Foreign Credential Evaluators

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by AsianStew, Aug 14, 2022.

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  1. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Just thinking about foreign credential evaluation services and was researching again on a particular one: California University Foreign Credential Evaluation. On this and the sister board, it's noted as the "bottom of the barrel" option to use if all else fails.

    I, on the other hand, think it's best to stick to something above the bottom of the list and draw a line somewhere. Sticking to the AICE or NACES options are best, but if none of them have a remotely reasonable evaluation, who should you go to? Where do you draw the line?

    If either of these two membership agencies don't/doesn't have an evaluation service that fits the bill, I would look for alternatives that aren't part of the list BUT are part of an approved list from federal or state agencies. One that came to mind is Validential, there are others obviously, so choose or research what options are available before submitting your evaluations.

    Generally I would recommend AICE or NACES members, but if they don't do it for you, find one that will but SKIP the bottom of the barrel options such as CUFCE. It may come back to hurt you if something isn't in place and an undesirable result may occur.

    AICE Members Link: https://aice-eval.org/members/
    NACES Members Link: https://www.naces.org/members

    Below is an example of several institutions that may have CUFCE equivalency of US RA. Blue Marble, Bircham, International Quantum, Selinus, etc. Even institutions listed on the Wiki mentioning they're unaccredited in the US. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_education

    I came across a 15 year old article mention a "fake doctor" treating cancer patients. It's sickening just knowing this is happening with "new grads" from non-accredited institutions even today. Link: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/teens-death-hastened-by-practitioner-who-had-bogus-diplomas/
     
  2. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    The Seattle Times article is a sad often repeated tale. Even the legit Naturopathic doctors are worthy of skepticism. I believe someone mentioned the whistleblower Britt Hermes and her expose of the Naturopathic industry (not evidence based medicine). Much less these quack schools. I recall someone with a Clayton degree giving anti vaxx advice.
     
  3. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I think at the moment you are shopping for evaluators you've already lost. I can understand getting a slightly different evaluation among different evaluators but barring a major error (and we've seen those definitely, e.g. Heriot-Watt's MBA being evaluated as an Associates degree), you shouldn't be looking for an evaluator to give you the opinion you want but instead an assessment of the actual comparability of your degree compared to one in the country you are looking at.
     
    chrisjm18, RoscoeB and Johann like this.
  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Good point, Dustin. I'd shop for evaluators ONLY

    (1) If, as you say, there were some kind of a major error, like the Heriot-Watt "Associate" thing,
    (2) If I wanted my Baikonur, Kazakhstan Library Card rated as a PhD - to win a high-stakes bet.

    And yeah - I think I know at least one place where I could probably get that done... :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2022
  5. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I'm the "bottom of the barrel" guy, lol. I've never used CUFCE myself, that was just my phrasing.

    CUFCE has to be your absolute last resort if everything else has failed, and even then you go with your head hanging low. I mean, all of the schools you mentioned are questionable, but Selinus touts very fake accreditation from an accreditor (World Certification Institute) that claims (lies) to accredit Harvard and a number of other prestigious institutions. That's inexcusable, and the fact that CUFCE positively evaluated one of Selinus' degrees is detestable.
     
  6. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    There were a few exceptions like the ECE and HWU MBA but for majority I think the shopping around for Evaluation is more for instances of when the degree is evaluated slightly differently such as instead of MBA a Masters degree in Management etc.
    For majority I think the evaluations are generally similar.
    There are times when for undergraduate degree transfer credit is a matter of time and money.
    When school requires a more strict or conservative evaluation service.
    Evaluation in US will serve the graduate best if it's from NACES member and other recognized associations member agencies.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2022
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    If you have to SHOW someone your degree is "good" by flashing a really "last-resort" evaluation - they'll usually know it isn't.

    And somebody tell those guys I want my Kazakhstan Library Card back! It's been 12 years! :(
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2022
  8. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    The starting point can matter as well. If you go to WES, you can expect a higher chance of a less-than-favorable evaluation versus some of the other majors like ECE or IEE because WES is perhaps the strictest of them all. So in that situation, you may have to shop a little. I think it becomes a problem when your degree is bogus, you know it's bogus, and you keep shopping hoping to catch some evaluator on an off-day so you can slide through. I bet that's how some people wind up at places like CUFCE. Luckily for them, it seems that CUFCE has an off-day every day.
     
  9. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

    I went with WES to get my papers from UK evaluated. I expected the worst since I knew they were one of the strictest, but was surprised when I got back the results.
     
    Johann likes this.
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    ... in a good way, I'm sure. :)
     
  11. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    The people of my newly adopted hometown are amazingly kind. I try to get out on my motorcycle every day. Often it's just a quick run to the grocery store. I have yet to invest in proper motorcycle luggage so, I have a hard time disciplining myself not to buy so much it won't fit into my backpack. Having made such a trip last week I was strolling back to my motorcycle slinging my jam-packed backpack onto my shoulders when this young man dashed up to me from behind. You dropped this! He held up a brightly colored card, which I didn't recognize at first. It was my almost brand new Campbell County Library Card. I thanked him over and over. Oh! Very important! my LICENSE to LEARN, said I. He looked at me with a very confused expression. I laughed and explained it was my library card. I could not help myself without sharing I the old Cicero quote - “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” I pray thanksgiving day and night because I do have everything I need, and so much more. <3
     
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  12. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I don't think there is a need to have a license to run an credential evaluation service. CUFCE has the right to evaluate any school they one as equivalent to a US degree but it is up to the employer to accept this certificate. They are clever as they grant equivalency certificate that are like degrees and they use a university name to deceive people. I believe there were efforts to shut then down but there are no legal grants for this. CUFCE is just one example, there are hundreds of evaluation services in the US with no value.
    In any case, if the evaluation service is not member of NACES or at very least AICE, it is almost as good as paper.
     
  13. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I tend to agree, with the exception of some independents that have a good reputation and a documented history of state and school acceptance. Of course, the number of those isn't very high and you quickly find that out in two ways: some search engine research, and from millspeak and over-selling like what CUFCE does. The millspeak and over-selling are unnecessary, because when you've got a strong rep, you don't have to go to all of that trouble.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2022
  14. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    The target here is the foreign student that is ignorant. In Canada, only US foreign evaluation certificates from services members of NACES have some value. I sadly had to tell a couple that wanted to immigrate to Canada with a CUFCE certificate that this was not likely to work. The bottom line is that the couple had little money to invest in education so they got a degree from an unaccredited school, maybe good enough to get some training but not so good to immigrate.
    The person that adviced them to get the CUFCE certificate was a person trying to help them but was not aware that this certificate was kind of useless.
    The word California University sounds legit but some people don't understand that in the US the word University is not reserved.
    Anyways, I adviced them to look into the University of the People if money was an issue.
    There are also some differences among NACES members, WES is the most rigorous and hard to deal with as they require many documents that many times are not so easy to get. Some other NACES members work with photocopies of the degrees or notarized copies of transcripts while WES requires letters of graduation, transcripts sent by the University, etc and other documents that not all the universities are willing to provide. You also have the isse of people getting distance education degrees from places that fall into gray areas like Azteca, Nicaragua, etc and propio degrees that technically are degrees but not officially recognized.
    Not everyone needs a foreign evaluation degree, if your degree is from Canada or other country with free trade agreement with the US, you might not need a foreign evaluation for visa purposes and many employers do not need evaluations if you have a visa.
    People think that foreign evaluations are the same as degree equivalencies but they are not, they are just reports from companies that suggest an equivalency but they do not hold legal standing.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2022
  15. mattchand

    mattchand Member

    I went with WES to get my (brick and mortar) Ph.D. evaluated for Canada; the response was timely as well as positive.
     
  16. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    WES for Canada is slightly different than the WES in US, they're one of 5 that you must use... for the US, you don't necessarily need to use them as there are several other NACES options to select from. BTW, what degree or subject/where did you complete your PhD?
     
  17. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    Yep, plus it's also important to keep in mind that each experience with WES U.S. or Canada (or any other evaluator) can differ.
     
  18. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    Indeed, at times same agency may have different evaluators handling evaluations and one maybe more experienced the other etc.
     
  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - time of day, weather, phases of the moon and sunspot activity are also factors to consider. :(
     
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  20. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    ...and consulting a qualified astrologer beforehand is always wise.
     
    LearningAddict likes this.

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