Getting a degree recognized

[darktoad]

Hey everyone. I thought about getting a BA from this University here. www.usat.ms. It's a University in Montserrat. Now there is a problem that certain Universities aren't recognized by the Taiwan government. However when I did more research and questioning, here were the answers I was given.

Answer 1:
where an Apostille is requested from certain countries, the best alternative is to have the degree legalized and authenticated in the United States through CUFCE. (California University of Foreign Credential Evaluation) All members of the United Nations are expected to recognize the Authentication from the United States. However, it is not mandatory that the recipient country recognize it. The U.S. authentication will just increase chances of getting the degree recognized, but CUFCE cannot guarantee recognition.

Answer 2:
Some students used the degree successfully in Taiwan to get a work visa. Others were denied. It seems that it depends on the agent that you end up being interviewed by. It seems that some agents don’t like distance degrees, whereas others don’t mind. We have seen incidents where one person was accepted and the next person did the same thing but had to provide more in depth information. Be as pleasant, cooperative and agreeable as you can and you should find it easier.

I know this is alot of info. But given the information I have so far. When it comes to getting a degree accepted into Taiwan, is there any advice you could give when it comes to dealing with that? If a degree from the University mentioned above could be accepted at all? Would an apostille from CUFCE (California University of Foreign Credential Evaluation) be of any use?

Any info would be greatly accepted. Thanks.

[bigduke6]

I see they offer on campus degrees as well as distance learning ones.

Which one do you plan on doing?

[darktoad]

I see they offer on campus degrees as well as distance learning ones.

Which one do you plan on doing?

Well it will be a combination of both distance and in class lessons. I know they say the Taiwan government doesn't accept distance degrees. However my degree and transcripts won't say specifically whether it was distance or in class.

Plus I was told that some people with a degree from USAT.ms DID get their work permits and ARC's based on that degree. Some people were denied. I was hoping to get into contact with those that DID get accepted based on that degree so I could get advice from them, but it's really hard to find them. All I could think of to do was log on here and see if anyone has knowledge on anything like this.

All I can say is that the University is accredited by the government of Montserrat. An overseas territory of the UK.

[bigduke6]

I see they offer on campus degrees as well as distance learning ones.

Which one do you plan on doing?

Well it will be a combination of both distance and in class lessons. I know they say the Taiwan government doesn't accept distance degrees. However my degree and transcripts won't say specifically whether it was distance or in class.

Plus I was told that some people with a degree from USAT.ms DID get their work permits and ARC's based on that degree. Some people were denied. I was hoping to get into contact with those that DID get accepted based on that degree so I could get advice from them, but it's really hard to find them. All I could think of to do was log on here and see if anyone has knowledge on anything like this.

All I can say is that the University is accredited by the government of Montserrat. An overseas territory of the UK.

This is a grey area. When I did my undergraduate, I did by correspondence. When I cam here for a year in 02, it was accepted.
When I came again in 09, it was not accepted. They would have accepted my postgrad diploma (1 year at a recognized uni) as well as a weekend TEFL course diploma.

I got married, so I did ultimately not need a work based ARC.

It often depends solely on the official you are dealing with and the relationship the school has with whoever issues ARC's and work permits.

Will you qualify? No one knows until you apply.

[darktoad]

They would have accepted my postgrad diploma (1 year at a recognized uni) as well as a weekend TEFL course diploma.

I got married, so I did ultimately not need a work based ARC.

It often depends solely on the official you are dealing with and the relationship the school has with whoever issues ARC's and work permits.

Will you qualify? No one knows until you apply.

They would've accepted your one year diploma plus a tesol certificate? I was told that it had to be at least a two year diploma combined with a TESOL certificate.

[bigduke6]

They would have accepted my postgrad diploma (1 year at a recognized uni) as well as a weekend TEFL course diploma.

I got married, so I did ultimately not need a work based ARC.

It often depends solely on the official you are dealing with and the relationship the school has with whoever issues ARC's and work permits.

Will you qualify? No one knows until you apply.

They would've accepted your one year diploma plus a tesol certificate? I was told that it had to be at least a two year diploma combined with a TESOL certificate.

The law says a 2 year ASSOCIATE degree and a TEFL certificate. I was offered a work visa with a one year postgraduate diploma and a weekend TEFL certificate.
Go figure. This is Taiwan, and often what is law and what is practiced are different sides of the coin.

You are basically taking a gamble, as to whether they will accept your degree.

Apparently there is a list of accepted universities. Don't ask me where, though.

[darktoad]

The law says a 2 year ASSOCIATE degree and a TEFL certificate. I was offered a work visa with a one year postgraduate diploma and a weekend TEFL certificate.
Go figure. This is Taiwan, and often what is law and what is practiced are different sides of the coin.

You are basically taking a gamble, as to whether they will accept your degree.

Apparently there is a list of accepted universities. Don't ask me where, though.

Yes. There is a list. And my University isn't on it. But I did hear that there were some Universities not on the list which had their degrees accepted in Taiwan. Plus some people with a degree from my University did get accepted. That's all I can really say. I assume nobody in Taiwan ever used an apostille?

If my degree doesn't work, then facts are facts I guess.

[bigduke6]

The law says a 2 year ASSOCIATE degree and a TEFL certificate. I was offered a work visa with a one year postgraduate diploma and a weekend TEFL certificate.
Go figure. This is Taiwan, and often what is law and what is practiced are different sides of the coin.

You are basically taking a gamble, as to whether they will accept your degree.

Apparently there is a list of accepted universities. Don't ask me where, though.

Yes. There is a list. And my University isn't on it. But I did hear that there were some Universities not on the list which had their degrees accepted in Taiwan. Plus some people with a degree from my University did get accepted. That's all I can really say. I assume nobody in Taiwan ever used an apostille?

If my degree doesn't work, then facts are facts I guess.

Exactly. As I said before, it depends on the school, the official, the schools relationship with said official, etc etc.

I do not see the relevancy of an apostille? All this is, is authenticating a document. It has nothing to do with whether the MOE will accept the document.

Even stranger, is that when I was going to get a work ARC, an Apostille was required. Taiwan is not even part of the Hague convention, as far as I know.