Part II — Becoming an Affiliated School
Chapter 8 — Affiliation Certificate and Branding
Chapter 8
Affiliation Certificate and Branding
The Affiliation Certificate is the formal evidence of affiliation.
Its use, the School's use of WEQSC branding, and the statements
the School may make about its affiliation are all regulated.
This chapter sets out what is permitted, what is required, and
what is prohibited.
8.1 Issuance of the Certificate
8.1.1
WEQSC issues an Affiliation Certificate to each Affiliated
School upon the Effective Date.
8.1.2
The Certificate is issued in electronic form bearing the
WEQSC seal. A printed copy may be requested at cost.
8.1.3
The Certificate is the property of WEQSC, held by the
School for the purposes of display. It must be returned to
WEQSC upon the termination or expiry of affiliation, or
upon request.
8.2 Contents of the Certificate
8.2.1
The Certificate states: the legal name of the School; the
jurisdiction of registration; the ISCED level or levels
at which affiliation is held; the streams approved, where
applicable; the affiliation reference number; the date of
the Effective Date; the date of expiry of the current
Affiliation Cycle; the WEQSC seal; and a QR code linking
to the public verification record.
8.2.2
The Certificate is issued in English. A translated copy may
be provided upon request, at cost, without the WEQSC seal,
for internal use only.
8.2.3
The Certificate carries a verification reference number.
Any third party may confirm the current status of the
affiliation by reference to that number at
wise.weqsc.org/verify/school.
8.3 Public Register
8.3.1
WEQSC maintains a public register of Affiliated Schools at
wise.weqsc.org/schools. The register is the authoritative
public record of affiliation.
8.3.2
The register records, for each Affiliated School: the legal
name; the jurisdiction; the ISCED level or levels of
affiliation; the date of the Effective Date; the current
status of affiliation (Active, Provisional, Suspended, or
Terminated); and any public sanction in force.
8.3.3
The register is maintained current and is updated within
five business days of any change to the affiliation status
of a School.
8.3.4
An Affiliated School may request that its address and
contact details not be published on the public register,
on grounds of security. The request will ordinarily be
granted, and the register will record the School's name
and affiliation status without the omitted details.
8.4 Permitted Uses of the Certificate and Affiliation
8.4.1
An Affiliated School may display the Affiliation Certificate
in a prominent location on its premises.
8.4.2
The School may state, in its prospectus, on its website,
and in its marketing materials, that it is a
WEQSC-Affiliated School, and may state the ISCED level or
levels at which affiliation is held.
8.4.3
The School may use the WEQSC-Affiliated badge, in the form
provided in the onboarding package, subject to the rules
in Section 8.6.
8.4.4
The School may reproduce the affiliation reference number
and the public register link in any document where such
reproduction assists a reader to verify the affiliation.
8.5 Required Disclosures
8.5.1
An Affiliated School must display, on its website and in
its prospectus, the affiliation reference number and the
public register link, so that any prospective parent or
student may verify the affiliation.
8.5.2
Where a School is placed on Provisional Affiliation,
Suspension, or Termination, the School must cease displaying
the Affiliation Certificate and any WEQSC badge within
five business days of notice, and must publish a notice on
its website stating the current status.
8.5.3
An Affiliated School must, in any communication to parents
concerning the WISE programme, state plainly that WISE
examinations are conducted under the WEQSC framework and
that the resulting credentials are issued by WEQSC.
8.6 Branding Rules
8.6.1
The WEQSC name, the WEQSC seal, the WEQSC crest, the WISE
name, and the WEQSC-Affiliated badge (together, the
"Marks") are the property of WEQSC. Use of the Marks is
permitted only as provided in this chapter.
8.6.2
The Marks must be reproduced only in the forms and colours
provided in the branding assets issued to the School. No
modification, distortion, cropping, or recolouring of the
Marks is permitted.
8.6.3
The Marks may not be used in a manner that suggests that
WEQSC endorses the School as a whole, endorses any specific
teacher, endorses any programme offered by the School
outside the WISE programme, or endorses any product or
service of the School.
8.6.4
The Marks may not be used in a manner that suggests a
partnership, joint venture, agency, or franchise
relationship between the School and WEQSC beyond the
affiliation relationship established by this Framework.
8.6.5
The Marks may not be used on any material that is
misleading, that disparages any person or institution, or
that would bring WEQSC into disrepute.
8.6.6
WEQSC may, upon written notice, require the School to cease
use of any specific rendering of the Marks, whether or not
the specific rendering complies with the rules in this
chapter, where WEQSC considers that the rendering is
confusing or could give rise to misapprehension.
8.7 Prohibited Representations
8.7.1
An Affiliated School must not represent itself as
"accredited" by WEQSC, whether in those words or in any
equivalent formulation. Affiliation is not accreditation.
8.7.2
An Affiliated School must not represent that WEQSC has
approved, endorsed, or recommended any course, programme,
teacher, facility, or service of the School other than the
WISE programme at the ISCED levels at which affiliation is
held.
8.7.3
An Affiliated School must not represent that any credential
issued by the School is a WISE Credential unless it has been
issued through the Institution Management Portal in
accordance with this Framework.
8.7.4
An Affiliated School must not represent that a WISE
Credential guarantees admission to any tertiary
institution or employment with any employer.
8.7.5
An Affiliated School must not represent that its affiliation
extends to any jurisdiction other than that in which it is
registered, or to any premises other than those declared in
its application, without prior written approval from WEQSC.
8.7.6
An Affiliated School must not represent, whether in words, images,
logos, emblems, or by implication, that WEQSC, WISE, or the WISE
International Secondary Examination is a governmental body,
a statutory body of, owned by, controlled by, or affiliated with
the government of any country, or a board, council, or commission
established by the government of any country.
8.7.7
An Affiliated School must not represent that affiliation with
WEQSC confers automatic government recognition of any credential,
or dispenses with the need for any equivalency, validation, or
recognition procedure that the law or practice of any jurisdiction
may require.
8.8 Breach of Branding Rules
8.8.1
A breach of any provision of this chapter constitutes a
Breach for the purposes of Part VI.
8.8.2
In the case of a breach that WEQSC considers serious, or
a breach that continues after notice, WEQSC may: require
the immediate removal of the offending material; publish
a correction on the public register; place the School on
Provisional Affiliation; or, in the case of a
representation prohibited under Section 8.7, treat the
breach as grounds for Suspension under Chapter 29.
8.8.3
WEQSC will not ordinarily suspend a School on a first
breach of a branding rule where the breach is capable of
being remedied within a short period. Notice will be given,
and a reasonable opportunity to remedy will be allowed,
before escalation.
8.9 Withdrawal of the Certificate on De-affiliation
8.9.1
Upon the termination or expiry of affiliation, the
Affiliation Certificate ceases to be valid. The School
must cease all display of the Certificate, remove all
Marks from its premises, website, prospectus, and marketing
materials, and return the Certificate to WEQSC within thirty
days of the termination or expiry.
8.9.2
The School must, within the same period, publish a notice on
its website stating that it is no longer an Affiliated
School, and must retain that notice for not less than
twelve months.
8.9.3
The School must continue to honour WISE Credentials
previously issued to its students, and must not represent
that such credentials are invalidated by the School's
de-affiliation. Credentials remain valid under Section 2.7.
8.9.4
Failure to comply with this section constitutes a
continuing Breach and may be remedied by WEQSC through
such steps as it considers appropriate, including
publication of the non-compliance on the public register.
8.10 Mandatory Disclosure in Admissions, Advertising, and Public Materials
8.10.1
Every admission communication, advertisement, promotional
material, website page, prospectus, brochure, notice, and printed
or digital material issued by or on behalf of an Affiliated School
that refers to WISE, WEQSC, the WISE International Secondary
Examination, or WISE credentials must display, clearly and
legibly, the disclosure statement set out in Section 8.10.2.
8.10.2
The required disclosure statement is as follows, and must be
reproduced in substance, in the language of the material in
which it appears:
Mandatory Disclosure — Exact Text
Important Notice
WEQSC International Secondary Examination is an international
body. It is not owned by, controlled by, or affiliated with any
council, commission, or government of any country.
WISE and WEQSC are international statutory bodies that operate
independently of national education systems and function
differently from national boards and councils.
Students may require an additional equivalency certificate from
the appropriate national authority for validation of their
credentials within their home country.
8.10.3
The disclosure statement must be:
-
Visible. In print materials, the disclosure must
appear on the same page or panel as the reference to WISE or
WEQSC, and must not be hidden in fine print, footnotes, or
separate terms and conditions. In digital materials, the
disclosure must be visible without the reader needing to
scroll past the reference or click through to another page.
-
Legible. The disclosure must be set in a font
size not smaller than the median font size of the surrounding
text, and must not be obscured by graphical treatment, low
contrast, or any design element that reduces readability.
-
Complete. The disclosure must contain all three
paragraphs specified in Section 8.10.2. No paragraph may be
omitted, condensed, or paraphrased in a manner that changes
its meaning.
-
In-language. The disclosure must appear in the
language in which the material is written. Where the material
is bilingual, the disclosure must appear in both languages.
-
Durable in broadcast media. Where the material
is broadcast or video, the disclosure must appear on screen for
a continuous period of not less than five seconds, at a size
that is legible to a viewer of average eyesight at a normal
viewing distance.
8.10.4
The disclosure statement is a minimum. Nothing in this section
prevents an Affiliated School from making additional accurate
statements about the nature of WISE and WEQSC, provided such
statements are not misleading and do not contradict the
disclosure required by this section.
8.10.5
The School must ensure that every person acting on its behalf in
admissions, marketing, or public communications — including
agents, consultants, and third-party agencies — is aware of and
complies with this section. A breach by an agent or third party
is treated as a breach by the School.
8.10.6
The School must retain, for the retention period specified in
Chapter 21, a copy of each admission communication, advertisement,
and public material issued that refers to WISE or WEQSC, together
with evidence that the disclosure statement was displayed as
required. This record is subject to inspection at audit.
8.10.7
A breach of this section — including failure to display the
disclosure, displaying it in a form that does not comply with
Section 8.10.3, or displaying it in a manner that is otherwise
calculated to obscure its meaning — is a Major Finding under
Chapter 28. Where the breach is deliberate or repeated, it is
a Critical Finding and may constitute grounds for Suspension
under Chapter 29.
8.10.8
WEQSC may, at any time, require the School to amend or withdraw
any admission communication, advertisement, or public material
that WEQSC considers to breach this chapter, whether or not the
material is otherwise in compliance. The School must comply
within seven days of such a requirement.
Further Resources
- Public register of affiliated schools —
wise.weqsc.org/schools
- School affiliation verification —
wise.weqsc.org/verify/school
- Branding assets and guidelines —
wise.weqsc.org/branding
- Certificate reissue request —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/certificate