Azteca University - International - Foreign Credential Evaluation

For VN, the foreign degree has to be evaluate for work permit ( for foreigner) or for working in government sectors, state- owned universities....For private companies, usually, employers do not require.
You can refer to VN Naric website below. This center is an state agency under VN MOE.
http://en.naric.edu.vn/recognition-of-foreign-degree.html
Regarding online degree recognition, here is the VN law:
Online-learning and blended-learning degrees awarded by foreign educational institutions may be recognized when they meet the regulations in Point a Clause 1 of Article 4 of Circular 13/2021/TT-BGDDT and either of the following conditions:

+ The Ministry of Education and Training permits provision of the degree program in Vietnam to learners living and studying in Vietnam;

+ The competent education authority of the country where the degree program is provided permits provision of the program to learners living and studying in that country;
Thus,if a person, who resides in VN, and studies Harvard online degree, this degree is not recognized.
For Thailand, you can refer to the foreign university list which are recognized here. As I told above, if your degree is from the university in the list, you are fine.
https://accreditation.ocsc.go.th/accreditation/edu/international

 

Hmmm. I think Harvard will survive...

 

I have a question. Since the Ph.D. degree was evaluated positively by FCAS, which is not in the NACES list but in the AICE list, is it widely accepted in the US?
https://aice-eval.org/endorsed-members/

On the other hand, I received a sample evaluation report, which shows that their Doctor of Education degree (granted to a Japanese student, who studied online), was evaluated as equivalent to US regional Phd level. This report was just issued in Apr 2023. The evaluator is IFCS, which is under the NACES list. Not sure whether other Ph.D. degrees could achieve the same result.
I can not share this report with the forum because of confidentiality and promise. Hope that the information is useful for cacoleman1983

 

The positive evaluation might mean that it has slightly more utility, but it doesn't really change the status of the given degree. You would still receive a degree that isn't a properly accredited Mexican degree. A positive credential evaluation doesn't magically change this status. Furthermore, the non-official Mexican degree is issued by a highly controversial institution, which is mentioned in a very negative light in sources from around the world, frequently situated next to degree mills, whether justly or unjustly. But it's up to you.

 

Yes, because of the specific accreditation law of a specific country. A credential evaluation to equivalence to a US degree obviously will not be related to the accreditation law of Mexico.
Remember the stupid law of Vietnam regarding online study I mentioned yesterday? It is very funny that one US online university Columbia Southern University provided the degree to VN student, and these degrees were illegal in VN because of the accredited law although this uni is regionally accredited in US. However, about 5 years ago, they cooperate with one local agency to lobby and get approval from VN MOE to recognize their degrees. So, same program, same university, same degree but some are recognized while some are not recognized in VN according to the accredited law
https://columbiasouthern.edu.vn/en/home-en/
I don't mean to use this example to justify but just show to you that the accredited law is sometimes unjustified

 

You may view an accreditation law as unjust, but transnational education isn’t a reality at this point. In the United States, you may even need to get approval to offer a degree from one state to another. Personally, I am very uncomfortable with what Azteca is doing. They are setting up centers in various countries that do not have the approval of local ministries in charge of higher education. According to one source: “The satellite campus associated with Azteca University in Malawi was classified by NCHE as an illegal institution in 2019 and the position of NCHE on the status of the satellite campus has not changed to date.” Lobbying to get your degree recognized within a certain jurisdiction is much better than this type of activity.

 

Believe it or not, I am still waiting on both. After this experience, I would not recommend doing an inter-university program with two foreign schools from third-world countries. I'm glad I'm not needing this for anything in particular. I've actually been thinking about doing a Doctorate here in the US to top off the Azteca/Nicaragua Doctorate to get a better and more structured experience. I'm in communication with UCN as they are getting my scanned documents ready and will mail the other documents soon. I've talked to a couple of recent graduates from UCN and they said that it also took them a long time to receive their documents as well. The issue with my situation is that I'm dealing with both schools. It would be tough just dealing with one.

 

IFCS is the newest NACES evaluator having just started offering their services last year. I've been thinking about using them to see if they are as progressive as IEE as both will evaluate Azteca and UCN. The Doctor of Education (not the PhD) from Azteca has RVOE so IEE I know for sure will give it a full regionally accredited evaluation equivalency. However, with IEE, all degrees from Azteca without RVOE will receive a regionally accredited evaluation but an unaccredited program. In my case, this is why I did the UCN program because it validates Azteca to give full recognition and an equivalency without the unaccredited program status.

Something interesting I have found about NACES evaluators is that those that were established in 1987 all refuse to evaluate Azteca and UCN. There are about 7 of them in all that are still around. The other 12 with the second oldest being Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. International Education Consultants from 1989 will evaluate Azteca and UCN as they don't outright blacklist it seems.

 

My source allows me to show you the screenshot of the report. Here it is. I think you should use IFCS now and try to obtain the report ASAP. Dont need to wait for the UCN degree.

 

What is your issue? Waiting for them to send you the degree & transcript? Which university is a delay problem?

 

UCN is the delay now. Both sets of documents are suppose to be together. They wanted me to do an apostille for $400 but I refused.

 

I used to apply for AMA university in Philippines but their slow respond is a big problem. They also force me to study 4 pre- doctorate courses so it is the deal breaker

 

IFCS would be the next on the list to add to the degree forum wiki for ENEB members to use for evaluation purposes as an option and data point. I also hear good things about Josef Silny and Associates which is the oldest among the most progressive evaluators having been a NACES evaluator since 1989. Both evaluators seem to evaluate more favorably and have lower pricing compared to the other evaluators.

 

I think I would just pay the ransom.

 

For sure. Otherwise, you might have to "walk the plank." No Azteca or Costaraguan Uni. for me. Too many cutlasses and eye-patches.
How do you say "Arr, Matey!" in Spanish, anyway?

 

Wow....just wow. I hope you receive something soon. You are a patient man. I suppose there isn't much else you can do.

 

Hello,

I think that problem is expected because it is not an official degree. The issue is not the third-world country but the program itself. As the program is not official (no RVOE) and approved by the government, you are on your own. They probably don't have any rules to follow and you cannot complain about the program to the institutions that approve these types of programs because it is not official. For example, there are online and official doctorates at the Autonomous University of Durango in Mexico that can be done for less than 4k. However, they will require at least two years to complete. Also, before you can register for any official program, you have to revalidate all your degrees (including your high school diploma) in Mexico so you are registered into their system as a professional. So, you might be able to complain to the Ministry of Public Education if the degree was a valid and official degree recognized in Mexico.

I would suggest going for an official degree because you don't know what "department" is in charge of propios degrees at those universities. Propios degrees are sometimes even more expensive than official ones...

 

The EdD from Azteca has an RVOE, this might be the reason for a positive evaluation.
https://universidadazteca.edu.mx/doctorado-en-educacion/

The own degree does qualify you to work in Mexico, however, other countries might accept it based on on the WHED listing.

 

I don't know of any country in the European Union that would accept it based on WHED listing. As for other countries, that's debatable. However, I am leaning in the direction of 'unlikely if the credential evaluating authorities know what they're dealing with.'