Education is more important in relation to qualification for ECAO than for progression. A total of 60 educational points is required.
Effectively entry as a member requires more points than a Master’s and is easily covered by a Doctorate, if the individual has gone through a Bachelor’s and Master’s program.
(Bachelor’s 10 points + Master’s 20 points + Doctorate 50 points = 80 points for example, BA, MA, PhD is 80 points)
Example: 80 points can be achieved via a real doctoral degree from an accredited university system, given that the additional masters and bachelor’s degrees also score points. Additionally, publications and other real-time achievements can be allocated towards the education requirement.
The points allocated for education are minima for entrance to ECAO. They will not help much in progress thorough tiers because the mechanism is creative achievement. However, at certain higher levels the relative educational requirements become much higher meaning it becomes a necessity.
Education has five categories: The minimum for membership on education is 80 points. However, such education membership can be achieved by means other than formal educational direct qualifications.
Formal education: Qualification must be from an accredited institution to count. If there is some doubt about accreditation, half points count. If, however, this is a degree or equivalent that required no time or formal course work, i.e. effectively bought qualifications, this will not be allocated any points. Similarly, some courses not recognized by official accreditation bodies or over the internet offer doctorates for a thesis that can be done in weeks, or for e.g. 1000 hours of course work (roughly equivalent to 6 months work). Such courses are allocated 10 points each if undergraduate, and 20 points each if postgraduate but are not scored as doctoral status.
Scoring clarification: In some countries, for example, the United States, some qualifications are called “Doctor” when they are not so elsewhere. For example, an attorney may graduate as a DJuris, a pharmacist with a DPharm, a physiotherapist / physical therapist with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. Irrespective of the university system, these count as Master’s equivalent, post-graduate qualifications. Doctorate in this context means a full-fledged doctoral program from an accredited university . An exception is however the Medical Degree, where an MD, or DO in the United States is equivalent to an MB, BCh or its variants such as MB, BS or ChB or BM, ChB etc are regarded as Doctorates just as a Dental or Podiatric qualification are.
However, when a qualifying doctorate does not require the training in a Bachelor’s or Master’s program first e.g. the BVSc, or the MB,BCh, or BDS in a Commonwealth Country, the individual will attain 50 points but may require additional points based on other formal qualifications such as post-qualification specialist qualifications or alternatively publications or using the alternative of borrowing points from public creativity.
Difficult areas may be decided by the ECAO board and their decision is final. There will be a substantial cost to referee such decisions, dependent on both numbers of referees and their basic costs, plus the time involved. Applicants will be pre-informed of this.
The scoring is as follows:
Associate’s degree 2 points.
Bachelor’s degree 10 points. Degree with distinction add 2 points (and higher levels e.g. summa cum laude add 1 more). Honors degree add 2 more points (a three or four years bachelor’s degree is acceptable).
Honors Bachelors Degree (Commonwealth) 15 points.
Master’s degree or equivalent 20 points. Master’s degree with distinction add 2 points. (JD, CMA, with Bachelor’s count as master’s equivalent) (Actuarial qualifications —add 4 more points over and above Master’s), (Computer software companies etc may have points system for advancement: If approved, their highest levels can be allocated as equivalent to these 15 points). Similarly ≥2 year accredited courses post-bachelor’s is equivalent (on the other hand certain “doctorates” e.g. doctor of pharmacy, of physical therapy, DJuris, which do not have full level requirements of full length theses and ≥4 years post-baccalaureate degrees count only as master’s equivalents). Essentially, these reflect at least six years of conventional higher education, accredited training. Because Master’s degrees or equivalents have Bachelor’s degrees as well, the total score for a Master’s is usually 35. Some qualifications are equivalent but have no Bachelor’s degrees: For example, Actuarial Science scores 30 if there is no Bachelor’s degree; but if there is add the extra 10 points.
Doctorate degree 50 points per separate doctorate (e.g. PhD, DLitt, DMA, MD or MB, BCh or medical degree allowing license to practice, DO, Veterinarian, Dentist, Podiatrist [in the USA], Chiropractor). Add 18 points more per extra non-political honorary doctorate (Doctorate [generally one that has the title “doctor” (e.g. Medical, PhD, DLitt not DJuris).
Note that this degree would be an accredited degree recognized in equivalence
Higher doctorates, generally European or British Commonwealth, such as a DSc scores 90 points, but only when the degree requires, appropriate international level peer review and is awarded through an accredited institution. In the event of doubt it will be scored at PhD level or if with thesis and published results 50 PhD+20 for publication points.
Further higher qualifications above doctorate level recognitions or awards e.g. Board certifications, specialty qualification examinations 10 points each. (note this requires formal examinations, not just awards; recertification examinations: 2 more points)
Certifications below doctoral level 2 points (e.g. 1 year course). Board certifications by accredited body 4 points.
Special instances:
1. An applicant can have more than one Bachelor’s or any other accredited-institution degree. If there are two separate certificates, not just a double major, and demonstrable significant extra time has been allocated, the individual can score on multiples of the baseline allocated points, up to three of such points. e.g. 3 separate Bachelor’s degrees score 10 x 3= 30 but 4 would also score 40.
2. Conversely, if someone is due to finish a degree and has just final examinations or equivalent, but has not received the degree, they can receive half for that degree. For example, they have final examinations, or final semester in a Bachelor’s setting: Allocate 0.5 so that 0.5*10=5.
3. Some degrees are combination. For example, a Master’s degree from Oxford, does not have a Bachelor’s. Again the half points rule applies so 5 points for half allocation for Bachelor’s, 20 points for Master’s.
4. Non-political honorary degrees count for the equivalent degree e.g., honorary doctorate counts as 50 points.
5. Exceptional scholastic qualifications can score additionally up to 8 points: e.g. Full scholarships to Ivy league or equivalent Universities, National Merit Scholarships, Winner of competition (based on exact achievement) Valedictorian ; admission into highly competitive program up to 4 points e.g. Ivy league or specific scholastic program. This allows even high-schoolers to become apprentices.
At college levels honors gets 4 more points, cum laude 6 points, summa or magna cum laude gets 10 points, phi beta kappa etc gets 10.
6. Qualifications cannot be duplicated for points. Rather obviously, if a person obtained an Honors degree, this does not duplicate as extra honors points later.
7. Recognition attainments: rarely, an individual is so well thought of, he attains an academic position without the qualifications, at an accredited university or teaching institution. This effectively means that that perception should be scored and each must be considered on its merits but generally they will score half the points that they would have scored, had they scored that qualification.
Recognition education
If a full fledged thesis was required, involving later peer-reviewed published information, cited by peers, an additional 20 points above those above will be scored irrespective of whether this was at master’s or doctoral level. Full-fledged theses are generally several hundred pages long (one is not here referring to 50 or 80 pages theses/ dissertations required as projects in a particular degree: If those are published, certainly the points involved can be added under publications but this extra bonus for the thesis / dissertation itself does not allow extra points, per se.)
Special professional memberships 4 points per membership (not just by fees, ethics or applications based on profession)
Publication of theses (master’s 8 or doctoral 16) in peer-reviewed abstracted journals (up to 1 per degree).
Recognition of thesis work or publication by citation by 4 independent sources in books or peer reviewed journals. 2 per citation up to 60 extra points.
Demonstrable exceptional skills occupationally counting toward (e.g. computer programming; in a discipline that does not require getting a doctorate but demonstrable equivalent skills e.g. writer, computer programming can add up to 4 points each). Maximum 20.
University appointments.
Full Professor counts 30 points (plus Associate professor points before that) (please note titles such as Clinical professor count only 6 points; clinical associate 3 points, Clinical assistant 0 points : Cannot add clinical points onto professorial points; term Adjunct before any professor counts same as Professor, Associate or Assistant but again not duplicated) (Only one such title can be used).
Academically Associate Professor counts 10 points. Or Principal Specialist (in an academic setting in the Commonwealth) is equivalent.
Academically Assistant Professor counts 5 points. In the commonwealth, Senior Lecturer counts as the equivalent of Assistant Professor.
Lecturer or Research Associate counts as 2 points.
Citations
Citations on other discoveries / publications (not reviews) 2 per citation (peer-reviewed journal), 1 (non-peer reviewed magazine/ publication) up to a maximum of 16 per topic area (each must be listed separately and must be distinct enough for a non-expert and expert in the area to regard as clearly distinct).
If there are any debates relating to separateness or distinctiveness, the conservative rule applies (i.e. treat as non-distinct)
Exchange categories from creativity
Examination of the several tiers of achievement of points under creativity are exchanged here if required at the rate of 1 Creativity point for 3/4 Education point. This requirement is to attain the requisite 80 points under education for admission as a member, Please examine the creativity section. Note that only creative endeavors that can be publicly authenticated can be used for this purpose.
If there are any debates in any of the above categories relating to separateness or distinctiveness, the conservative rule applies (i.e. treat as non-distinct). On the other hand, there is no maximum score on this system in the education category ( provided no duplication)