolf has been evaluated by non-profit, independent evaluators for purposes of academic equivalence and for Canadian immigration and citizenship. Comparative Education Services is part of the University of Toronto and is an authorized evaluation service for the Canadian government. CES reached the conclusion that a Woolf degree to be “from a recognized university” and CES accepted a Woolf master’s degree for purposes of immigration and citizenship.
Will a Woolf degree add points to my visa application?
Yes, a Woolf degree should help with immigration. Countries vary in their specific policies, but degrees issued by Woolf are fully accredited degrees.
Is there a difference between accreditation for online and offline degrees?
No, online and offline degrees have the exact same accreditation in Europe, there is no difference.
Will my master’s degree qualify me for entering a PhD program?
Yes, virtually all PhD programs require a master’s degree, and the degree will be recognized as a fully accredited degree from Europe and meet this formal qualification.
Ultimately, each PhD program has its own criteria, and the specific PhD advisor will often play a decisive role in the admissions process.
When selecting a PhD program, it is important that there is alignment between the subject of the master’s degree and the subject of the PhD.
Is my degree accredited in country X that I want to study in?
Your degree is accredited in Europe. Almost all countries in the world will recognize European accreditation.
For example, in the United States, ECE.org determined that a Woolf master’s degree is fully accredited from an American perspective and fully equivalent to an American master’s degree. Canada also determined a Woolf master’s degree to be fully accredited.
What is ECTS? What is the meaning of the MS degree being ECTS backed?
ECTS is the most sophisticated and globally recognized accreditation system.
It is the universal form of accreditation for the European Higher Education Area (49 countries have now joined).
All countries recognized it because it was recognized by a large block of Universities and Countries.
Can I check the validity of this program and that of Woolf on a government portal?
Woolf files programs with European partners operating under the European Standards and Guidelines 2015. You can find the MS degree, for example, listed on the official website of the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA), which is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union – linked here.
Learn more about Woolf accreditation at https://about.woolf.university/accreditation.
Is Woolf a university?
In Europe, Woolf is a Higher Education Institution and is not licensed as a “university,” which is a specially reserved term. As an accredited, fully licenced Higher Education Institution, Woolf is able to offer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees with the same status as issued by a “university.” There is no difference in accreditation of the degree issued, and Canada recognizes Woolf as a “university.”
In the United States, Woolf University is incorporated and officially approved in the State of Wisconsin under Wis. Stats. § 440.52 (10)(a), with approval granted on August 15th, 2022 under the Educational Approval Program of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, which is the body providing state licensure for universities.
Woolf Degrees and Immigration (Students)
Woolf provides accredited degrees through the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). The MS in Computer Science degree is backed by the ECTS system.
You can find the MS degree, for example, listed on the official website of the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA), which is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union – linked here.
ECTS operates throughout 49 countries in Europe, and is the most widely recognized accreditation system in the world.
ECTS-backed degrees are typically automatically recognized both within the European Higher Education Area and by institutions in the US and Canada. It is widely accepted because so many countries rely upon it.
A US-based credit evaluation agency, ECE.org, has judged a Woolf master’s degree as equivalent to a master’s degree from an American institution.
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