The counsellors who send you students, certified to a published standard.
A free, verifiable certification for high school counsellors who guide students to universities abroad, delivered by FPP (The Student World University Access) together with World Educational Leaders. Universities do not pay to endorse it. They gain a trained, identifiable counterpart in every school that holds the seal.
The credential thousands of counsellors held is losing its home
Since 2023, high school counsellors around the world have displayed the THE Counsellor Accreditation Programme credential, run by BMI GlobalEd. On 30 October 2026, Times Higher Education announced that BMI closes by the end of the year. What remains on the market is paid, built for the United States or the United Kingdom, and not designed for the schools that send students to your campus from Brazil, Latin America and beyond.
The Global Counsellor Certification takes that place with three things the old programme never had: a published standard, a credential anyone can verify in two taps, and the endorsement of universities, visible on the credential itself.
- Free for the counsellor and the school. Funded on the university side, through FPP's events and the University Access platform.
- Ten online modules, live webinars with universities, a peer-reviewed written assignment, two-year validity.
- In English, Portuguese, Spanish and French, with a recognition path for counsellors who already hold the THE CAP.
Your name on the standard, your logo on the credential
Endorsing costs nothing and creates no obligation of admission or scholarship. It says that your university recognises the published standard and considers a certified counsellor a prepared counterpart.
On the credential
Open Badges 3.0 supports endorsements signed by third parties. Your university signs its own, and every certified counsellor carries "Endorsed by" with your logo, in their wallet and on LinkedIn.
In the directory
The public directory of certified counsellors, by country and school, lists the endorsing universities: "recognised by N universities in M countries". Schools show it to families; you use it to find counsellors.
In the programme
Priority to host the live webinars with counsellors during the programme, and a seat in the regional meetings held alongside FPP's events in 2027.
At the table
Three university representatives sit on the advisory board that governs the standard, with the counsellors. Endorsing universities are the pool we invite from.
What a certified counsellor can do
Eight competencies, published and assessed. The full standard, the assessment rubric and the code of conduct are open on University Access, so your admissions team knows exactly what the seal means.
| Competency | In practice |
|---|---|
| Admission systems | Explains applications, deadlines, tests and selection in the main destinations, and knows where to confirm yearly changes. |
| Real cost and funding | Tells scholarships, discounts and aid apart; builds realistic scenarios with the family. |
| Data-informed advising | Uses fit, retention and employability data to widen options, not to narrow them. |
| Ethics and protection | Acts in the student's interest, declares conflicts of interest, protects data. |
| Families | Leads the difficult conversations and documents decisions taken together. |
| The application | Guides transcripts, letters, essays and interviews without writing for the student. |
| After the offer | Follows visas, enrolment, health and arrival; knows when to refer. |
| Digital tools and AI | Transparent use of platforms and AI, with the student in control. |
Assessment: ten modules with a 70% pass mark, at least two webinars, and a 1,500 to 2,500 word assignment applied to the counsellor's school, reviewed by two certified peers. Validity: two years, renewed with update modules.
How to endorse
- Tell us you are inFill in the form below. We reply with the endorsement letter, one page, and the logo guidelines.
- Sign the endorsementYour international office signs; no fee, no exclusivity, no obligation of admission or scholarship. You may withdraw at any time.
- Appear from day oneEndorsing universities confirmed by early December are named in the public announcement, on the credential and in the directory.
2027 at a glance
- December 2026Public announcement with the first endorsing universities, through the sector press.
- January to June 2027Recognition window for counsellors who hold the THE CAP: bridge module, code of conduct, individual approval.
- March 2027First cohort of the full programme. Regional meetings alongside FPP events in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico in the first half; United States, Europe and Asia in the second.
- WEL Forum, New YorkFirst cohort ceremony and Counsellor of the Year.
Endorse the Global Counsellor Certification
Leave your details and we send the endorsement letter and the logo guidelines. You can also ask to host a webinar or to be considered for the advisory board.
One brand, two signatures, a standard anyone can read.
Counsellor-facing pages, in four languages, on University Access.
