recognition of refugee other non-verifiable ?? tibetan national uprising day has been marked by...

Recognition of Refugee

&

Other Non-Verifiable

Credentials

NAFSA Region X: Lake Placid, NY

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

2:00-3:30pm

1

2

Amy M. Ullrich Evaluator

aullrich@ece.org

Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.

Yu-Wan Wang Associate Dean, International Admissions

Yu-wan.wang@stonybrook.edu

Stony Brook University, SUNY

Jody Lehr Waite Founder/Director

Jody.lehr.waite@gmail.com

Why Wait: International Higher Education Solutions

mailto:aullrich@ece.orgmailto:Yu-wan.wang@stonybrook.edumailto:Yu-wan.wang@stonybrook.edumailto:Yu-wan.wang@stonybrook.edumailto:Jody.lehr.waite@gmail.com

Session Objectives 3

Define the problem, the populations & documentation

Offer best practices for development of a university

process for admission of persons with unofficial or non-

verifiable credentials

Discuss research & various initiatives that are currently

in process

Refugees & Displaced People by

Numbers

4

65.3 million people are refugees, asylum seekers or

displaced persons

That means every 1 in 113 people on the planet!

Of those 65.3 million, 12.4 million of them were newly

displaced in 2015

60%+ of refugees have come from:

Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, and South Sudan (just hit 1m this

month)

50% of all refugees are children under 18

UNHCR report on Refugees June 2016: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082

Refugees & Displaced People in

Pictures

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http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/world/gallery/europes-refugee-crisis http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082 Associated Foreign Press (AFP)

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/world/gallery/europes-refugee-crisishttp://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/world/gallery/europes-refugee-crisishttp://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/world/gallery/europes-refugee-crisishttp://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/world/gallery/europes-refugee-crisishttp://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/world/gallery/europes-refugee-crisishttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36573082

Top Hosting/Receiving Regions &

Countries

6

http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htm

http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htmhttp://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.htm

Terminology

Refugee Status Determination(RSD)

Refugee

Asylum Seeker/Asylee

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Special Immigration Visa (SIV)

UVD (Unverifiable Document)

7

Students Documentation Challenges

Interrupted periods of education

Unable to provide official

proof of educational

achievements

May only have unofficial

documentation

May have attended

unrecognized refugee camp

schools

8

Unavailable or Unverifiable?

Undocumented:

Lack of proper legal status and documentation

Unavailable:

Not in the students possession; no documents presented

Unverifiable:

Documents presented, but of poor quality; institution can not be contacted

9

Why are the documents unverifiable?

Institution has closed or is no

longer operating

Institution is located in an

area of conflict

Contacting an institution for

verification puts a student

at risk

Student has limited/no documents available for

previous education

10

Determining Documentation

Authenticity

11

Compare original documents with those in your institutions archives (if you dont have an archive yet, PLEASE START ONE :), compare signatures of the time period, seals/stamps, security features

Redact the students personal information and post with questions on ECEs TheConnection (https://theconnection.ece.org/) if you are unfamiliar with the country/institutions documentation format

Send for verification to institutions administrative staff and specific faculty

Use Online Verification resources

Lists of Graduates

Results Online

National Databases

Institutional Databases

https://theconnection.ece.org/

List of Graduates - Example 12

University of Baghdad Medicine

2013-14 results sample

13

NAME Grade Average

Final Date of Passing

What do you do when?

A country currently has multiple governments issuing documents? (Syria, Ukraine/Crimea, etc.)

Students are completing non-traditional programs in refugee camps/training centers?

A student only supplies partial documentation?

A reliable method of verification suddenly stops?

14

Syrian Refugee Documents:

Etilaf Issued Certificates

http://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.html

15

http://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.htmlhttp://en.etilaf.org/coalition-units/coalition-offices/office-of-the-national-higher-commission-for-learning-and-higher-education.html

Etilaf Certificate: Science Track 16

Etilaf Certificate: Science Track

(Translation)

17

Results Online Syrian Example

http://moed.gov.sy/cresults2015/scientific/index.php

Literary Science

18

UNWRA Diploma 19

http://www.unrwa.org/

http://www.unrwa.org/

Official

Transcript

provided

with credit

hours and

marks

earned

20

Refugee Camp

Documents

21

Educational Certificate 22

English document 23

Incomplete Iraqi

Transcript

24