Frequently Asked Questions - European-American University

What is the legal and accreditation status of the University?

The legal and accreditation status of the University is explained in full here with the relevant documents and legal references.

The University is registered as a private higher education provider in France, where it is a non-profit association with its administrative address in Paris, and also holds a Royal Charter of Incorporation in the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, which is one of the subnational kingdoms of Uganda. In France, the University’s degrees are legally classified as certificats d’enseignement supérieur privés which are degree-level awards made by private French higher education institutions. Further information and the relevant documents and legal references can be found on the Status page.

For the majority of taught programmes, the activities of teaching students by distance learning, and all such courses together with their examinations and assessments, are administered under European-American University’s authority from Bunyoro-Kitara (see below). There are also VAE-only programmes by distance assessment offered through European-American University in France.

The final degree award for most programmes is then made by means of the distance assessment process of validation des acquis de l’expérience (VAE) by European-American University in France. The University’s Royal Charter from Bunyoro-Kitara acts as an additional authority for the degree award. European-American University in Bunyoro-Kitara is also capable of granting degrees in its own right, and can do so for any degree that is not able to be offered under the University’s French authority.

All degree programmes offered by European-American University are entirely individualized and directly tailored to the candidate, who may be located anywhere in the world where the University is permitted to enrol students.

What is the VAE programme?

Please see the full explanation here. In summary, VAE allows an academic degree to be awarded based on the assessment of the candidate’s prior work experience and formal or informal education, in accordance with a French law of 2002.

The VAE programme is available for most subject areas. The exceptions are listed below.

Can applicants from any location be admitted to the University?

Although applicants from most locations can be accepted, certain countries and states restrict the provision of distance learning degrees to their residents. Where this is the case, the University will not be able to accept applications from residents of these jurisdictions.

Are there any subjects that VAE degrees cannot be issued in?

Yes. VAE degrees cannot be issued in subjects including medical (medicine, medical science, dental science, veterinary medicine etc.) and paramedical disciplines (nursing, pharmacy, midwifery, healthcare etc.) Where a candidate’s experience is mainly or entirely in these disciplines they will not be able to be admitted to the VAE programme.

A VAE degree can also only be issued in a subject in which the candidate can demonstrate a sufficient depth of knowledge and experience through past work and any applicable education.

Can I earn a VAE degree in engineering or another licensed professional field?

Engineering and other licensed professional fields are subject to legal and professional restrictions in many countries. The University will not award degrees in licensed fields such as engineering or social work except where the applicant can show that they are already professionally licensed in their country; in such cases the applicant must also accept that the University’s degrees are conferred in an international context and are not intended to meet any form of professional licensing requirement.

What is the cost of the VAE programme?

Please see the fees here.

Get Your Degree in 4 Simple, Risk-Free Steps with Transparent Pricing
Step 1: Evaluation of your work experience and credentials (precognition) is free.
Step 2: If you qualify, the University will tell you which degree you could be awarded.
Step 3: To proceed, pay the $250 Credential Assessment Fee to have your file submitted to the jury for their assessment and final approval. If the jury votes to not approve your degree, the $250 fee is fully refunded.
Step 4: After approval by the jury, pay the $1,950 Credit Conversion and Graduation Fee to receive your degree and diploma, and you will also appear in the European-American University Register of Graduates so that prospective employers and academic institutions can quickly and easily verify your degree.

There are no hidden fees, and there is nothing else to pay. Please note that financing options with very low monthly payments are available through PayPal’s Pay Later option.

The fees include the couriering of your degree documents to your address.

I am in the USA. Is this degree a US degree?

The University is not a United States institution and has nothing to do with the United States system of collegiate accreditation. If you are in the USA and a foreign degree is an option for you, we believe this is well worth your consideration. If your options are restricted to US institutions solely there are many to consider, but this is not one of them.

For the avoidance of any confusion, the term “American” in the name of the University refers to the fact that the University generally follows the American pattern of education and draws on the system of non-traditional individualised education that was pioneered in the USA.

The University maintains contact with several foreign credential evaluators in the USA who will evaluate its degrees positively. We can recommend you to one of these should you wish to obtain this service. The University’s degrees are officially recognized by the following evaluation agencies as equivalent to US regionally and nationally accredited degrees:

Career Consulting International, Florida, USA
https://www.thedegreepeople.com
Member (through its Executive Director): NACE, NAFSA, AACRAO
CCI was established in 2002. Its evaluations have been accepted by Homeland Security, the miltary, the Federal Government and many US universities including Yale, Duke, NYU, the University of Florida etc. Email may be sent to Dr Sheila Danzig, the Executive Director of CCI, at Sheila@thedegreepeople.com and calls/messages may be placed to 1 (954) 440-5599. The Chancellor of European-American University has served as a consultant to CCI on the equivalency of international credentials since 2005.

Evaluation World, Delaware, USA
https://evaluationworld.com
Member: NAFSA, AEA
Evaluation World prepares reports on international education in order to establish the US equivalency for individuals who have studied outside the United States. Its credential evaluations meet the requirements of US immigration and Homeland Security, the Federal Government, most universities and many employers. The Chancellor of European-American University is a past consultant to Evaluation World.

California University Foreign Credential Evaluation, California, USA
https://www.cufce.org
In June 2014, the curricula and academic programmes of European-American University were assessed for comparability to United States standards by California University FCE, a specialist evaluator of foreign education. Their report concluded that EAU curricula and academic programmes met the same minimum requirements as regionally and nationally accredited universities in the United States, and were therefore comparable.

>>View Report
>>View Certificate

Is it enough to just submit the application form?

No, it is never enough to just submit the application form.

You must send your full, detailed resume and all college transcripts and certifications to complete the free precognition. These should be sent by email to documents@europeanamerican.university. See the section below for the requirements for a VAE resume. The University may ask for additional verification on any aspect of the submission, and will also normally ask any applicant whose portfolio includes creative work or publications to submit a representative sample of these.

Must all documents be sent as files attached to an email?

Yes. Please do not put documents on external drives, as this often makes them impossible to access. All documents should be sent to documents@europeanamerican.university

Will all work experience qualify?

No. The nature and scope of work experience is considered and not merely its duration. The experience must be at a sufficient level to equate to degree credit. This in practice means that a profile consisting of a series of entry-level or basic unskilled or semi-skilled jobs will not be sufficient.

What can I expect during the application process for VAE?

During precognition, you will receive emails prompting you to send your full, detailed resume and all college transcripts and certifications for assessment. Reminder emails will be sent until all required documents have been received. The University will not send acknowledgements for partial submissions of documents, and will wait until the documents are complete before giving the results of precognition. For those whose result is positive and who then enrol, emails are sent to acknowledge the receipt of fees and to keep the candidate informed at each stage of the process.

Will I reeeive phone calls?

No part of the process of admissions or assessment is undertaken by telephone. The primary reason a telephone number is requested from applicants is because the courier service that sends graduates their documents requires it.

What are the requirements for a VAE resume?

The application form is used to obtain a preliminary overview of your career summary, but it is not a substitute for the actual resume, which should be a Word or PDF document sent to the University by email with copies of your college transcripts (where applicable). In some cases a LinkedIn profile or personal website will be sufficiently detailed to act as a substitute for a resume.

It cannot be emphasised enough that it is evidence that earns credit. A resume for VAE should be highly detailed and contain full information as to the duties and responsibilities, skills used, and achievements of each position. A simple list of dates and job titles is not sufficient. There is no maximum limit for length and in precognition everything that has been submitted will be reviewed. Verification of the information submitted is also a normal part of the assessment process.

If your resume lists published work (including media presentations) or creative works of any kind, a representative sample should be presented for assessment.

What are the most common reasons for rejection at the precognition stage?

Failure to supply the requested documentation – detailed resume, all college transcripts and (where applicable) portfolio of creative/published works.
Insufficient or no work experience in the area applied for. In this process, you cannot earn a degree in any area where you do not have sufficient substantial work experience. Applicants for academic areas such as the humanities or theology must be able to demonstrate significant work experience (whether paid or unpaid) in those areas.
Applying for an area the University does not award degrees in. The University does not award degrees in any medical or paramedical area, including nursing, counseling, behavioural management and health science, and will only award degrees in the licensed professions where the applicant is already professionally licensed.
Experience at too low a level. The work experience submitted must be comparable to the competencies of a degree holder.
Submitting degrees from institutions operating illegally or awarding degrees without academic process.

The judgement of the University at precognition stage (which is offered free of charge) is not open to appeal or debate and no further correspondence will be entered into if the applicant does not agree with the University’s decision not to admit them to the programme. Free precognition is only offered as a one-time service, and any re-applications after a rejection decision will be cancelled automatically.

Does an offer of admission after precognition expire?

No. Once an offer of admission is made, it will be possible to activate it at a future time by following the steps required in the University’s email of acceptance. It is not necessary to reapply and the precognition process will not be repeated if the applicant does so.

What are the rules by which credit is awarded in VAE?

The essential framework for VAE at European-American University is based on the rules established in the context of immigration proceedings in the United States for the granting of degree credit for work experience. These rules provide that three years of work experience equate to one year of college education up to the bachelor’s degree level. After this, a further five years of work experience equates to a master’s degree. Beyond the master’s level the assessment of doctoral level credit is more subjective and rests on the candidate’s mastery of their chosen area and the impact of their contribution to it. At each level, the nature and scope of work experience is considered and not merely its duration. The experience must be at a sufficient level to equate to degree credit.

Are VAE degrees honorary degrees?

No, a degree earned by VAE is classified as an earned degree and is not an honorary degree. Under French law, the VAE methodology is established as equal to all others in the process of earning a degree. The holder of a degree earned by VAE is entitled to use the relevant postnominal letters, wear the prescribed academical dress, and for doctoral graduates, use the title Doctor, subject only to any applicable laws in their jurisdiction of residence.

What can disqualify a candidate?

The University is open to considering all legitimate prior certificated and uncertificated education. Education from institutions operating legally but not holding institutional or programmatic accreditation will always be assessed on a case by case basis and submission of such education will not disqualify you from the VAE process.

However, if you present as a credential educational documentation from an institution that cannot be established to have been operating legally, that provides credentials for payment without any academic process, or that has made false claims as to its standing, this will be treated as an integrity violation and will disqualify you from the VAE process. Any claim regarding employment or credentials made on a resume or supporting documentation that is found to be false or of questionable legality will also lead to disqualification. You must also not give the impression on a resume that a credential has been awarded where in fact it has not been completed; incomplete education (which will be given credit in the assessment process) must be cited as such.

Do VAE degrees say VAE on the degree certificate (diploma)?

No, any mention of VAE on the degree certificate is strictly forbidden.

Do VAE degrees have a transcript?

No, VAE degrees awarded following assessment by a jury do not result in a traditional transcript since they are not based on coursework and do not assign marks, grades or a grade point average. Instead, a Diploma Supplement is issued following the guidelines set by the European Union which explains the VAE award and places it in its proper legal and academic context.

Does the University issue samples of degree documents?

The University does not issue samples as this would contravene its security policy. The degree certificate is in the European A4 size and is printed on parchment paper bearing the University’s seal and the signatures of its officers. The design is suitable for framing and many graduates have commented favourably on it.

Can I attend a graduation ceremony?

Most graduates of distance learning degree programmes are happy to receive their degree documents through the mail. However, the University organises periodic degree ceremonies (which are often covered by the local and national press), and all graduates are welcome to attend any of these ceremonies and receive their degree in person from the University’s nominated officer. At present, several ceremonies take place each year in West Africa. Past ceremonies have taken place in Europe and Asia also when demand has been sufficient. In order to organize a ceremony, there must be enough graduates in the geographical region to make this viable. For this reason, no guarantee is offered that any ceremony can or will take place, and candidates should assume that they will receive their degree documents by mail unless they have been specifically informed otherwise.

Does the University issue digital documents?

The University does not issue any form of digital documentation. Documentation is issued in hard copy only and the degree certificates are issued on parchment paper. There are security features contained on the documents to enable them to be verified when presented to third parties; the University regularly verifies documents to third parties and background checking services.

Professional licensing/third party acceptance

The University is an international organization and serves an international student body which is based in many different countries. The University’s degree programmes are not designed to meet any national requirements regarding professional licensing or acceptance for the practice of any profession. If you desire acceptance of your degree by any third party, be that a professional licensing board, an employer, or another university for further study, it is your responsibility alone to make the necessary enquiries with them before enrolling with the University, and to satisfy yourself that the University’s degree will be suitable for your present and anticipated future needs. The University cannot undertake this process for you.