International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

IQAS provides an advisory educational assessment service which compares educational qualifications from other countries to provincial educational standards. Clients include: individuals, employers, Canadian educational institutions, professional licensing bodies, organizations and other provinces.

History of IQAS

The International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) of Alberta Government opened its doors on June 1, 1994. IQAS evaluates the education of individuals who obtained their education abroad and issues certificates of comparison to educational standards in a Canadian province. The mandate of IQAS is to provide a fair and credible educational assessment service that recognizes education achieved in countries outside of Canada.

The service is a result of the dedication, hard work and cooperative efforts of numerous groups in Alberta and across Canada. Immigrant-serving agencies, post-secondary institutions, professional licensing bodies, employers and various federal and provincial government agencies played an important role in the development of the service. The IQAS team is committed to providing an assessment service that is based on clearly defined and fair principles developed and maintained in partnership with these groups.

In 1995, IQAS extended its partnerships across provincial borders, to the government of Saskatchewan. IQAS signed an agreement with the government of Saskatchewan to provide the full range of educational assessment services to residents, post-secondary institutions and professional associations in Saskatchewan. For a set fee, IQAS agreed to modify all of its assessment services and products to compare to Saskatchewan educational standards. Joint Alberta and Saskatchewan government logos appear on all IQAS assessment certificates and products, reflecting the important new partnership and collaboration. The collaboration has added extra value to IQAS assessments in that they are now fully portable and transferable across provincial borders.