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    World Higher Education Database (WHED)

    The World Higher Education Database WHED is the International Association of Universities’ (IAU) unique online reference portal that provides comprehensive and detailed information on Higher Education Systems, Credentials and Institutions around the world. It provides authoritative information on higher education worldwide. In partnership with UNESCO, the IAU secretariat receives and updates information in the WHED on an ongoing basis focusing each year on one specific region.

    IAU Global Portal on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD)

    The IAU Global Portal on HESD is a collaborative platform gathering sustainable development initiatives undertaken by higher education institutions worldwide. It aims to allow IAU members to share their successes and inspire the higher education community.

    International Bibliographic Database on Higher Education (HEDBIB)

    HEDBIB is a bibliographical database referencing publications on higher education systems, administration, planning, policy, and evaluation. It contains bibliographic references to all publications held in the specialised collection of the IAU-UNESCO Information Centre, as well as higher education publications and documents identified by the IAU Information Centre monitoring team. Referencing ceased as of 1 January 2022.

    To get involved in the various portals mentioned above please go to the respective portals and /or contact us.




  • World Higher Education Database (WHED)
    IAU WHED

    THE WORLD OF
    HIGHER EDUCATION
    AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

    >> ACCESS WHED <<


    WHAT IS WHED?

    The unique database providing authoritative information on higher education systems, credentials and institutions worldwide

    The World Higher Education Database (WHED) is the IAU unique online reference portal that provides authoritative information on some 19,800 accredited higher education institutions as well as on higher education systems and credentials in 196 countries and territories. It is globally recognized as an official source of information.

    IAU has been collecting this data since its foundation in 1950. The WHED has evolved constantly to meet the needs of the global higher education community. The WHED team collects, processes, validates and publishes comprehensive and detailed higher education data on the portal on a continuous basis. It is a collaborative project with UNESCO and includes the following information:

    INSTITUTIONSSYSTEMS & CREDENTIALS

    - Basic Info
    Name in English & native language, country

    - In-depth info
    History, source of funding, fields of study, divisions and degrees offered, accrediting body, admission requirements, key figures

    - Key Contacts
    Name and phone number of the head of institution, administrative and international relations officers

    - AND NOW ! The Global WHED ID:
    a unique identifier for each HEI in the world !


    - National higher education structure


    - Quality assurance systems


    - Governing bodies


    - Credentials and admission criteria



    How is data collected?


    The IAU obtains its information from national higher education authorities, governmental agencies and national academic bodies.



    Who uses the WHED?



    - Internationalization and Admissions offices at HEIs
    - Governmental agencies and national authorities
    - Higher education grant-awarding authorities
    - Quality assurance agencies
    - International organisations
    - Researchers
    - Human resources in the private sector



    How can I benefit from the WHED?




    - SEARCH
    Find the information you need through in-depth search functions

    - EXPLORE
    Research and analyse the higher education landscape

    - EXTRACT
    Obtain customized data sets

    - ADVERTISE
    Increase your visibility as an IAU Member


    Get an access to WHED

    THE GLOBAL WHED ID

    The constant and rapid development of the higher education landscape, on all continents, triggered discussions with key stakeholders, initially UNESCO and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), on the need to facilitate the identification of higher education institutions. This led to the development of a new feature called Global WHED ID, which uniquely identifies each higher education institution listed in the World Higher Education Database (WHED).



    What purpose does the Global WHED ID serve?


    This project gained additional momentum in connection during the drafting process of the UNESCO Global Convention on the recognition of higher education qualifications, submitted for adoption at the UNESCO General Conference November 2019 (IAU took part in the process).

    The Global Convention aims to increase transparency in the higher education landscape at the global level, and to enhance orientation through the ever-expanding field of higher education, by providing a standard for the listings of accredited higher education institutions.

    The new development serves several major goals that are dear to the Association:

    - Foster transparency of higher education on a global scale;
    - Make available information on higher education systems and the list of nationally accredited higher education institutions to all;
    - Help facilitate communication within the global higher education community;
    - Address the needs of Higher Education stakeholders seeking to identify accredited HE institutions and gather information on them;
    - Increase access, speed and the reliability of information;
    - Provide better overall administrative certainty;
    - Finally yet importantly, combat fraud in higher education.



    Who uses the Global WHED ID ?


    All stakeholders, whether they be higher education experts, researchers, accreditation officers, international student officers, UN agencies, or HR administrators, to name but a few.



    Special Benefit to IAU Members


    The visibility of IAU Members is facilated in WHED through a permalink.


    Discover the Global WHED ID

    GET ACCESS

    While information on systems and credentials across the world remain open to access, different subscription offers are available and provide IAU members with special features to boost their visibility and make maximum use of WHED’s up-to-date and authoritative information on higher education institutions.


    Discover the dedicated WHED features offered to IAU Members !



    Download this information in PDF

    >> Need more information about Membership ? Click here

    >> For more information contact [email protected].

    The International Handbook of Universities


    The International Handbook of Universities was first published in 1959 in response to the growing demand for authoritative information about higher education institutions. It has grown considerably over the years in both the quantity and quality of entries, and includes higher education institutions that offer at least a 4-year degree or a 4-year professional diploma. It is published every year. The latest edition - the 29th edition - was released in eformat and in print in December 2019.

    >> Order printed copy
    >> Request more information

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