Understanding education systems in Europe
- Website: http://www.enic-naric.net/members.asp

World Education Services provides links for researching countries throughout the world
- Website: http://www.wes.org/ewenr/research.htm

Available for purchase: A Guide to Education Systems Around the World compiles information on the educational systems of more than 156 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe, covering secondary as well as higher education. Articles on the new methodology of credential evaluation, interpreting foreign grades, and using the internet as a research tool provide critical background information for the novice or experienced admissions professional. 1999.
- Website: http://www.nafsa.org/knowledge_community_network.sec/.../a_guide_to_educational

Organizations that assist with the interpretation of foreign credentials
- Website: http://www.naces.org/

Rankings

Ranking Systems Clearinghouse

Ranking of higher education institutions is now one of the most debated issues in higher education, emerging as a major force in the dialogue about higher education’s role and impact on students and society. These efforts to rank and order what higher education does are popular and clearly here to stay. Currently, over 30 different nations now have some form of ranking that is regularly published, with more being added each year. In addition, international ranking systems have emerged to compare institutions across countries.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy’s (IHEP) Ranking Systems Clearinghouse provides a road map of this complex rankings landscape, offering annotated links to these national and international ranking systems and to research about rankings world-wide.
- Website: http://www.ihep.org/Research/rankingsystemsclearinghouse.cfm

The Bologna Process

The Bologna Process is the commitment by 45 countries to reform their higher education systems in order to create convergence at the European level. It is the most important and wide ranging reform of higher education in Europe since the immediate aftermath of 1968. The ultimate aim of the Process is to establish a European Higher Education Area by 2010 in which academic staff and students could move with ease and have quick fair recognition of their qualifications.
- Website: /cihe/ihec/treaties/treaties_bologna.htm

Secondary School Credentials

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is a challenging two-year curriculum, primarily aimed at students aged 16 to 19. It leads to a qualification that is widely recognized by the world's leading universities.
- Website: http://www.ibo.org/diploma

GCE-A-levels
A Levels are one of the most recognised qualifications around the world. They are accepted as proof of academic ability for entry into universities.
- Website: http://www.cie.org.uk/

Recognition of A-levels, O-levels and more:
- Website: http://www.cie.org.uk/CIE/WebSite/.../recognitionhome.jsp

The French baccalauréat (also known as bac) is the end-of-lycée diploma students sit for in order to enter university. The term baccalauréat refers to the diploma and the examinations themselves. There is helpful information in Wikipedia:
- Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaureat

The French Ministry of Education also provides information online in French:
- Website: http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid143/le-baccalaureat.html

Understanding Foreign Grades

This article from World Education News & Reviews provides a great introduction to interpreting grades from different countries.
- Website: http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/articlewindow.htm

Avoiding Diploma Mills and other Unofficial Credentials

Diploma mill: An institution of higher education operating without supervision of a state or professional agency and granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or because of the lack of proper standards, worthless.

The Office of Degree Authorization provides for the protection of the citizens of Oregon and their postsecondary schools by ensuring the quality of higher education and preserving the integrity of an academic degree as a public credential.
- Website: http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/index.html

World Education Services (WES) offers a great list of resources about diploma mills at their website.
- Website: http://www.wes.org/ewenr/DiplomaMills.htm

Available for purchase from AACRAO: A Guide to Bogus Institutions and Documents will give you the information and tools needed to face and fight the complex battle against the problem of bogus universities and degree fraud.
- Website: http://www.aacrao.org/publications/new.cfm