online verification of latin american degrees, programs ......presenters carlos monroy quality...

Online Verification of Latin American Degrees, Programs, and Institutions

Presenters

Carlos Monroy

Quality Assurance Manager, World Education Services

Aleksander Morawski

Director of Evaluation Services, Foreign Credits Inc.

Maria Morawski

Evaluator, Educational Credential Evaluators

Agenda

PART I: Introduction, Goals and Context

PART II: Verification of Degree Conferral

PART III: Institution and Program Recognition

PART IV: Q & A

Carlos Monroy

Quality Assurance Manager, World Education Services

5© World Education Services. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives

▪ Identify and learn about the use of innovative online resources to verify degree conferral from designated Latin American countries.

▪ Examine official online resources from selected Latin American countries to determine institution and programmatic accreditation.

▪ Describe challenges and best practices in online verification of degrees, institutions, and programs from Latin America.


Why is Online Verification Relevant for International Enrollment Management?

▪ Key Indicator of Legitimacy:

• Confirms degree conferral.

• Helps prevent and identify fraud.

• Ensures that the institution and/or program(s) meet designated standards of quality.

▪ Facilitates recognition of study:

• Administrative efficiency/fast resolution.

• Reliable and authoritative sources.


International Students: Authentication and Fraud

▪ Academic fraud is a threat to society as a whole.

▪ Falsified and fraudulent documents are long standing problems.

▪ Advances in technology facilitate fraud and falsification.

▪ Falsification and omission of information from international students can be difficult to identify.

▪ BUT, online verification is fast, efficient, and reliable method to identify fraud.


Types of Fraudulent Documents

Bogus:Issued by an institution with no proper recognition and no academic component

▪ Fake Institutions

▪ Diploma/Degree Mills

Forged:Issued by or seemingly issued by a legitimate institution

▪ Imitations/Replicas

▪ Altered Copies

▪ Altered Originals


Identification and Verification of Prospective Fraudulent Documents

Have You Identified FraudulentDocuments in the Admission Process?

Do You Verify SuspectedFraudulet Documents?

Have You Verified Documents Online?


45%

20%

35%

Do You Verify Suspected Fraudulet Documents?

Identification and Verification of Prospective Fraudulent Documents

47%

24%

29%

Have You Identified Fraudulent Documents: Admission Process?

Yes No

N/A

171 surveyed 185 surveyed

Source: WES Survey: How to obtain international credentials for graduate admissions, May 12, 2017


Identifying Fraudulent Documents Without Online Verification

Unusual format

Inconsistent typeface elements

Spelling errors

Evidence of revisions

Colored photocopy

Misaligned lines, words, numbers

No official stamps or seals

Fabricated stamps or seals


Some Latin American Fabrications Are Not Hard to Identify

▪ Discrepancies

▪ Inconsistent typeface

▪ Misspellings

▪ Inconsistent Format


Some Latin American Fabrications Are Not Hard to Identify

All text circled in red is either a misspelling or a discrepancy


Newer Forgeries Are More Difficult to Identify

Onlineverification:

▪ Fast

▪ Authoritative

▪ ReliableCédula


Fighting Academic Fraud and Corruption

https://wenr.wes.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Dec17_Corrupt2-3.png

https://wenr.wes.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Dec17_Corrupt2-3.png

Aleksander Morawski

Director of Evaluation Services, Foreign Credits Inc

Verifying Degree Conferral

• + Confirms award of degree/credential from primary or semi-primary source

• + Affirms student identity

• + Can confirm professional qualification

• - Does not always confirm subjects or curriculum

• - Does not confirm performance or grades

• - Limited data or optional to student

When tools for confirming degree conferral exist, it is imperative to use them for efficient and effective credential evaluation

Mexico

• Registro Nacional de Profesionistas – National Register of Professionals

• Register of qualifications which allow practice of professions

• Required for employment, not required for graduation

https://www.cedulaprofesional.sep.gob.mx

https://www.cedulaprofesional.sep.gob.mx/

Cedula = #######

• Seven numbers, no letters

http://www.buholegal.com/consultasep/

SEP Alternative Search site:

http://www.buholegal.com/consultasep/

Results:

Practical Tips for Mexico verification

1. A cedula is not automatically given to every graduate

2. You can search by Cedula number or name

3. If searching by name, start with the general name, and search the list

4. Vocational, undergraduate and graduate

5. No performance information available

Ecuador

• Ministerio de Educación – Primary and secondary education• Contains records from dating back to 1985

• Consejo de Educación Superior - Post-secondary• Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e

Innovación (SENESCYT)

http://www.senescyt.gob.ec/consulta-titulos-web/faces/vista/consulta/consulta.xhtml

Name OR Cédula/Passport number

Post-secondary

http://www.senescyt.gob.ec/consulta-titulos-web/faces/vista/consulta/consulta.xhtml

XXXXXXXXXX

Identification number on transcript, not on diploma

Ingeniera En Petroleo, Escuela Superior Politecnica Del Litoral, Registered in 2003

Secondary

http://servicios.educacion.gob.ec/titulacion25-web/faces/paginas/consulta-titulos-refrendados.xhtml

Search by identification number or by name, even partial name

http://servicios.educacion.gob.ec/titulacion25-web/faces/paginas/consulta-titulos-refrendados.xhtml

Peru

• Post-secondary - Superintendencia Nacional de Educación Superior Universitaria (SUNEDU)• Registro de Grados y Títulos

• Registration is optional, used for professional purposes

• Allows you to see all the applicant’s qualifications

http://www.sunedu.gob.pe/grados-y-titulos/registro-de-grados-y-titulos/

http://www.sunedu.gob.pe/grados-y-titulos/registro-de-grados-y-titulos/

Front

Reverse

Results!

Chile

• Ministerio de Educación• Verifies certificates and documents issued by the

ministry

• Reproduces the entire document, including grades!

• Certificate verification has an expiration date, but students can easily request replacements

• University websites • Verify degree conferral

• Records stored longer than Ministry

http://certificados.mineduc.cl/certificados-web/mvc/validar/ingresarCodigo

http://certificados.mineduc.cl/certificados-web/mvc/validar/ingresarCodigo

Submitted

Verified

https://siga3.inacap.cl/verificacioncertificados/ValidaCertificado.aspx

Universidad Tecnológica de Chile INACAP

https://siga3.inacap.cl/verificacioncertificados/ValidaCertificado.aspx

Results!

Maria Morawski

Evaluator, Educational Credential Evaluators

Institution and Program Recognition

WHAT IS MEANT BY RECOGNITION?KEY IDEAS AND FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Institution has the authority to award degrees/credentials that merit “universal” reciprocal recognition by other educational institutions with the same type of authority in the same country.

• Institutions achieve it by going through a process or system designed to regulate numerous aspects of higher education. The goal of this system or process is to ensure quality in the context of higher education degree programs.

• Individual courses in a degree program offered by a recognized institution merit transfer of credit or exemption from requirements when a student enrolls in a degree program at another educational institution in the same country that shares the same form of recognition.

BrazilMinistério da Educação

e-MEC

This national website can be used to research both undergraduate and some

graduate level programs in public and private

institutions in Brazil. This type of resource is

essential when dealing with programmatic

recognition.

http://emec.mec.gov.br/Hint: Go straight to the Consulta Textual tab.

http://emec.mec.gov.br/

e-MEC Institutional Search and Results

BrazilCoordenação de

Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior

(CAPES)

CAPES, a public foundation started in 1951, works under the

Ministry of Higher Education. They are currently involved in the Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science

without Borders) scholarship program. They also maintain lists of recognized graduate programs,

including various mestrado and doutorado programs via their

Platforma Sucupira.

https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/public/consultas/coleta/programa/listaPrograma.jsf?acao=pesquisarRegiao

https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/public/consultas/coleta/programa/listaPrograma.jsf?acao=pesquisarRegiao

Horizontal Sample or Text slide

ColombiaMinisterio de Educación

Nacional

Buscando Colegio

This database can be used to look up the recognition status of individual schools. It is advisable to figure out the Department and City from your docs, as the name search

alone is not reliable.

http://sineb.mineducacion.gov.co/bcol/app

http://sineb.mineducacion.gov.co/bcol/app

Does the school check out?

Which search terms would you use?

ColombiaMinisterio de Educación

NacionalSistema Nacional de

Información de EducaciónSuperior (SNIES)

Since Colombia has programmatic recognition, it is

important to know which programs are recognized by the ministry. While students tend to use this database via individual program searches, we usually already know about a certain program at a particular school through our credentials. So the institutional search is a better

place to start.

http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/sistemasdeinformacion/1735/w3-propertyname-2672.html

http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/sistemasdeinformacion/1735/w3-propertyname-2672.html

SNIES Search and Results

ArgentinaComisión Nacional de

Evaluación y Acreditación

Universitaria (CONEAU)

http://www.coneau.gob.ar/CONEAU/

http://www.coneau.gob.ar/CONEAU/

ArgentinaDirección Nacional de Gestión Universitaria

(Sicer) SistemaInformático de Certificaciones

http://sicer.siu.edu.ar/consulta.php

Database of university diplomas and

certificados analíticos(transcripts) registered

since 2012.



VenezuelaMinisterio del Poder

Popular para la Educación

Universitaria, Ciencia y Tecnología

Libro de Oportunidades de

Estudios Universitarios (LOEU)

http://loeu.opsu.gob.ve/vistas/index.php#2

Database of University Education Institutions (public and private) by

Region or States.


http://loeu.opsu.gob.ve/vistas/index.php#2

Search by Region or State, and Type of Institution

• The Colombian government is working on a national database for degree verification. While the scope is currently unknown, their other online resources are high quality.

• Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, & Argentina are working together to develop a regional repository of degrees and graduates.

Looking Ahead!

Online Resources


▪ ECE Connection – Country Resources: https://theconnection.ece.org/

▪ Foreign Credits: The Internet Can Be Your Friend, Online Tools in International Credential Evaluation: https://www.foreigncredits.com/resources/presentations/Online-Tools-Credential-Evaluation.pdf

▪ Classbase – Database of education system including lists of unrecognized institutions: www.classbase.com

▪ TAICEP – Verification Sources for Educational Documents: http://www.taicep.org/

▪ U.S. Department of Education- Diploma Mills and Accreditation: http://www2.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/resources.html

▪ WENR, Academic Fraud, Corruption, and Implications for Credential Assessment https://wenr.wes.org/2017/12/academic-fraud-corruption-and-implications-for-credential-assessment

▪ WES Country Resources: https://applications.wes.org/country-resources/resources.asp

Online Resources

https://theconnection.ece.org/

https://www.foreigncredits.com/resources/presentations/Online-Tools-Credential-Evaluation.pdf

http://www.classbase.com/

http://www.taicep.org/

http://www2.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/resources.html

https://wenr.wes.org/2017/12/academic-fraud-corruption-and-implications-for-credential-assessment

https://applications.wes.org/country-resources/resources.asp

Thank you!Carlos [email protected]

Aleksander Morawski [email protected]

Maria [email protected]

Download a copy of this presentation at:

www.foreigncredits.com/resources/presentations

72

Please

complete

this session

evaluation

NOW!Or FAVORITE now

and EVALUATE later!