Job Discussion Forums

[edgrimley]

Coming from a western country and having gone to university it is my experience that the most secure method is to request a sealed transcript from the issuing institution. However, the schools and immigration offices of Taiwan might be different. When I taught in one S.E. Asian country and one East Asian country noone asked to see my degree. Anyway, there are several possibilites and I am asking who has had which experience...

1. Ask to see the degree (copy or original?)

2. Check the web to see that it really exists! (went out of business sounds lame...)

3. Telephone or fax it

4. Postal enquiry

5. Ask a few light questions about why one went there, where the campus was, one's experiences there, etc.

6. Ask detailed questions such as names of professors and courses.

6. Ask for a certified transcript from the institution.

Some people will be travelling with the original degree, or without the degree at all. I am not asking for any conclusions or ethical debates - merely experiences, particularly how businesses act compared to government offices.

Comments?

[killian]

in taiwan the SOP is to provide your employer with your diploma. some'll get by with providing a photocopy. the diploma is then translated and submitted to some bureaucratic entity for verification. in my time here no employer has ever asked to see my transcript. it is very much a painless procedure provided one has earned a degree.

[jason_seeburn]

[][][]

[TaoyuanSteve]

My experience was similar to those of the above postees. Transcripts were not requested, though I had brought copies with me. The original diploma, however, was. They went through some sort of process whereby they verified the degree, copied it and translated it into Chinese for whatever government departments concerned. This is probably an important point for those thinking of coming here. Bring those diplomas.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

When you say "verify" it, how do they go about doing that?

Do they call my Dean at my former Uni?

[Aristotle]

The official policy for certifying degrees authentic is as follows:
Any and all degrees must be certified authentic by the Taiwan Cultural Representatives office in the country from which they were awarded. You must send a certified photocopy to that office with the required fee.
As is usually the case in Taiwan,what is said and what are done are very different. In practice it is done many ways. The central government lacks any real control over the process outside of Taipei.
A great example is IACC in Taichung. They have gotten ARC's for people with no degrees and even suspected criminals. Most of these people didn't get paid either but that is beside the point.
At the same time people have been arrested, fined and deported for obtaining an ARC and work permits using certified and accredited degrees.
Welcome to Taiwan