Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pharflung]

Some months ago my co-teacher suddenly asked me to show him where on my college's website it says I graduated.

Let me go over that one again: I was told to show him my college's website, and I was then told to find my name on the website stating that I had a bachelor's degree.

Is that clear?

I found the university website easily enough, it is large, well-respected institution. I showed him the registrar's page. There was no e-mail address listed for the registrar. There was no way to order a diploma online. There was no way, of course, to display a list of people with diplomas from this large university (spammers and junk mail marketers would be all over that list like bears to honey).

I also showed him that the university is accredited by the regional organization.

Now I am being told they will not renew my contract because I did not show them proof on the school's website that I have a degree. They of course have the sealed transcripts and have seen and touched my actual diploma.

I would assume that there is some misunderstanding on their part about what proof is required. But who know?

Has anyone else had to show school officials their school website stating that they, (fill in name here) graduated from the school?

Is ANYONE from any of the native English speaking countries teaching in Korea actually able to do this?

Do Korean colleges list graduates on their websites?

[OiGirl]

Is there an alumni website you can join, and then show your keepers you are on that site? It sounds like this may satisfy them.

[pharflung]

This thought occurred to me. But I can't afford it.

It's hard enough paying off student loans without having to endure a lifetime of pleas to donate money to the alma mater.

And how would I know being listed on an alumni association list would satisfy Korea Immigration if it is not actually part of the school's website, which it is not?

HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD TO DO THIS?

[CentralCali]

All of us foreign teachers in the public school system in Busan had to provide proof from our universities that we did, indeed, graduate. As my university (in the top 40 worldwide, mind you) doesn't participate on that studentclearinghouse site the Korean Ministry of Education is in love with, using that site just wasn't an option. I had to fax a Request for Verification of Degree to my university and have that sent via fax to my school here.

What irked me about the deal were three things:

• The verification of degree is the very same thing the Korean government refused to accept in lieu of my diploma while I was waiting the six months it takes to the get diploma in the first place!
  
  
• The lousy timeliness of the requirment: 25 minutes (no joke) before the deadline.
  
  
• The sheer stupidity of it all.

I finally yelled at my supervisor and department head that if they think my diploma's fake then they better be able to prove it in court. I think that's pretty much the same reaction all the other foreigners in my district gave. The person in charge of us told me that she got calls from all of our supervisors complaining about the MOE upsetting all of us.

[cazador83]

i have a friend who was also asked to show his name on his university's website, which is ridiculous. he said they kept asking but i guess eventually forgot it or got the hint. i dont know, but he still has his job.

[indigo777]

I was asked to sign on to my college's website in September, but when I attended, the website was not operational. I gave my school the address and phone number of the registrar's office instead.
I don't know where they got the idea that if you can sign on to the website it is somehow proof that you were a graduate. Someone could have completed one year at a university and be able to sign on if they used the site when they attended.

[pharflung]

To those who think the school officials just forgot about it, I've got news for you.

I talked with the supervisor for the county's public schools and asked about renewing my contract. He said they wouldn't do that because I had not shown my co-teacher the school's website.

I then showed him the school's website and that it was accredited. He said nothing and clearly was not satisfied. (I don't know what he was thinking, but the best I could divine was that perhaps he thought I had gone to a fake website or something.)

My co-teacher later said the reason I would not be renewed was because I had not proved I had a degree online using the school's website.

So I think you folks better check again if your renewal is coming up.

The fax option sounds like a good suggestion, perhaps. But how will we prove the fax came from the school, and not some faux-fax we set up with our computer?

So I ask again: Can anyone use their college's website to show officially that they have a degree, online?

[CentralCali]

There's a nifty little feature a fax machine has. It's called the originator's stamp. My university has its name and telephone number printed on the fax. Conveniently, the receiving fax also can print an activity report to check the printed number against the actual number sending the fax. Finally, you can direct your supe's attention to the university registrar's website or telephone directory to verify that the number is, in fact, the registar's office.

I know this works because those are the hoops I jumped through to get my verification done.

[spliff]

studentclearinghouse.com

[CentralCali]

Not all universities participate on that site. Mine doesn't and it's not a fly-by-night outfit like so many Korean schools are.

[pharflung]

studentclearinghouse.com

That's a pretty extensive list.

But my university is not on there. And neither are Harvard or Yale, though I see Princeton on the list.

I will tell school officials about the fax option. But they are going to have to do it themselves; and I see my university's website does not list a fax number for the registrar, no an e-mail address. It seems from the way they are treating me (and the rest of you) that anything we do is suspect.

My inclination at this point is that I am through trying to prove I have a degree. I showed them my diploma, they have multiple copies of my sealed transcripts, which is what they asked for. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH PROOF, shouldn't it?

I tried to show them my school website and that it does not list degree holders. I asked them what more they wanted me to do. They said nothing. Months later, I find out they rejected what I showed them. They didn't have the decency to tell me this at the time. The school official didn't have the decency to say this to my face, either, when I showed him the website.

I am tired of being accused of being a liar no matter what I do. And I am disgusted by the underhanded way my co-teacher handled this.

I have always heard the Asians were so concerned about "face." Well, maybe Westerners care a little about this, too. We are all being treated as guilty until we prove we are innocent.

All we ask is a little respect and honesty from Korea. And frankly, I don't think we are getting it.

I like to work where I am appreciated. It's not just about the money. I have the feeling we might be more appreciated elsewhere.

Heck, I suspect even Russia would be more professional and above board than South Korea.

[some waygug-in]

If any of you haven't figured this out yet, this business isn't about rooting out fake diploma holders, (although that's the excuse given) it's about finding ways to screw over the foreigners. After all, they don't want foreigners staying here long enough to actually start competing with the Koreans now do they?

[schwa]

I sent a polite note to administrators at my school's website asking if there was some way to pull up my records. Lo & behold, no problem. I did have to fetch up my student number out of my memory bank, but then voila there was my transcript online. Kind of fun, actually -- reminded me of a bunch of courses I'd entirely forgotten about. That was a Canadian university (UVic), not sure how that works elsewhere.

[garykasparov]

The Korean Ministry of Education couldn't read studentclearinghouse.com if they studied Englishee for ten years. Immigration cannot read that stupid website. Korean Teachers cannot read that effed-up website. I don't know why they even bother. A toad, with very little knowledge about computers, could design a website like studentclearinghouse. It doesn't meet the requirements to obtain an E2 Visa, so cannot be used to verify your credentials.

[Ut videam]