Job Discussion Forums

[fluffyhamster]

[scot47]

Being an adult is tough.

[nomad soul]

[fluffyhamster]

Well, if Cambridge is letting centers just run themselves completely like businesses rather than educational providers, that's disappointing considering the fees involved. Still, cases like the OPs may be rare enough that this won't worry Cambridge too much. High uniform standards blah blah blah.

[mmcmorrow]

A few comments / suggestions:

Celta certificates are issued by Cambridge, not by individual centres. So, if Rosalind received a Celta certificate in 2004, it must have been from Cambridge.

If so, it's odd that Cambridge doesn't have a record of her - or apparently other candidates from the same centre in 2004.

I think it's worth Rosalind trying to recall what her certificate looked like. Did it say 'Cambridge University' (probably at that time, University of Cambridge local examinations syndicate). Other useful bits of information for her to recall would be if she completed a Celta 5 form during the course (and signed it at the end) - that's a blue folder, where the trainees enter a record of lessons, observations and assignments. Does she remember having one or two tutorials where the trainer went through the assessment criteria (in the Celta 5) and then they both signed it. And also, was there a visiting assessor who sat in on lessons one day and introduced him/herself to the group? All of these are requirements of Celta courses.

I notice looking at the centre's website that it only opened in 2004 and was a collaboration between IH Mexico and IH Barcelona. It's possible, given that the school had just opened, that any Celta course there in 2004 might have been run as an off-centre course by either IH Mexico City or IH Barcelona (i.e. with trainers and resources provided by the other established centre). I recall seeing advertisements for trainers for the Celta courses run off-site by IH Mexico City several years ago, so perhaps this was one of them.

That could possibly explain why Cambridge doesn't have records of Celta courses listed under IH Rivera Maya for 2004 - even if they were run in that location, it could be that they are registered as courses run by the IH Mexico City (or even IH Barcelona). It may also explain why IHRM itself could have limited records of the course. Obviously, I don't know for sure, but I do have a hunch - it's not an unusual situation - I once worked in a new school that had a similar arrangement with an established centre while they got their Celta course up and running - and I know IH Mexico has done this before.

I suggest Rosalind follows up on this - asking the centre and possibly the other centres I've mentioned, as well as asking Cambridge to look in other places. It's also worth her double-checking what exact name appeared on her certificate (Celta courses generally ask trainees at the beginning of courses how they want their name to appear - I always recommend them aligning it with how it appears on their passports). Even small changes of name can mean that electronic searches draw a blank.

If she gets a bit more information about her course - by recalling more details and/or obtaining it from the centre - she can then pass that onto Cambridge and hopefully solve the issue.

As I think someone else has pointed out, this means she can get an official letter from Cambridge - but they don't reissue certificates, so she may find that a barrier as certain countries might not issue visas and some employers insist on original certificates.

Martin McMorrow, Massey University, New Zealand

[Xie Lin]

Very useful suggestions from Martin. I hope Rosalind will bring us up to date if there is any change.

[Prof.Gringo]