Workshop 1, September 5, 2017 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. (SOLD OUT!)
Beyond the Basics: Confronting Issues and Challenges in the Evaluation of Foreign Credentials
As a credential evaluator, you have probably been confronted more than once with cases that are out of the ordinary and that require additional time and effort to complete. We have many tools at our disposal to help us evaluate foreign credentials, but many cases require creative solutions in order to come up with an evaluation in line with the methodology that we use. In this pre-conference workshop, we will take a closer look at some of the issues and challenges that credential evaluators have to deal with, such as
- Doubtful accreditation / recognition
- Transnational education
- Lack of reliable information
- Uncommon documentation
- Fraudulent documents
During the workshop, we will work with documents that provide concrete examples of these issues. Most of the workshop will be spent discussing and comparing how credential evaluators in various countries and working in various environments (ENIC/NARIC offices, higher education institutions, evaluation agencies, licensing authorities) evaluate these qualifications. We invite all participants to bring their own challenging examples to the workshop to share with their colleagues. At the end of the workshop, we hope to come up with recommendations and guidelines that can be useful when confronted with similar cases in the future.
Level:
Intermediate / advanced. This workshop can be beneficial to all credential evaluators and is particularly recommended for people who have at least one year of experience evaluating foreign qualifications.
Presenters:
Sarah Ledwidge, ICAS, Canada
Jessica Stannard, Nuffic, the Netherlands
Workshop 2, September 5, 2017 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Evaluating Refugee Qualifications
As wars and conflicts around the globe continue apace, this international workshop will provide an overview of the types of documentation challenges typically faced by refugees and those in refugee-like settings, and provide in-depth examples of the policies and practices undertaken in Europe and North America. It will build on the 2016 TAICEP pre-conference workshop on the same topic by highlighting key developments that have taken place over the past year. Norway’s NOKUT will discuss two key European initiatives: the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees and the Toolkit for Recognition of Refugees’ Qualifications. World Education Services will share WES’s methods of evaluating academic credentials of refugees and report on the findings from their pilot project – assessing the qualifications of 200 Syrian refugees to Canada without access to standard documentation. Italy’s CIMEA will present on the work it has undertaken to test new tools and new forms for cooperation with higher education institutions. All of the presentations and discussion will focus on lessons learned, pitfalls, and key considerations in developing your organization’s approach to fairly assessing the academic qualifications of those refugees and others in refugee-like situations who — for reasons beyond their control — can’t meet standard documentation requirements.
Target Audience:
This workshop is primarily intended for intermediate to senior evaluators who receive applications from refugees and people with unverifiable, partial, or no documentation. It can be useful to all professionals who work with refugees and/or who are responsible for developing organizational policies, such as those working in universities and college admission departments, professional regulatory bodies, credential evaluation agencies, immigrant settlement organizations, and those involved in recruitment, student advising and international services.
Learning Outcomes:
As participant, you will gain knowledge of:
- the main types of documentation challenges faced by refugees and those in refugee-like settings
- concrete developments taking place in Europe and North America and best practice approaches to assessing refugee qualifications, including tools and resources that can be implemented or adapted in your organization or institution.
- how to develop appropriate policies for your organization to recognize qualifications held by refugees and those in refugee-like settings
Presenters:
Rolf Lofstad, NOKUT, Norway
Luca Lantero, CIMEA, Italy
Beka Tavartkiladze, World Education Services
See more from this edition:
Welcome: 2017 Pre-conference Edition
Session Descriptions: 2017 Pre-conference Edition
More Conference Information: 2017 Pre-conference Edition
Big Change: No More National Emblem on the Chinese Degree Certificate: Pre-conference Edition
Add to Your Library: 2017 Pre-conference Edition
In the News and Publications or Videos: 2017 Pre-conference Edition
2016 Business Meeting Minutes: 2017 Pre-conference Edition
Conference and Organizational Sponsors: 2017 Pre-conference Edition