What we do

GERSA runs the first global accreditation system designed for cross-border student recruitment. Each year, participating agencies undergo a four-part audit that reviews safeguarding and student welfare, financial integrity, ethical marketing and proven student outcomes. We blend automated database checks, including sanctions lists, regulatory licences and language-test records, with expert human review, counsellor interviews and, when needed, onsite inspections.

When an agency meets the benchmark it earns the GERSA Quality Mark. The certificate carries a QR code that links directly to an entry in our real-time public registry. Any change in status, whether a suspension, a sanction or a renewal, appears in the registry within minutes, so university admissions teams have a single, up-to-date view rather than juggling dozens of separate checks.

We keep the badge honest through continuous monitoring that combines automated alerts, breach reports and unannounced spot audits throughout the year.

• Education providers slash duplicated compliance efforts, cut exposure to fraud and visa refusals, and can demonstrate publicly, and to regulators, their commitment to student welfare.
• Ethical agents earn a trusted, independent badge that elevates them above commission-driven competitors and unlocks streamlined onboarding with partner institutions.
• Students and their families gain a clear signal of safety: an agent whose conduct, finances and counsellor advice are held to a single, enforceable global standard.

“Our recurring audits operationalise frameworks like the UK’s AQF, giving universities hard evidence that their agents meet and keep exceeding, the promised standard. That protects students, cuts sector-wide risk and saves millions in duplicated compliance costs.”

Birgit Hirst | Chief Commercial Officer

We are assembling an independent Advisory Group made up of some of the brightest and most experienced minds in international higher education: policy specialists, senior university leaders, ethical agency founders, compliance experts and student-voice champions. This cohort will test our assumptions, challenge our data and help shape every iteration of GERSA’s standard, ensuring it remains both academically rigorous and commercially workable across diverse markets.

If you share our goal of building a transparent, student-centred recruitment ecosystem and are ready to invest your expertise, we would love to hear from you. Please contact the GERSA team to discuss joining the Advisory Group and influencing what GERSA becomes.