Assessing international qualifications – best practices

1. Assessing international qualifications – bestpractices LEANES project Pauliina Karvinen and Jussi Kukkonen University of Eastern Finland LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011

2. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 Introduction • International student mobility on the increase • Evaluating international qualifications is challenging • International credential evaluation is new to many universities, while some have done it for decades • Document forgery is multimillion business in the world • Special focus on Indian and Chinese degree documents

3. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 Contents • 1. Background and LEANES project • 2. University admissions and selection criteria • 3. Authenticity of documents • 4. Country profile China • 5. Country profile India • 6. Conclusions

4. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 1. Background and LEANES • LEANES – Linking European and Asian Networks in the field on Environmental Sciences • Need for a tool to evaluate Asian qualifications – best practices booklet • A questionnaire to admissions staff at seven European universities (Tampere, Joensuu, Wageningen, Utrecht, Freiburg, AgroParisTech, Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin)

5. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 2. Universityadmissions and selectioncriteria • On-line applications vs. paper applications • Centralised selection process vs. departmental selection committee • Language proficiency IELTS 6.0-6.5, TOEFL IbT 80-90 • Relevance of degree, academic excellence, motivation, work experience, references • Evaluating academic excellence – it takes time to gather knowledge

6. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 3. Authenticity of documents • Educational credentials are a ticket to better life • Forgery is commonplace and happens everywhere – prevent fake documents being submitted in the first place • The more documents you ask the more difficult it is to fake them all • Create a database – share information – report to a relevant authority

7. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 4. Country Profile China • The largest educational system in the world • Project 211 and 985 universities • Only accredited universities can award legal degree documents • Competition is hard, forgery takes place • CDGDC verifies documents • Chinese students go abroad in great numbers - how do we attract them?

8. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 5. Country ProfileIndia • Diverse education system: private, state, central, deemed, open and Navaratna Universities, Institutes of National Importance • NAAC accreditation system • 3-yr bachelor vs. European bachelor • No standardised format for degree documents – provisional certificates are used – discrepancies do occur

9. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 6. Conclusions • Higher education markets are ever more competitive – simple yet effective admissions procedure supports the HEI recruiting strategy • Centralised admissions service allows knowledge to cumulate – quality in recruitment • International assessment of qualifications is new to many universities in Europe – further training opportunities are needed • Need for European Education Services?

10. LEANES final workshop in Brussels April 27, 2011 Thankyou! Pauliina Karvinen, UEF School of Forest Sciences Jussi Kukkonen, UEF Department of Biology firstname.lastname@uef.fi