Article 1 – Introductory Provisions

1. Charles University is a higher education institution which complies with the requirement provided in s. 48 (6) of Act No. 111/1998 Sb., to regulate higher education institutions, as amended, (hereinafter referred to as the “Higher Education Act”) as it obtained institutional accreditation for at least one field of education and is thus entitled to review the foreign secondary and higher education of an applicant in the admissions procedure for all faculties pursuant to s. 48 (4 and 5) of the Higher Education Act.

2. The reviewing of foreign secondary and higher education in the admissions procedure at Charles University is governed by s. 48 of the Higher Education Act, Article 2 of Appendix No. 2 to the Constitution of Charles University – Fees for Study, the Code of Admissions Procedure of Charles University for Applicants, and this Directive.

3. In the admissions procedure, faculties review compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act or the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act in the case of applicants who obtained:

   a.

   A foreign secondary education by completing their study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school, an international secondary school, a European school operating in accordance with the Convention defining the statute of European schools or at a school recognized by the Ministry for compulsory school attendance in accordance with the Education Act (hereinafter referred to as “foreign secondary education”), or

   b.

   A foreign higher education by completing their study in a higher education programme at a foreign higher education institution (hereinafter referred to as “foreign higher education”).

Article 2 – Source Documents for Review

1. Compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act may be proved by means of:

   a.	A document on the general recognition of the equivalence or validity of a foreign document confirming the completion of secondary education in the Czech Republic obtained in accordance with Act No. 561/2004 Sb., to regulate pre-school, elementary, secondary, higher professional and other education (Education Act), as amended by later regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Education Act”) or in accordance with earlier legal regulations,
   b.	A document confirming the awarding of the European Baccalaureate,
   c.	A foreign document confirming attainment of a foreign secondary education with a school-leaving examination if it is automatically equivalent without further official procedure in the Czech Republic according to its international obligations, or
   d.	A foreign document confirming attainment of a foreign secondary education which was obtained by completing study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating in accordance with the legal regulations of a foreign state and which entitles the holder in the given foreign state to access study in a bachelor’s study programme or a master’s study programme which does not follow a bachelor’s study programme.

2. Compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act may be proved by means of:

   a.	A document on the general recognition of the attainment of a foreign higher education in the Czech Republic obtained in accordance with ss. 89 and 90 of the Higher Education Act or in accordance with earlier legal regulations,
   b.	A foreign document confirming the attainment of a foreign higher education which is automatically equivalent without further official procedure in the Czech Republic according to its international obligations, or
   c.	A foreign document confirming the attainment of a foreign higher education by completing study in a higher education programme at a foreign higher education institution operating in accordance with legal regulations of a foreign state.

3. The specific documents which an applicant is obliged to submit to a faculty are listed in Appendix No. 1 to this Directive: Document Specification.

Article 3 – Criteria for Formal Review of Source Documents

1. An applicant will submit source documents issued by an institution in the Czech Republic, in particular source documents in accordance with s. 48 (4) (a) and (5) (a) of the Higher Education Act in the form of an officially authenticated copy.

2. An applicant is obliged to submit other source documents in the form of an original or an authenticated copy of a document issued by a foreign secondary school or higher education institution or possibly by other foreign institution. In determining and verifying the correct form of authentication, faculties follow Appendix No. 2 to this Directive: Form of Documents.

3. Documents whose originals were not issued in the Czech, English, or Slovak language must be officially translated into the Czech or English language. In the case of officially authenticated translations, the translation must be bound to authenticated copies of documents to which they relate in such a way which prevents subsequent replacement or substitution of the translation. Translations attached to standard copies of documents will not be accepted.

4. An applicant will submit the source documents to a faculty in a hard-copy format or as a PDF document created by authorized conversion. Electronic source documents which were not created by authorized conversion of a document may be accepted if they bear a recognized electronic signature. However, faculties may require that an applicant send scanned documents as well as source documents in a hard-copy format for the purposes of the internal review of the source documents.

5. Prior to reviewing the content of the received documents of an applicant according to Article 4, the faculty will review whether the applicant submitted the source documents specified in Appendix No. 1 Source Document Specification and whether these source documents comply with the formal requirements specified in paragraphs 1 to 4. If the submitted source documents do not comply with the formal requirements, the faculty will ask the applicant to correct any deficiencies or to submit missing source documents.

Article 4 – Criteria for Content Review of Source Documents

1. If an applicant submitted a document of general recognition of the equivalence or validity of a foreign document on the attainment of secondary education in the Czech Republic, obtained in accordance with the Education Act or in accordance with earlier legal regulations, it is presumed that compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act has been proved. If an applicant submitted a document of general recognition of the attainment of a foreign higher education in the Czech Republic obtained in accordance with ss. 89 and 90 of the Higher Education Act or in accordance with earlier legal regulations, it is presumed that compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act has been proved in the particular study programme which is specified in the given document, which is usually a certificate of recognition of the attainment of a foreign higher education.

2. If an applicant submitted a document on being awarded the European Baccalaureate, it is presumed that compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act has been proved. This provision does not apply to the International Baccalaureate, which is considered to be a document in accordance with s. 48 (4) (d) of the Higher Education Act and for which the procedure follows paragraph 4. If an applicant submits the International Baccalaureate Diploma together with a Czech secondary school-leaving certificate with a successfully passed examination in Czech language and literature in the common part of the school-leaving examination, then it constitutes an equivalent of a Czech secondary school-leaving certificate and it is not necessary to prove attainment of a foreign secondary education in the admissions procedure. The above-given information applies to secondary schools which obtained an approval of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in accordance with s. 81 (10) of Act No. 561/2004 Sb., to regulate pre-school, elementary, secondary, higher professional and other education (the Education Act), for a different manner of completion of education.

3. If an applicant submitted a foreign document confirming attainment of a foreign secondary education with a school-leaving examination which is automatically equivalent without further official procedure in the Czech Republic in accordance with its international obligations, it is presumed that compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act has been proved. If an applicant submitted a foreign document confirming attainment of a foreign higher education which is automatically equivalent without a further official procedure in the Czech Republic in accordance with its international obligations, it is presumed that compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act has been proved. The list of international treaties which regulate automatic equivalence of documents is provided in Appendix No. 3 to this Directive: Automatic Equivalence.

4. If an applicant has submitted a foreign document confirming attainment of a foreign secondary education in accordance with s. 48 (4) (d) of the Higher Education Act, a faculty will use the submitted source documents to check:

   a.	If this document was obtained by completing a study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating in accordance with the legal regulations of a foreign state,
   b.	If the document entitles its holder in the given foreign state to access study in a bachelor’s study programme or in a master’s study programme which does not follow a bachelor’s study programme,
   c.	If the level of the education proved by this document corresponds to a completed secondary education with a school-leaving examination required by the Higher Education Act for access to study in a bachelor’s study programme or in a master’s study programme which does not follow a bachelor’s study programme.

   
   

   A faculty may for this purpose ask an applicant to submit additional source documents specified in Appendix No. 1 to this Directive: Document Specification. If the faculty reaches the conclusion that the above-given facts have been proved, compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act has been proved.

   If the faculty reaches the conclusion that these facts have not been persuasively proved or if it has doubts about the adequate level, scope, or content of the previous foreign education of an applicant proved by a foreign document, it will ask an applicant to prove his education in a manner specified in s. 48 (4) (a) of the Higher Education Act. If, subsequently, an applicant fails to submit this document, the applicant fails to prove his compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act and the faculty issues a decision on non-admission.

5. If an applicant has submitted a foreign document confirming attainment of a foreign higher education in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act, the faculty will use the submitted source documents to check:

   a.	If the given foreign higher education institution in the specified foreign state is authorized to provide higher education (if the higher education institution and the specific study programme completed by the applicant are accredited),
   b.	If the document entitles its holder to access study in a master’s study programme which follows a bachelor’s study programme or in a doctoral programme of study in the given foreign state,
   c.	If this document proves completed higher education in a degree of study which is required by the Higher Education Act to access the study programme type for which an applicant has applied at the faculty.

   
   

   For this purpose, a faculty may ask an applicant to submit additional source documents specified in Appendix No. 1 to this Directive: Document Specification and it may check the foreign higher education institution in the databases of accredited higher education institutions.

   If the faculty reaches the conclusion that the above-given facts have been proved and the document entitles the applicant, in the country according to whose legal regulations the document was issued, to study in a study programme whose level corresponds to a study programme for which he is applying at the faculty and the document proves the successful completion of foreign higher education to the degree required by the Higher Education Act to access the type of study programme for which he is applying at the faculty, compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act has been proved.

   If a faculty reaches the conclusion that these facts have not been persuasively proved or if it has doubts about the adequate level, scope, or content of previous foreign education of an applicant proved by a foreign document, it will ask the applicant to prove his education by a manner specified in s. 48 (5) (a) of the Higher Education Act and if, subsequently, the applicant fails to submit this document, the applicant fails to prove compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act and the faculty issues a decision on non-admission.

6. In reviewing the foreign education of an applicant in accordance with s. 48 (4) (d) and (5) (c) of the Higher Education Act, a faculty will take into account the content and scope of the foreign study only so far as they concern the review of compliance with the criteria specified in paragraphs 3 to 5. The faculty verifies the fulfilment of other admissions requirements specified in accordance with s. 49 (1) and (3) of the Higher Education Act separately, usually by means of an entrance examination.

7. The Documents, Registers and Recognition of Foreign Degrees Office of the Student Affairs Department at the Rectorate of Charles University (hereinafter referred to as the “Documents, Registers and Recognition of Foreign Degrees Office”) functions as an advisory body in cases where a student submitted an application for study at different faculties and applied for a review of his foreign education in the admissions procedure at different faculties. Upon being contacted by a faculty, the Documents, Registers and Recognition of Foreign Degrees Office will ensure that the identical education of an applicant, as far as proving compliance with the requirement specified in s. 48 (4) and (5) of the Higher Education Act is concerned, is reviewed by all participating faculties in the same way. An opinion of the Documents, Registers and Recognition of Foreign Degrees Office is binding and faculties have to proceed in accordance with it. This does not affect the right of faculties, in a specific admissions procedure, to verify compliance with other requirements for admission which are stipulated in accordance with s. 49 (1) and (3) of the Higher Education Act; the result of this review for the given applicant may differ in the individual admissions procedures.

8. In particularly complicated cases and in cases when serious doubts arise concerning the validity of the submitted documents or the accreditation of a foreign institution, a faculty may consult its review with the Documents, Registers and Recognition of Foreign Degrees Office.

Article 5 – Issuing a Decision on Non-Admission/Admission in Relation to a Review of Foreign Education

1. A separate decision on proving compliance with the requirement on the attainment of previous education in accordance with s. 48 of the Higher Education Act is not issued. A review performed in accordance with s. 48 (4) (d) and (5) (c) of the Higher Education Act is valid only within a specific admissions procedure at Charles University and it does not declare equivalence between a foreign study programme and a certain study programme taught at Charles University.

2. A decision on admission or non-admission may be issued only after the requirements for admission have been verified in accordance with Article 11 of the Code of Admissions Procedure for Applicants to Charles University.

3. The time limit for submitting documents and the period for verifying compliance with the admission requirements are governed by the admissions procedure calendar set out in a rector’s directive for a given academic year (hereinafter referred to as the “Admissions Procedure Calendar”) by analogy with paragraph 8. In the case of applicants who have fulfilled other requirements on admission but have not complied with the requirement according to s. 48 (4) or (5) of the Higher Education Act in any of the possible ways, the period for verifying the compliance with the requirements ends by the date specified in the Admissions Procedure Calendar.

4. A faculty will publish an internal time limit for the submission of documents within an admissions procedure in the public part of its website and will inform applicants about it in an appropriate way. This time limit has a character of recommendation and it is used for distributing the reviewing stage evenly. Binding time limits for the submission of source documents are specified in the Admissions Procedure Calendar.

5. Faculties may issue a confirmation of an on-going admissions procedure to visa applicants and in other justified cases prior to the issue of a decision on admission.

Article 6 – Fee

1. In the admissions procedure, the fee stipulated in Article 2 of Appendix No. 2 of the Constitution of Charles University: Fees for study, the fee for acts related to the review of compliance with requirements for admission to study will be collected in accordance with the following rules:

   a.	The fee is collected only in cases specified in s. 48 (4) (d) and s. 48 (5) (c) of the Higher Education Act regardless of whether the result of the review is positive or negative. An applicant does not pay the fee in the cases stipulated in s. 48 (4) (a, b, c) and s. 48 (5) (a, b) of the Higher Education Act.
   b.	If an applicant submits more than one application to the same faculty, he will pay the fee only once. If an applicant submits more than one application to different faculties, he will pay the fee once for each faculty.
   c.	After an applicant informs a faculty that he is interested in a review of his previous foreign education in the admissions procedure, the faculty will ask the applicant without undue delay to pay the fee in all cases in which the fee should be paid in accordance with the rules given in paragraphs (a) and (b), and it will send the necessary payment instructions to the applicant. The faculty will allow applicants to pay by bank transfer to the faculty account or in person at the faculty.
   d.	If an applicant fails to pay the fee within the time limit specified in the instructions sent, the faculty will send a notice to the applicant by post. If the applicant fails to pay the fee within the time limit specified in the notice, the faculty will call on the applicant to prove his fulfilment of the requirement by one of the ways specified under paragraph (a) which is not subject to payment.

2. The fee for acts related to the review of compliance with the requirements for admission to study amounts to 20 per cent of the base for determining fees for study announced by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for the relevant academic year (www.msmt.cz) and it is rounded down to the nearest ten Czech crowns. A dean may issue a directive and decide that he will not set and collect this fee. The fee constitutes an income of a faculty.

Article 7 – Final provisions

Rector’s Directive No. 15/2018 Rules for Reviewing Foreign Secondary and Higher Education in the Admissions Procedure at Charles University is repealed.

This Rector’s Directive comes into effect on 1 December 2021.

In Prague on 10 November 2021

.pdf ke stažení

Source documents for reviewing compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination

1. 1. The source documents for reviewing compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in accordance with s. 48 (4) of the Higher Education Act are:

   a.

   A document confirming the general recognition of the equivalence or validity of a foreign document on the attainment of secondary education in the Czech Republic obtained in accordance with Act No. 561/2004 Sb., to regulate pre-school, elementary, secondary, higher professional and other education (Education Act) as amended by later regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Education Act”) or in accordance with earlier legal regulations; or

   b.

   An authenticated copy of a European Baccalaureate, foreign certificate, or analogous document confirming attainment of a foreign secondary education which was obtained by completing study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating in accordance with the legal regulations of a foreign state, + an original or authenticated copy of a document confirming the content and scope of education completed at a foreign school (an overview of completed subjects).

2. If necessary, a faculty will ask an applicant to also provide the following source documents:

   a.	Additional information on the content and scope of foreign secondary study,
   b.	Additional information stating that the study programme was provided by an institution authorized to provide education which is comparable with secondary education in accordance with the Education Act,
   c.	Confirmation by a relevant foreign secondary school or other competent foreign body stating that a school-leaver who passed a secondary education programme in the given foreign secondary school is eligible, in the given foreign state, to apply for admission in a bachelor’s study programme or a master’s study programme which does not follow a bachelor’s study programme.

Source documents for reviewing compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme

1. The source documents for assessing compliance with the requirement on the successful completion of study in a bachelor’s or master’s study programme in accordance with s. 48 (5) of the Higher Education Act are:

   a.	Document confirming the general recognition of attainment of a foreign higher education in the Czech Republic, obtained in accordance with ss. 89 and 90 or in accordance with earlier legal regulations, or
   b.	Authenticated copy of a diploma, certificate, or analogous document (e.g., a certificate of completion of a study programme) issued by a foreign higher education institution + an original or authenticated copy of a diploma supplement or transcript of passed examinations (i.e., Diploma Supplement or Transcript).

2. 2. If necessary, a faculty will ask an applicant to provide also the following source documents:

   a.	Additional information on the content and scope of foreign higher education study,
   b.	Confirmation by a competent foreign body that the given foreign higher education institution is authorized to provide higher education in the given foreign state (accreditation confirmation),
   c.	Confirmation issued by a foreign higher education institution specifying on which state territory the study programme completed by the applicant was carried out.

Additional source documents

If the applicant’s situation makes it necessary, the applicant will also provide the following source documents:

International treaties regulating automatic equivalence of education documents

Secondary education

In the case of documents proving the attainment of an equivalent of the Czech school-leaving examination in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Slovenia, the procedure is in accordance with s. 48 (4) (c) of the Higher Education Act as a result of equivalence stipulated by the below specified international treaties.

In the case of documents proving the attainment of an equivalent of the Czech school-leaving examination in Germany, compliance with the requirement on the attainment of secondary school education with a school-leaving examination is reviewed in accordance with s. 48 (4) (d) of the Higher Education Act. However, the international treaty with Germany stipulates that the result of such review will always be positive.

Higher education

Slovakia

Both the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic recognize higher education and university diplomas issued since the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (i.e., since 1 January 1993) to the present as mutually and automatically equivalent (without requiring further procedure). They thus constitute source documents in accordance with s. 48 (5) (b) of the Higher Education Act.

Exception: Article 11 (3) (b) of the treaty specifies that automatic equivalence does not apply to Slovak documents on higher education issued after 28 March 2015 and obtained at higher education institutions in the Slovak Republic by graduating from a bachelor’s, master’s, engineer’s, or doctoral study carried out outside the territory of the Slovak Republic. In the case of these documents, it is necessary to proceed in accordance with s. 48 (5) (c). A faculty has the option to ask an applicant to provide a confirmation issued by a Slovak higher education institution specifying on the territory of which state the study programme completed by the applicant was carried out.

Poland

Articles 4 to 6 of the Treaty stipulate mutual automatic equivalence of Polish higher education qualifications (i.e., diplomas) certifying graduation from an accredited study programme of a specific degree of higher education with their Czech equivalent. They thus constitute source documents in accordance with s. 48 (5) (b) of the Higher Education Act.

Hungary

The Treaty stipulates that both the Czech Republic and the Republic of Hungary consider state-recognized diplomas – i.e., documents confirming the completion of study in a bachelor’s study programme (Article 6 (1)), master’s study programme (Article 6 (2)) and doctoral study programme (Article 6 (4)) as mutually and automatically equivalent (without requiring further procedure). They thus constitute source documents in accordance with s. 48 (5) (b) of the Higher Education Act.

Slovenia

The Treaty stipulates that both the Czech Republic and the Slovenian Republic recognize diplomas issued after the completion of higher education study (Article 2) as equivalent and that these diplomas prove attainment of higher education in the scope required for admission into post-graduate education in both states. The equivalence of diplomas, pursuant to the Treaty, applies to diplomas issued after the completion of study of master’s study programmes (this concerns documents in accordance with s. 48 (5) (b)). Automatic equivalence does not apply to diplomas issued after completion of bachelor’s study programmes (this concerns documents in accordance with s. 48 (5) (c)).

Germany

Concerning the recognition of German higher education qualifications (diplomas) certifying graduation from an accredited study programme of a specific degree of higher education for the purposes of further study, as well as relevant parts of study and individual examinations, Article 3 of the Treaty stipulates that recognition will be provided “on the basis of an application”. Qualifications are, therefore, not equivalent automatically and without a further official procedure, and a procedure in accordance with s. 48 (5) (c) applies to these qualifications although the result of the review will be always positive.

Verification of accreditation of a foreign institution

Even if an international treaty stipulates equivalence or a positive result of a review of foreign documents confirming education, it is necessary to verify if the document was obtained by the completion of study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating in accordance with the legal regulations of a foreign state or if a given foreign higher education institution in the specified foreign state is authorized to provide higher education (if a higher education institution and a specific study programme completed by an applicant are accredited).

List of international treaties

Slovakia – equivalence (exception for foreign branches of higher education institutions after 28 March 2015)

Treaty between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic on mutual recognition of equivalence of education documents issued in the Czech Republic and in the Slovak Republic (Prague, 28 November 2013, published under No. 23/2015 Sb.m.s., in force since 28 March 2015).

Poland – equivalence

Treaty between the government of the Czech Republic and the government of the Republic of Poland on mutual recognition of parts of study, equivalence of education documents and documents on scientific degrees and titles issued in the Czech Republic and in the Polish Republic (Prague, 16 January 2006, published under No. 104/2006 Sb.m.s.).

Hungary – equivalence

Treaty between the government of the Czech Republic and the government of the Republic of Hungary on mutual recognition of equivalence of education documents and documents on scientific degrees and titles issued in the Czech Republic and in the Republic of Hungary (Budapest, 6 May 2004, published under No. 92/2005 Sb.m.s.).

Slovenia – equivalence (exception for bachelor diplomas)

Treaty between the government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Skupština Federal Assembly of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on mutual recognition of equivalence of education documents and documents on scientific degrees and titles issued in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Belgrade, 12 September 1989, published under No. 89/1991 Sb.m.s.) – valid only for Slovenia; invalid for other successor states of Yugoslavia.

Germany – there is no automatic equivalence but the result of a review will be always positive (document in accordance with s. 48 (4) (d) or (5) (c) of the Higher Education Act)

Treaty between the government of the Czech Republic and the government of the Federal Republic of Germany on mutual recognition of equivalence of education documents in the field of higher education (Prague, 23 March 2007, published under No. 60/2008 Sb.m.s.).