CACES regulates the recognition of foreign accreditations for degrees and programs

The CACES published in the Official Registry No. 375 on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the Regulation for the recognition of accreditations of degrees or programs from higher education institutions granted by foreign accreditation agencies. The codification is issued through Resolution No. 028-SO-06-CACES-2023 and incorporates the reforms of Resolution No. 005-SO-02-CACES-2025 and Resolution No. 097-SO-17-CACES-2026. The regulation establishes which agencies can be recognized, what documentation universities must present, and the timeframes in which the Council resolves.

The regulation was originally approved by the Plenary of the Council for the Assurance of Quality of Higher Education on March 14, 2023, in its Sixth Ordinary Session, and the current codification was issued in Quito on June 16, 2026, in the Seventeenth Ordinary Session. The document bears the signature of Ximena Córdova-Vallejo, president of CACES, and the certification of Cindy Belén Muñoz Borja, secretary of the Plenary (E.F).

The regulation is based on Article 353 of the Constitution, Article 171 of the Organic Law of Higher Education—which defines CACES as a technical public body with regulatory authority—and Executive Decree No. 494, which issued the Regulation to the LOES. It expressly repeals the previous Regulation for the Recognition of Accreditations from Foreign Accreditation Agencies, issued through Resolution No. 100-SE-21-CACES-2021 on August 26, 2021.

Requirements for agencies and universities

Recognition only proceeds for agencies that appear on the official list approved by CACES, published on its website with the name of the agency and the enabled fields of knowledge. Entry into this list can occur through three channels:

• By initiative of CACES.
• By request from a higher education institution (IES) addressed to the Presidency of the Council.
• By request from the foreign accreditation agency itself.

Agencies must support their operation in the country of origin and present an evaluation model that mandatorily includes the three substantive functions: teaching, research, and community outreach. Documentation issued in a language other than Spanish must be duly translated.

On the part of the universities, the IES must be accredited by CACES and the degree or program must have current status in the SNIESE as of the date of the request. It is required that the foreign accreditation retains at least two years of validity and that the in situ visit was in-person, with international peer evaluators who do not reside in Ecuador.

Processing timeframes

The procedure ranges from registration on the platform and the request signed by the highest authority of the HEI to the resolution of the Plenary, passing through the verification of the Permanent Commission for Degrees or Postgraduate Programs and the technical report from the Technical Secretariat. The estimated times are:

• Technical report: 30 days from the submission of the request.
• Plenary resolution: 10 days after receiving the report.
• New request after a filed procedure: 3 months.
• Computer application to automate procedures: 60 days.
• Official list of foreign agencies: 15 days from the regulation’s effective date.
• Proposed reform of the methodology: 30 days.

Scope, health, and control of agencies

The recognition is valid throughout the national territory and is equivalent to the accreditation granted by CACES, during the validity period established in the official documents of the accrediting agency. Recognized international accreditations are published on the institutional website along with their validity period and the corresponding resolution.

Degrees in the health field that have international recognition must mandatorily enter the CACES evaluation processes; if they fail to accredit, the recognition is annulled. Degrees that are “in the process of accreditation” or “not accredited” must first obtain accreditation from the Council.

CACES may monitor the agencies included in the list and remove those that fail to comply with the regulation or act against quality processes, following a resolution by the Plenary. Recognitions already granted to HEIs maintain their original validity, and the removed agency may request reentry after six months.

The resolution directly concerns universities and polytechnic schools seeking to validate degrees and programs accredited abroad in Ecuador, as well as students verifying the validity of those accreditations. By establishing verifiable requirements, certain deadlines, and a published official list, the regulation organizes the use of foreign accreditations within the Ecuadorian higher education system.

Source: Official Registry No. 375, Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Resolutions section (Executive Branch), pp. 11-25 (official reference: Resolution No. 028-SO-06-CACES-2023).