Volume 8/ Number 2 May 2021 Article 3 Rethinking the Attributes of Academic Certificates: Implications for Policy and Practice CHRISTOPHER M. OWUSU-ANSAH CHRISTOPHER M. OWUSU-ANSAH holds a PhD in Information Science from the University of South Africa. He is a Senior Assistant Librarian and College Librarian, College of Agriculture Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana. AUGUSTUS KWAW BREW AUGUSTUS KWAW BREW holds an MA in Adult Education from the University of Ghana. He is College Registrar, College of Agriculture Education Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana. ROSEMARY ADU POKU ROSEMARY ADU POKU holds an MSc in Technology from Purdue University in USA. She is an Assistant Registrar, Office of the College Registrar, Division of Operations, College of Agriculture Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana. For this and additional works at: anujat.anuc.edu.gh Copyright © May 2021 All Nations University Journal of Applied Thought (ANUJAT) and Authors ANUJAT/VOLUM E 8/NUMBER 2/ MAY 2021/ARTICLE 3 Recommended Citation: Owusu-Ansah, M. C., Brew, K. A. & Poku, R. A. (2021). Rethinking the Attributes of Academic Certificates: Implications for Policy and Practice. All Nations University Journal of Applied Thought (ANUJAT),8(2): 31-55. All Nations University Press. doi: http://doi.org/10.47987/TZKK9575 Available at: http://anujat.anuc.edu.gh/Vol8/No2/3.pdf Research Online is the Institutional repository for All Nations University College. For further information, contact the ANUC Library: [email protected] Abstract Educational institutions and employers who depend on the authenticity of academic certificates for making admission and hiring decisions face a considerable challenge in identifying the features of genuine academic certificates including tedious verification processes and wrongful engagement of unqualified personnel. The purpose of this paper was to identify trends in academic certificate production with specific regards to their standard features, such as wording, security enhancements and features, and other unique features, and the extent to which these features contribute to the intrinsic and extrinsic values of certificates. Furthermore, the paper investigates the extent to which selected universities replace lost or damaged certificates. The study employed a qualitative design involving document and web content analysis. To address the central question of the study, the authors analysed the standard features of academic certificates issued by 20 universities across the globe. Furthermore, we performed a web content analysis to find policies or guidelines on the replacement of academic certificates. The results revealed that while academic certificates from the selected institutions bore a few unique characteristics, most of the certificates, however, bore many common features. Some of the common features included the location of the emblem/logo of the on the certificate, date of the award, degree name, signature specimen of top officials, and security features such as holograms. On the other hand, unique features included some certificates displaying a statement on the availability of electronic certificates, rendering of the university’s name in multiple languages, among others. The study also found that lost or mutilated certificates are replaced by European-based universities, whereas those in Africa did not. Among others, the paper recommended that awarding institutions in Africa should consider re-issuing lost or destroyed certificates. Keywords: Awarding institutions, Lost Certificates, Content analysis, Universities, Verification 31 ANUJAT/VOLUM E 8/NUMBER 2/ MAY 2021/ARTICLE 3 Introduction Higher education institutions are expected to educate, train, and, eventually, award certificates or certify their learners as competent, qualified, and to some extent, employable, at the end of their studies (Carnevale, Rose, & Hanson, 2013). Through a combination of curricular and extra-curricular activities demonstrated through tuition, assessment and evaluation in several cognitive, behavioural, and skill-based tasks, training institutions ensure that only those learners who meet the expected standards of performance are awarded certificates for symbolising their mastery and or expertise in a field of learning or practice. The awarding of an academic certificate and or certification at the end of a programme of study is indicative of the acquisition of expected knowledge, skills, and aptitudes in a field of study or practice. Certification may also imply that the certified person possess the minimum level of skills to embark on lifelong learning in the specified area. Certification may be indicative of the certificated person’s ability to contribute meaningfully to the workforce, improve on the state of an existing phenomenon, and carve a niche in one’s chosen profession (Garwe, 2015). Academic certificates issued by most universities and colleges worldwide are paper-based, embedding in them several standard physical features and security enhancements as proliferation in technology and degree mills result in credential fraud and certificate piracy (Cohen & Winch, 2011; Garwe, 2015; Ochieng, 2016). Despite these features, it is inevitable for paper-based documents to be subjected to the forces of nature, mutilation, or loss (Library of Congress, 2019). To address this challenge, some universities have policies for the replacement of issued academic certificates (University of Sussex, 2021). These policies persist on the recognition that losing a certificate on the basis of external factors is inevitable. There is a need for universities and colleges to update their policies on the replacement of academic certificates. Previous studies concerned with this problem explored several aspects of the credential crisis including qualification fraud (Garwe, 2015; Mohamedbhai, 2020); degree mills (Cohen & Winch, 2011); credential fraud prevention with block chain and artificial intelligence (Al Wahaibi & Jose, 2020; Kosasi, 2020; Sharples & Domingue, 2016); entry requirements and qualifications (Amasuomo, 2014; Denholm, 2017; Odukoya et al., 2018; Yusuf & Onifade, 2018a), among others. However, a few, if any, of these studies examined the actual features of academic certificates relative to their standardization. Also, there is little focus on the phenomenon of replacement policies for academic certificates. This paper examines the physical features of selected academic certificates of universities from several global regions to ascertain commonalities and uniqueness in their features with a view to identifying standards and best practices in academic certificates production and how these features might influence awarding institutions to evolve policies on the replacement of academic certificates. Garwe (2015) reiterated the need for institutional, national and international strategies to curb the scourge of credential fraud. To this end, the paper makes up for the dearth of empirical research on trends in academic certificate production and the related policies of their awarding institutions on the replacement of academic certificates. A certificate is a mark of distinction, identity, and authenticity. It carries not just authority but an assurance that its holder is credible in whatever body of knowledge area or capacity he or 32 ANUJAT/VOLUM E 8/NUMBER 2/ MAY 2021/ARTICLE 3 she represents. Again, an academic certificate carries a notion of truth and elicits trust. It is an essential commodity in the educational enterprise and the job market (Garwe, 2015). The importance of certificates has necessitated the need to safeguard their production and distribution. Different educational institutions award their certificates, and, often, these certificates have various features. However, a rising problem in the higher education sector is that certificates are being pirated by unscrupulous persons for commercial, and qualification or credential fraud. The requirement to produce certificates before one can secure employment has resulted in the astronomical popularity of degree mills and “certificate pirates”. Improved technology has also made pirating certificates very easy and sophisticated. The consequence of this rising trend is that educational institutions and employers who depend on the authenticity of certificates for making admission and hiring decisions face a considerable challenge in identifying the features of genuine academic certificates. Occasionally, the process of verification is prolonged because verification institutions are inundated with requests from employers and other organisations to verify certificates that bear several features, which may sometimes be unfamiliar to the verifying authority. Some organisations and institutions that rely on the verified results also lack an understanding of the features of authentic certificates. This often results in credential fraud perpetrated by students on educational institutions on the one hand, and employees on their employers, on the other (Cohen & Winch, 2011). Furthermore, circumstances beyond the control of genuine certificate holders may culminate in the loss or damage of an authentic certificate. In many African countries, including Ghana, while universities in, practice, do not generally replace lost or damaged certificates, there is also a lack of policy on replacement of lost or damaged