ESL Jobs Forum

[BAM101]

Hello Everyone�This is my first post to this forum. I have a question about how and by whom Uni degrees are verified. Is this done by the country at the time a visa is applied for, or is it done by the school where one is applying for work? Also, do the certification schools like TEFL or TITC (or others) verify your degree, or will they simply accept my diploma as proof of my degree?

The reason I am asking this is because, although I do have a valid university degree (BSB), the college that I graduated from is no longer in operation. They closed their doors in the mid 80痴. I do have my original diploma and transcript, but verification at this point would be difficult at best.

If I simply submit my diploma for either the visa process or at the school I want to teach at, will that be enough? I am considering teaching in Thailand, Vietnam or (least likely) China. Can anyone tell me what I would be up against if my degree cannot be verified?

Thank you

[sonja]

Hi,
In regards to your query, it really depends on the country you want to teach in. In China & Vietnam you don't need a degree to get a work visa. Thailand changes all the time. In other countries like South Korea you definitely need a degree to get a visa. I had to send sealed & dated academic transcripts directly from my University to Korea. I also had to send a copy of my degree which had to have an "authorised copy" stamp from the Korean embassy in my home country. Never send any original documents. Then while I was in Korea the immigration had a big clamp down on fake degrees and we all had to go to the immigration dept to show our certified copies again. Some friends were deported back to Canada for having fake degrees. Currently I'm in Turkey where a degree is not essential but it gets you a better paying job. Lots of people here have fake degrees and no one seems to care (probably because it's not a govt requirement).
Hope this helps
Sonja
sonjalina.sasse@teachinternational.com

[Lexicon]

Bam,

If you're from the US, all schools that shut down are required to do some sort of de-certification. I think it's mainly something to do with federal financial aide.

But, you should be able to get some sort of sworn affidavit from the state where the school operated vouching for the authenticity of your diploma.

It might be worth contacting the Dept of Education.

If you're non-US, I don't know how this works.

Good Luck,

Drew

[bondy57]

I am an old man now but with a kids heart. I am not pretentious, I am not an egotist or a primadonna ....... as in life "proof is in the pudding"

[bondy57]

Degrees are only pieces of paper .... they DON"T PROVE YOUR ABILITY .... I repeat, "proof is in the pudding," you just need the appropriate authority to recognise and understand that.
In China where I work I have seen teachers with degrees coming out of their ears .... they didn't last long .... they couldn't teach .... they could not think outside of the box or laterally.

[bondy57]

It's not about what you are, it's about WHO YOU ARE

[JamesAtRealize]