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hash
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 456
Location: Wadi Jinn
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 Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:16 am Post subject: "ONLINE" Appearing on US College Transcripts |
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Readers contemplating doing ONLINE course work leading go a USA degree should be aware that colleges and universities are more and more notating if a course was done online (distance) or on campus on official transcripts.
Most likely they got sick and tired of potential employers calling and inquiring about this so they're beginning to add the information on transcripts.
This is important because as we all know, many employers worldwide still don't accept online coursework let alone full degrees as legitimate.
In my line of work here, I review potential candidates and as I said, this sort of thing is appearing on transcripts more and more (so I'm not just making this up to get my name on lights). At first, my employer couldn't understand why I insisted on having transcripts from applicants......he though the "diploma" should suffice. Now he knows why.
Last edited by hash on Mon Feb 15, 2016 8:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 8:46 am Post subject: Re: "ONLINE" Appearing on US Transcripts |
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| hash wrote: |
Readers contemplating doing ONLINE course work leading go a USA degree should be aware that colleges and universities are more and more notating if a course was done online (distance) or on campus on official transcripts.
Most likely they got sick and tired of potential employers calling and inquiring about this so they're beginning to add the information on transcripts.
In my line of work here, I review potential candidates and as I said, this sort of thing is appearing on transcripts more and more (so I'm not just making this up to get my name on lights). |
Where have you been, hash? This has been discussed numerous times in this forum. Requiring info on online course credits is nothing new. For the past couple of years, the SACM in the US has been requiring a distance learning form that the university registrar fills out. (See the SACM's site, and click on "Forms" on the left menu for the distance form along with the consent form to release personal info.)
I seriously doubt Saudi employers are phoning long distance to US universities and obtaining confidential info on prospective American employees. Additionally, universities have their own codes or abbreviations for course delivery --- there's no requirement as to how it should be indicated on transcripts. You can also look up the university's course registration codes online since most employers request transcripts anyway upon application.
Common sense should tell you if the courses were online, especially if the job applicant was teaching outside the States while completing a degree from a US university. Frankly, Saudi employers concerned about applicants' online coursework should clearly state in their job ads that online TEFL certs and qualifying degrees with distance/online coursework will not be accepted. Period. Be proactive about it. Saves on making pointless long distance calls and dealing with time zones. |
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Saudi Arabia one of the most dysfunctional countries in the world does not tolerate any transcripts that have online courses. In my opinion online courses are not inferior for certain classes, and usually online courses are hybrid courses anyway. Let's hope the online denotation is by consent only for those poor souls that need to work in a country superficial enough to do the crap that Saudi Arabia does to prospective employees. |
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hash
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 456
Location: Wadi Jinn
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| Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| plumpy nut wrote: |
| Saudi Arabia one of the most dysfunctional countries in the world does not tolerate any transcripts that have online courses. . |
This may have been true at one time up until about 5 years ago, but currently, online courses and even entire degrees (BA, MA) are now being accepted more and more for hiring purposes at least in the ESL field in the Kingdom. I know for sure of 2 unis where this is true. I suspect it's true elsewhere.
Naturally, degrees from Anglophone unis are expected, but I've seen an ESL MA from Krakow and one from Taipei (although these weren't online).
That's the good news. The bad news is that online degrees/courses are paid at a lower scale than their on-campus equivalents. That is, in simple terms, if you have an online degree you will get paid less than an on-campus degree would get you. What the rationale is I don't know, but there it is.
(For those old timers who were present in the halcyon days of ESL in KSA, this practice is reminiscent of the old pay scales based on nationalities (some of which still exist). Believe it or not, in those days if you were a USA national, you towered (I like that word) over your Brit, Canadian, SAfrican, NZealander and Aussie counterparts as far as pay was concerned. The most bitter, long-lasting and non-forgiving ex-pat feuds in KSA had their origin in this state of affairs.)
Finally, it is true (or at least, it USED to be true) that barring online degrees from employment was a government edict, but influential, powerful employers (which unis are) were always - in the end - allowed to hire whom they pleased and this has become even more true today.
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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| hash wrote: |
Currently, online courses and even entire degrees (BA, MA) are now being accepted more and more for hiring purposes at least in the ESL field in the Kingdom. I know for sure of 2 unis where this is true.
....
If you have an online degree you will get paid less than an on-campus degree would get you. What the rationale is I don't know, but there it is.
Finally, it is true (or at least, it USED to be true) that barring online degrees from employment was a government edict, but influential, powerful employers (which unis are) were always - in the end - allowed to hire whom they pleased and this has become even more true today. |
Since you're making the claim, which specific two universities are hiring applicants --- whose qualifying degrees have online credits --- as direct hires (no third party involvement) and for a proper employment/work visa and not a business visit visa? |
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hash
Joined: 17 Dec 2014
Posts: 456
Location: Wadi Jinn
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| Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:47 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
Since you're making the claim, which specific two universities are hiring applicants --- whose qualifying degrees have online credits --- as direct hires (no third party involvement) and for a proper employment/work visa and not a business visit visa? |
I'm not "making a claim". I'm stating a fact. I have personally dealt with two teachers hired by separate unis in KSA within the last year both teachers of which had at least 50%+ of their qualifying coursework done online at accredited USA universities. These were direct hires with entry visas leading to a Muqeem Residency Card.
In one case, the credits were identified and described clearly on the transcript (as I mentioned in my first posting here) as taken and completed entirely online. I will be 100% frank - although the uni OFFERED him the job, the applicant turned it down precisely because the offer was too low. When I explained why it was so low, he was not pleased with the explanation.
The point is, he COULD HAVE come....the job was offered despite his online qualifications.
As to the names of the 2 unis involved here, I will not divulge them for two reasons: identifying and naming something online can often result in unintended and often unpleasant consequences for the identified and named entity. All you need is some nut.........(you fill in). The other reason is because I am duty-bound and ethically constrained from naming such entities due to my present employment duties.
You can accept that as fact or fiction but that's my final statement. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| hash wrote: |
I'm not "making a claim". I'm stating a fact. I have personally dealt with two teachers hired by separate unis in KSA within the last year both teachers of which had at least 50%+ of their qualifying coursework done online at accredited USA universities. These were direct hires with entry visas leading to a Muqeem Residency Card.
In one case, the credits were identified and described clearly on the transcript (as I mentioned in my first posting here) as taken and completed entirely online. I will be 100% frank - although the uni OFFERED him the job, the applicant turned it down precisely because the offer was too low. When I explained why it was so low, he was not pleased with the explanation.
The point is, he COULD HAVE come....the job was offered despite his online qualifications.
As to the names of the 2 unis involved here, I will not divulge them for two reasons: identifying and naming something online can often result in unintended and often unpleasant consequences for the identified and named entity. All you need is some nut.........(you fill in). The other reason is because I am duty-bound and ethically constrained from naming such entities due to my present employment duties.
You can accept that as fact or fiction but that's my final statement. |
I only asked which two universities; no one cares about how and why some job applicant turned down your company's offer because of low pay, yada, yada... But since you're unwilling (or unable) to produce the names of the these alleged universities that 1) willingly accept online degrees as qualifying for an employment visa, and 2) will pull strings with the SACM/SACB to approve these degrees, your claim is not to be believed unless others come forward with specific information that back you up. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| For some posters, the attitude of KSA to online degrees is in itself a "casus belli". They have dissed him and his bits of paper. As a result he wishes to retaliate by declaring all-out war. |
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