PinayOdyssey

Hei! Maerose here. I have received many questions about NOKUT’s recognition, so here’s the guide for you, aspiring Pinoys and Pinays! 🙂

First and foremost, why have your education assessed by NOKUT? NOKUT (The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education) is in charge of “assessing foreign higher education qualifications for general recognition and providing information about all the recognition and authorisation schemes for foreign education in Norway”. The recognition is done in accordance with international treaties that Norway ratified. So, the main purpose of the recognition is to have your education assessed in relation to the Norwegian degree system. The assessment is a legally binding decision, it is formal and describes the level and scope of the education programme.

You can use your NOKUT general recognition for: work purposes, yes, specially for professions not regulated by law (ie work where you don’t need authorization), and admission to further studies. In fact, some academic institutions require a NOKUT recognition. So, if you are planning to take higher/further education here in Norway, I highly suggest that you have your education assessed by NOKUT while preparing for your Norsk exams. With NOKUT’s recognition, you will be able to see how many ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) your college units in the Philippines correspond to in Norwegian educational system, and consequently, if you qualify to apply for higher education in Norway without the need to take preparatory courses.

I applied for NOKUT’s recognition in 2016, and it took about a month before I received the decision by post. During that time, the application was still manual: you download the application form, fill it out, send it to NOKUT by post together with your academic credentials, request for your TOR from your school in the Philippines and have them send it sealed directly to NOKUT and wait. Today, the application was made a lot easier! Norway is number 2 now in Europe when it comes to digitalization of public services, so the process can be done online, with exception to the original TOR to be sent sealed and directly to NOKUT. What more? It is available in English and Norwegian! So, here’s how you do it.

1. Go to http://www.nokut.no/en/. Click “Apply for recognition” and then, choose “Higher education”. Afterwards, click “Log into the application portal” and choose the electronic ID you have.

   

2. Once you get in into the system, you will be asked to confirm your personal information. You might also need to type in your phone number and email address. Click “Confirm”.
3. Click “Application forms” and choose “Application for general recognition of foreign higher education”. Start filling out the online form. There are 9 components – make sure to fill them out sufficiently. There are voluntary sections, like Survey Questions on why you are applying for recognition, and answering or skipping them won’t affect the evaluation of your credentials.
4. Upload all necessary documents! Here, you will find the guidelines on how to scan, save, name and upload your documents: http://www.nokut.no/Documentation-requirements/foreign. Make sure to upload only original copies and genuine documents! Falsification, alteration or uploading of fake papers is a big crime in Norway. You will be reported to the police and be charged in accordance to these: the General Civil Penal Code Section 221 on false testimony, and the General Civil Penal Code Section 361 on the use of falsified documents. Here is the list of the required documents for Filipinos: http://www.nokut.no/en/Foreign-education/NOKUTs-general-recognition/Country-specific-documentation/Philippines/ NOTE: If your documents are not in English, you have to have them translated or request for the English version from your respective school/s.
5. Look through and submit. You will receive information that your application is registered, and you will be given a reference number which you should use when you have to make follow-ups. You now have 2 months to have your TOR sent directly to NOKUT from your school in the Philippines. If the TOR is not send within 2 months, your application is automatically rejected.
6. How to request for the sealed TOR: 
   1. If you took your higher education in a big school, it is highly probable that the process is available at your school’s webpage. Google your school. Most likely, it is under the Admissions office or Office of the University Registrar. The price list and request forms will be available there as well. My school has an online request form to be printed out, filled out, scanned and sent via email to the University Registrar, together with the NOKUT International Request Form and the bank transfer receipt. If your school do not have a webpage, make a phone call and ask how you can request for the TOR without flying back to the Philippines. Make sure to mention that the TOR must be in a sealed envelope, and sent directly from the school to NOKUT. NOKUT’s address is indicated on the request form: http://www.nokut.no/Documents/NOKUT/Artikkelbibliotek/Utenlandsk_utdanning/International%20Transcript%20Request%20and%20Release%20Authorisation.pdf
   2. Check the status of your application on nokut.no. If it says “complete”, then it means that the decision is on its way. Otherwise, make follow ups, both with NOKUT and your school. Ask if the document is on its way, and if NOKUT has received it, etc, specially if you’re near the 2 months deadline.
   3. The processing of your application will only start once NOKUT received all your documents. According to their website, it takes around 2 months after they received your TOR.

7. Since the application is digital now, you will also receive the decision by email/digipost. Note however, that you can also opt out of the online application. Yes, just email or call NOKUT and they will send you the paper application form. 😉

8. Your NOKUT assessement will look something like this:

Attach your NOKUT assessment when you apply for admission to higher education in Norway. It will make it easier for the evaluators to see if you qualify or not, in addition to your other academic credentials, of course. 🙂

Also, if there’s something you wish to know after the assessment, feks how to use the evaluation, what your academic and career options are, do not hesitate to throw NOKUT a message! They were very generous in answering my questions before. 🙂

There you have it. Hope this helps. And goodluck with the NOKUT application for recognition! #spreadlove

Cheers! Maerose