ICEF Agency Status

Raising professional standards in international education with the world’s largest network of accredited agencies.

Raising standards in international education

ICEF Agency Status (IAS) is a comprehensive quality assurance accreditation programme that ensures the transparency and integrity of international education agencies. With over 2,200 agencies from 127+ countries listed in our open-access online directory, it is the largest and fastest growing network of independently accredited agencies in the industry, providing the de-facto global benchmark of quality.

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We ensure that only the best agencies around the world are able to join and retain IAS. Because of our rigorous process, less than half of the agencies that apply for IAS are accepted.

Stringent vetting
4 reference checks from educational institutions
Adherence to our Agency Code of Conduct
State-of-the-art ID verification
Reviewed annually
Independent Adjudication Board

Investing in industry self-regulation

Global support team
The programme is delivered by a global team of 30 professionals dedicated to managing IAS applications, conducting annual IAS reviews and providing general support to our network of agencies.

Cutting-edge technology
Underpinned by secure technology, the IAS application process is unique in that it uses automated ID verification, covering over 3,000 identity documents from 200 countries and incorporates facial recognition technology. In addition, each successful agency receives a unique, blockchain-backed IAS ID and a QR code to display, ensuring they can be instantly verified by students, parents and potential partners from anywhere in the world.

Supporters of IAS

IAS is rapidly gaining support from stakeholders in international education who share a commitment to worldwide industry self-regulation. If you are an education provider and would like to show your commitment to upholding the highest standards in international student recruitment, please contact us to find out how IAS can streamline your agency management.

Educator enquiry

Maintaining standards: the IAS Adjudication Board

An independent Adjudication Board presides over any instance of an agency failing to comply with either our quality standards or the ICEF Code of Conduct. Such breaches are taken extremely seriously and may result in the withdrawal of the agency’s ICEF accreditation.

If a breach of the Code of Conduct is reported, ICEF gathers evidence, liaises with all parties, and presents the case to the autonomous Adjudication Board, which then makes its own impartial assessment.

The Adjudication Board is made up of international education industry leaders with a wealth of first-hand experience. Board members are drawn from the world’s leading study destinations and reflect the diversity of the sector, representing higher education, secondary education, vocational education and training and language learning.

View Adjudication Board

Agency training and certification

We are also raising professional standards and providing agency quality assurance through individual counsellor training and certification. Our professional development platform ICEF Academy now has over 20,000 certified counsellors and 120,000 learners.

Courses for counsellors focus on building expertise in key study destinations as well as covering the fundamentals of international education.

Visit ICEF Academy

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