Masaryk University Directive No. 2/2019 Verification of the condition for admission to study of graduates from foreign secondary and higher education programmes (in the wording effective from 1 September 2019) Under Section 10 (1) Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on modifications and amendments to other acts (Higher Education Act), as amended by subsequent regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), I hereby issue this Directive: Part One Basic provisions Section 1 Subject of regulation (1) This Directive regulates the procedure for verification of the condition for admission to study under the provision of Section 48 (1) and (3) of the Act within the framework of admissions of applicants for study at Masaryk University (hereinafter referred to as the “University”) who graduated from a foreign secondary and higher education programme. (2) The provisions hereof are based on Section 48 of the Act, on Section 29 of Masaryk University Statutes and Appendix No. 2 to Masaryk University Statutes. (3) The University was granted the institutional accreditation, and therefore it meets the condition of Section 48 (6) of the Act. Thus, in case an applicant, for the purpose of proving the compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (1) and (3) of the Act, submits a foreign certificate of completion of foreign higher or secondary education programme under Section 48 (4) (d) or Section 48 (5) (c) of the Act, the faculty is obliged to verify the conditions for admission to study against such document under Section 48 (1) and (3) of the Act. (4) The compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (1) and (3) of the Act shall only be verified within the framework of admissions and shall only be valid for the given term of admissions and for the faculty that carried out the verification. Section 2 Conditions for admission to study (1) The condition for admission to study in a Bachelor’s degree programme or a Master’s degree programme that is not a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme is the completion of secondary education finished with a school-leaving examination. (See Section 48 (1) of the Act). (2) The condition for admission to study in the Master’s degree programme that is a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme, is the due completion of study in the Bachelor’s, Master’s or doctoral degree programme. (See Section 48 (1) of the Act). (3) The condition for admission to study in the doctoral degree programme is the due completion of study in the Master’s degree programme; for the study of arts also obtaining an academic degree. (See Section 48 (3) of the Act). (4) The admission decision shall be issued by the faculty after the compliance with the conditions for admission is verified, including conditions stated in subsections 1 to 3. The admission decision may be issued before the verification of conditions stated in subsections 1 to 3 only in case it contains a clause that legal force of the decision is contingent on the fulfilment of the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (4) or Section 48 (5) of the Act. Part Two Admission to study in the Bachelor’s degree programme or the Master’s degree programme that is not a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme Section 3 Methods of proving the compliance with the condition for admission to study (1) An applicant who completed foreign secondary education through graduation from a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school, international secondary school, European school operating under the Convention Defining the Statute of the European Schools or at a school which was approved by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic as an entity providing compulsory education, shall prove the compliance with the condition stated in Section 2 (1): a) by a decision on the recognition of a foreign school report in the Czech Republic together with the recognition clause confirming the validity of a foreign certificate of completed education in the Czech Republic or by a certificate of recognition of equivalence of a foreign certificate of completed education in the Czech Republic, issued by regional authorities or by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, all in the form of officially certified copies; b) by a certificate of the European Baccalaureate, in the form of an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English); c) by a foreign certificate of foreign secondary education with a school-leaving examination if it is automatically equivalent in the Czech Republic under international obligations without further official procedure, in the form of an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English) (hereinafter referred to as “foreign certificate of foreign secondary education subject to an equivalence agreement concluded by the Czech Republic”); d) by a foreign certificate of foreign secondary education, which was obtained through graduation from a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating under legal regulations of the foreign country, which entitles its holder in that foreign country to study in a Bachelor’s degree programme or a Master’s degree programme that is not a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme; the certificate shall be in the form of an officially certified copy with verification of signatures and stamps in accordance with international obligations of the Czech Republic, and with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English) (hereinafter referred to as “foreign certificate of foreign secondary education”). (2) In case the applicant fails to prove the condition stated in Section 2 (1) by submitting a certificate under subsection 1, he/she shall not be admitted to study on the grounds of failure to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (4) of the Act. Section 4 Verification of compliance with the condition for admission to study pursuant to foreign certificate of foreign secondary education, subject to an equivalence agreement concluded by the Czech Republic The faculty shall verify that the foreign certificate of foreign secondary education with a school-leaving examination is subject to the equivalence agreement. Section 5 Verification of compliance with the condition for admission to study pursuant to foreign certificate of foreign secondary education (1) The faculty shall verify that: a) the submitted foreign certificate of foreign secondary education entitles its holder in that foreign country to study in a Bachelor’s degree programme or a Master’s degree programme that is not a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme (i.e. academic rights); b) the foreign secondary school operates under legal regulations of the foreign country (i.e. the accreditation of the foreign secondary school). (2) For that purpose, the faculty may further request: a) additional information about the content and scope of foreign secondary school study, in the form of the original or an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English); b) a statement of the foreign secondary school or another foreign authority that the graduate is entitled in that foreign country to apply for admission to study in the Bachelor’s degree programme or the Master’s degree programme that is not a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme, in the form of the original or an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English); c) a statement of the relevant foreign authority that the foreign secondary school is entitled to provide secondary education in the foreign country concerned, in the form of the original or an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English). (3) The faculty shall determine a period for the submission of a certificate under Section 3 (1) (d) and as the case may be, additional documents under subsection 2 of this Section so that it has sufficient time to verify the requisites stated in subsection 1 of this Section. (4) The fee for acts related to the assessment of compliance with the condition for admission under Section 5 (hereinafter referred to as the “fee for verification of foreign education”) may be determined by the faculty in accordance with Section 29 of Masaryk University Statutes and Annex No. 2 of Masaryk University Statutes. (5) In case the applicant files applications to more than one degree programme at the same faculty, he/she shall submit the certificate under Section 3 (1) (d) and as the case may be, additional documents under subsection 2 of this Section only once and he/she shall pay the fee for verification of foreign education only once, too. (6) In case the faculty has doubts about the level, scope or content of previously completed foreign education of the applicant, documented by a foreign certificate of foreign secondary education under Section 3 (1) (d), it shall refer to Section 48 (6) of the Act and shall ask the applicant to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study through a document under Section 3 (1) (a). (7) In case the applicant fails to submit a foreign certificate of foreign secondary education under Section 3 (1) (d), fails to submit additional documents mentioned in subsection 2, as required by the faculty, fails to submit them in the required form or fails to pay the fee for verification of foreign education set by the faculty, the faculty shall ask the applicant to either remedy such defect(s) or to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study through a document under Section 3 (1) (a). (8) In case the submitted foreign certificate of foreign secondary education or the foreign secondary school concerned do not meet the requisites stated in subsection 1, the condition for admission to study under Section 2 (1) has not been met and the faculty shall enter this fact in the applicant’s file. The applicant shall not be admitted to study on the grounds of failure to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (4) of the Act. (9) In case the applicant submits the required documents in the required form and the faculty verifies that the submitted foreign certificate of foreign secondary education and the secondary school concerned meet the requisites stated in subsection 1, the condition for admission to study under Section 2 (1) has been met and the faculty shall enter this fact in the applicant’s file. (10) In case the applicant files applications to more than one faculty, the verification of compliance with the condition for admission to study stated in Section 2 (1) shall be made by the Office for Studies at the Rector’s Office of Masaryk University. Part Three Admission to study in the Master’s degree programme that is a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme and in the doctoral degree programme Section 6 Methods of proving the compliance with the condition for admission to study (1) An applicant who obtained foreign higher education through completion of study in a higher education programme at a foreign higher education institution shall prove the compliance with the condition stated in Section 2 (2) and (3): a) by a certificate of recognition of foreign higher education and qualification in the Czech Republic (and as the case may be, a decision on recognition of foreign higher education and qualification in the Czech Republic, in case the certificate forms an annex to such decision) issued by a Czech public higher education institution or by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic or Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic in the form of an officially certified copy;[1]^,[2] b) by a foreign certificate of foreign higher education, which is equivalent in the Czech Republic under international obligations without further official procedure, in the form of an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English) (hereinafter referred to as “foreign certificate of foreign higher education subject to an equivalence agreement concluded by the Czech Republic”); c) by a foreign certificate of foreign higher education, which was obtained through graduation from a higher education programme at a foreign higher education institution operating under legal regulations of the foreign country, in the form of an officially certified copy with verification of signatures and stamps in accordance with international obligations of the Czech Republic, and with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English), and a list of completed courses (diploma supplement, transcript etc.) in the form of an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English) (hereinafter referred to as the “foreign certificate of foreign higher education and list of completed courses”). (2) In case the applicant fails to prove the condition stated in Section 2 (2) or (3) by submitting a certificate under subsection 1, he/she shall not be admitted to study on the grounds of failure to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (5) of the Act. Section 7 Verification of compliance with the condition for admission to study pursuant to foreign certificate of foreign higher education, subject to an equivalence agreement concluded by the Czech Republic The faculty shall verify that the foreign certificate of foreign higher education is subject to the equivalence agreement. Section 8 Verification of compliance with the condition for admission to study pursuant to foreign certificate of foreign higher education and list of completed courses (1) The faculty shall verify that: a) the submitted foreign certificate of foreign higher education entitles its holder in that foreign country to study in a Master’s degree programme that is a follow-up of a Bachelor’s degree programme, or to study in a doctoral degree programme (i.e. academic rights); b) the foreign higher education institution operates under legal regulations of the foreign country (i.e. the accreditation of the foreign higher education institution). (2) For that purpose, the faculty may further request: a) additional information about the content and scope of foreign higher education, in the form of the original or an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English); b) a statement of the foreign higher education institution or another foreign authority that the graduate is entitled in that foreign country to apply for admission to study in the Master’s degree programme that is a follow-up of the Bachelor’s degree programme, or to study in the doctoral degree programme, in the form of the original or an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English); c) a statement of the relevant foreign authority that the foreign higher education institution is entitled to provide higher education in the foreign country concerned, in the form of the original or an officially certified copy with an official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for certificates issued in Slovak or English); (3) The faculty shall determine a period for the submission of documents under Section 6 (1) (c) and as the case may be, additional documents under subsection 2 of this Section so that it has sufficient time to verify the requisites stated in subsection 1 of this Section. (4) The fee for acts related to the assessment of compliance with the condition for admission under Section 8 (hereinafter referred to as the “fee for verification of foreign education”) may be determined by the faculty in accordance with Section 29 of Masaryk University Statutes and Annex No. 2 of Masaryk University Statutes. (5) In case the applicant files applications to more than one degree programme of the same level at the same faculty, he/she shall submit the documents under Section 6 (1) (c) and as the case may be, additional documents under subsection 2 of this Section only once and he/she shall pay the fee for verification of foreign education only once, too. (6) In case the faculty has doubts about the level, scope or content of previously completed foreign education of the applicant, documented by a foreign certificate of foreign higher education under Section 6 (1) (c), it shall refer to Section 48 (6) of the Act and shall ask the applicant to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study through a document under Section 6 (1) (a). (7) In case the applicant fails to submit a foreign certificate of foreign higher education and a list of completed courses under Section 6 (1) (c), fails to submit additional documents mentioned in subsection 2, as required by the faculty, fails to submit them in the required form or fails to pay the fee for verification of foreign education set by the faculty, the faculty shall ask the applicant to either remedy such defect(s) or to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study through a document under Section 6 (1) (a). (8) In case the submitted foreign certificate of foreign higher education or the foreign higher education institution concerned do not meet the requisites stated in subsection 1, the condition for admission to study under Section 2 (2) or (3) has not been met and the faculty shall enter this fact in the applicant’s file. The applicant shall not be admitted to study on the grounds of failure to prove the compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 48 (5) of the Act. (9) In case the applicant submits the required documents in the required form and the faculty verifies that the submitted foreign certificate of foreign higher education and the higher education institution concerned meet the requisites stated in subsection 1, the condition for admission to study under Section 2 (2) or (3) has been met and the faculty shall enter this fact in the applicant’s file. (10) In case the applicant files applications to more than one faculty in degree programmes of the same level, the verification of compliance with the condition for admission to study stated in Section 2 (2) or (3) shall be made by the Office for Studies at the Rector’s Office of Masaryk University. Part Four Common and final provisions Section 9 Common provisions (1) The faculty shall publish the methods of proving the compliance with the condition for admission to study under Section 3 (1) or Section 6 (1), and the period under Section 5 (3) or under Section 8 (3). (2) The faculty may accept documents under Section 3 (1) (b) to (d) or Section 6 (1) and additional documents under Section 5 (2) or Section 8 (2) also in another language than Slovak or English, provided it publishes the fact and states in which languages it accepts the mentioned documents. (3) A confirmation of a foreign educational institution about having issued the certificate may serve instead of the verification of signatures and stamps on a foreign certificate of foreign secondary education under Section 3 (1) (d) and on a foreign certificate of foreign higher education under Section 6 (1) (c) in accordance with international obligations of the Czech Republic. Section 10 Final provisions (1) I authorize the head of the Office for Studies at the Rector’s Office of Masaryk University to interpret this Directive. (2) This Directive is part of the methodology management “Study Affairs in Bachelor's and Master’s Degree Programmes and Advanced Master’s State Examination”. (3) The compliance with this Directive shall be inspected by the vice-rectors authorized under Masaryk University Organizational Regulations. (4) This Directive becomes valid as of the day of its execution. (5) This Directive becomes effective as of 1 September 2019. electronic signature Mikuláš Bek Rector ________________________________ [1]If the certificate states that it is valid only upon the simultaneous submission of a foreign diploma, it is necessary to request the submission of the foreign diploma in the form of an officially certified copy with verification of signatures and stamps in accordance with international obligations of the Czech Republic, and official translation into Czech or English (translations are not required for documents issued in Slovak and English). [2] For certificates of recognition of foreign higher education and qualification in the Czech Republic issued by MU it is sufficient that the faculty make its own copy from the original, furnished with an autograph and official stamp.