Central University of Nicaragua Degree Scheme

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Rich Douglas, Nov 21, 2021.

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  1. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    If North Americans (or any others) make degree purchases in the education system in a Spanish-speaking country, when they don't even have enough Spanish to know a RVOE (Reconocimiento De Validez Oficial De Estudios) from a "multa de estacionamiento" (parking ticket) - they're gonna have problems - and unwelcome surprises. Even if the courses are taught in English. I've seen 55-page threads, largely from people who don't realize that.

    And often, they find those problems after the fact - when it's too late. Then they start rationalizing about how nothing has really gone wrong, or there's a plan B (that isn't) - or they knew all the time (they didn't). And finally they take refuge in the "fact" that people will be impressed and smiling when they accept their "troubled" degree. It's not a fact - it's a fiction. Blind faith will not make a sick degree well. Nothing will. And what I said about Spanish goes for other countries, too. If you don't understand Mongolian, how are you going to understand the policies of the National University of Mongolia in Ulanbaatar?
    Амжилт хүсье! (Good luck with that!) (Mongolian uses a modified Russian alphabet - mostly.)

    Listen to tadj. He knows stuff. A lot to learn here.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2022
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    And if you MUST poke around in Eritrea - here's some useful info:

    How many official languages does Eritrea have?

    Nine official languages: Tigrinya, Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Rashaida, Bilen, Afar, Beni, Amir, and Nera. Most people speak Tigrinya, and the government also uses Arabic. In Eritrea most schools are government owned and free-of-charge.
     
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  3. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Wow, I don't recognize any of those languages. There is a serious deficit in language learning when it comes to African languages. It's like... everyone thinks the continent is just Arabic and Swahili. In English, it's hard to find information about African languages that are not Arabic or Swahili, whether or not the languages are widely spoken.
     
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  4. tadj

    tadj Active Member

    Foreign degrees from certain countries are more valuable than others. They may also present less problems with recognition. I bet that many non-Europeans would probably be surprised to learn that European Union countries (including Poland) frequently make it much more difficult to get degrees from certain countries recognized. This isn’t done with the actual intention to discriminate; it is largely based on international legal agreements on the recognition of degrees that have been established with some countries and member country organizations instead of others. As far I know, it is something that takes place throughout the European Union, although the specifics of the policy implementation may look slightly different in each EU member state, so you would need to check with each country.

    Let’s make this really practical. I am in Poland, so let’s say that I decide to study online at any accredited European Union, OECD, or EFTA member country higher education institution, or university. Those are the best countries for study, if one is seeking a foreign degree and intends to use it inside Poland. (I am not talking about degree recognition for licensed Polish professions, just the most basic degree recognition for non-licensed professional employment or further education in Poland). In that case, the degree recognition process in Poland will be simple and almost free of charge (there may be some small costs for translating and mailing transcripts issued in certain languages). The Polish authorities (currently, it is called NAWA) will only care about a couple of things (primarily having to do with the accreditation of the institution and program) during this incredibly simple foreign degree recognition process: https://nawa.gov.pl/en/recognition/recognition-for-professional-purposes/degrees-obtained-in-eu-oecd-or-efta-member-states Your degree will not be literally compared with a Polish degree of the same major. It will simply be qualified at a certain level (first cycle = Bachelor, second cycle = Master, third cycle = Doctor) and you will be given a statement of recognition at one of those levels.

    All government-recognized degrees from accredited institutions in OECD countries like Mexico (RVOE degrees-only), Costa Rica, Colombia, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia and the United States (regional and non-regional are treated alike) will qualify under the simple degree recognition procedure in Poland. No hassle whatsoever!

    But now let’s assume that I decide to study online in a country like; Belarus, South Africa, Nicaragua or Burkina Faso and try to get my accredited degree from those places recognized in Poland (and some other European Union countries from what I’ve observed). You would be going through an entirely different procedure called notification, at least in Poland. Don’t be surprised if you shed a few tears during the process and your degree is deemed useless by a strict committee made up by members of a select highest ranked university in Poland. Your degree will be literally compared with a Polish degree in terms of the completed subjects. You will be asked to pay a lot of money for this procedure with zero guarantees that your degree will be recognized in Poland. You may be asked to do oral exams on missing subjects. Say goodbye to recognition, if you don't pass these mandatory exams. The mode of your studies will also be scrutinized as well. So yeah, I am not a huge fan of studying in Nicaragua.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2022
  5. cacoleman1983

    cacoleman1983 Well-Known Member


    I've heard a lot about Poland not accepting accredited degrees that are online from other countries, particularly Nicaragua. That just speaks to how conservative some international governments are about degree recognition. I thought the US being the richest country in the world would be the most strict. It also seems that Canada is a lot more stringent when it comes to other countries universities as far as how foreign evaluators interpret international credentials. Canada makes a distinction between public and private universities where as US does not when it comes to how a degree is accredited. Those in Canada have had a harder time getting degrees such as ENEB/Universidad Isabel I being evaluated as accredited because it is a private university, their degree through ENEB is propio, and evaluators don't accept validation diplomas that recognize coursework being completed from an non-accredited school being accepted as accredited though another university by validation.

    It is important to be cautious when pursuing degrees with limited recognition. I went into Azteca/UCN with my eyes wide open but I have enjoyed navigating different navigating systems thanks to this forum and degreeforum.net. I'm continuing to learn more and may embarck on more educational endeavors in the near future despite some of their limitations and controversies.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2022
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Their Ministry of Education might have something to say about that. (Johann, the FIU would be tasked with fighting money laundering.)
     
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Cudoo is good - and cheap - for intro courses to African languages - and others. They have - I think - 161 languages on tap. https://cudoo.com
     
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  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I know. Just a joke about the enormous influx of Rich's money - $20. This is a tough room, sometimes.
     
  9. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I think the Great Resignation has ended. We are headed into a recession. Interest rates are up, companies are tightening belts.
     
  10. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    There's a really interesting documentary I saw about the mandatory military service in Eritrea ().

    It is sometimes called "the North Korea of Africa." It has the worst press freedoms in the world (actually, DPRK is one ahead of them on the list.)
     
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  11. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and Defense Language Institute (DLI) materials from the 60s-80s are public domain, for reasons I don't know. I know the Peace Corps is also quasi-governmental and many of their courses are online. I imagine they could make a lot of money if they spent a bit to commercialize those courses. They often teach the Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) the local/tribal language in an area first, and then provide limited instruction in the colonial language so that you can integrate. So in Senegal you'll learn Wolof before French, and in Benin you'll learn Fon, etc.
     
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    The concept of "jobs have to please employees" is completely foreign to my experience. Is this a Nicaraguan tradition? I think most employers feel that workers are like cars, guitars and some men's girlfriends (not any of mine.) If any one of 'em starts to give you problems - you just get another one.
     
  13. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    I have Cudoo from some bundle on StackSocial. Its courses are pretty bad, TBH. But they do have Tigrinya, so that's something. uTalk is slightly better, as far as the amount of content goes. They also have Tigrinya. The script Tigrinya uses is very interesting. It kind of reminds me of Egyptian Coptic. Which wouldn't be surprising, since the countries are so close to one another.
     
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  14. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member


    They're public domain for the same reason that NASA images are public domain: they were paid for by taxpayer funding, so they belong to the people. You can find most FSI/Peace Corps courses here: https://www.livelingua.com/project Unfortunately, there are only so many resources available and thousands of languages with tens of thousands of dialects.
     
  15. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    I should have finished my thought. Those old courses are public domain and available online, but for some reason newer materials (modern versions of those same courses) are not available. This could be because nobody has requested them using FOIA, or a policy change that actually changed the public domain status. For example most DLI courses are delivered by contract instructors rather than in-house DLI employees now, and it's possible they are relying on their own materials or materials developed by third parties that give them a different copyright status.
     
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  16. cacoleman1983

    cacoleman1983 Well-Known Member

    Well true. My point had nothing to do with any particular school or country but more about the generation we are in. This perspective would be foreign to your generation who kept jobs for decades. This particular generation's job market has to adapt and not expect loyalty from their employers or employees. Even what I am saying is bound to change though and we might revert back to a culture of longevity with one employer.
     
  17. cacoleman1983

    cacoleman1983 Well-Known Member

    Yeah it's crazy now. While I can't see employees having the mindset our parents and their parents had in staying loyal to one employer and vice versa, we might be headed back to that or an increase of a gig economy which has definitely exploded over the years.
     
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Might you have been looking at Ethiopian Coptic, Rachel? It seems both Coptic script and Ge'ez script (Tigrinya) have been used in churches there. There have been Coptic Churches in Ethiopia since 300-400 CE. In fact (Google says) "The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church had been administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria from the first half of the 4th century until 1959, when it was granted autocephaly with its own patriarch by Saint Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church."

    The two scripts, Ge'ez and Coptic look much different to me. I've enclosed Wikis on both with good illustrations. Coptic looks somewhat like Greek to me, which is consistent with its Church's birthplace. (Alexandria, Egypt, named after Alexander the Great.) Tigrinya uses Ge'ez script, which doesn't resemble Greek. It's of South Arabian origin. Ge'ez is partly a syllabary - full of diphthongs. In Ge'ez script, each consonant is written with each vowel sound as a single letter. - ba, be, bi, etc....... da, de, di, etc. Makes it tough to learn, like writing Indian languages. (Ge'ez script originally contained no vowels, like Hebrew - but Christian clerics decided to change all that and make things complicated.)

    As I mentioned. Tigrinya uses the Ge'ez script, invented for the Ge'ez language. The script is used for writing several languages in Ethiopia and Eritrea, including Tigrinya, Amharic (Ethiopia) and 20(!) other Ethiopian languages. It's used in many places for liturgical purposes - including the Beta (sic) Israel Jewish community in Ethopia. It's used in Christian churches, e.g. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Catholic Church and Ethiopian Catholic Church.

    The Coptic alphabet is used in churches mainly in Egypt, Libya and Sudan. I'm sure it was used in Ethiopia too. Here are the wikis. I'm sure you'll see the differences.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geʽez_script -
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_alphabet
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2022
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  19. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    I was definitely looking at the Ge'ez script. Coptic's based on Greek, but it's got extra swirlies and stuff. Very pretty.

    Coptic:
    [​IMG]

    Ge'ez:
    upload_2022-7-1_14-24-0.png

    It's not identical, but at first glance they do look quite similar. Especially if you're mostly used to standard Greek and Latin alphabets.
     
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  20. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    @Johann Once again I am awed at your knowledge. (Also, @Maniac Craniac I know you have linguistics as an interest, anything to share in this area or is this period/part of the world not part of your focus?)
     

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