Facilitating Admission of Refugee Students - Examples from USA, Norway and Turkey

Facilitating admission of refugee students - examples from USA, Norway and Turkey Thursday, October 4, 2018 Philadelphia, PA, USA -Marina Malgina, NOKUT, Norway -Jeanie Bell, University of Colorado Boulder, USA -Marybeth Gruenewald, ECE, Inc, Milwaukee, USA Introduction of the topic and speakers TAICEP Conference Theme: “Working Together to Ensure Integrity in International Credential Evaluation” Presentation Summary: Refugees and vulnerable migrants, especially those without proper documentation of their qualifications, are at a disadvantage within both the labor and higher education markets. This panel session directly refers to the specific topic of improving the situation of refugee students concerning their integration into the higher education institutions, and will present best practices that have been tested in the U.S., Turkey and Norway in the evaluation of educational background and admission of refugee students to higher education institutions. Speakers Ms. Marina Malgina (Norway) Head of Section for Recognition of Refugees’ Qualifications at NOKUT the Norwegian ENIC-NARIC office Speakers Ms. Jeanie Bell (USA) Senior Assistant Director of International Admissions at University of Colorado Boulder, USA Speakers Ms. Marybeth Gruenewald (USA) Director of Global Initiatives Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc [ECE] Initiatives & Projects in the USA: credential evaluation perspective Documentation Issues A stable May have method of No proof of attended Interrupted Unofficial verification Documentation educational unrecognized Education achievements refugee camp vanishes or schools becomes risky Documentation Challenges UNDOCUMENTED: Lack of proper legal status and documentation UNAVAILABLE: Not in the student’s possession; no documents presented NON-VERIFIABLE: Documents presented, but of poor quality; institution cannot be contacted Best Practices Determine if you need an alternative method of evaluation Collect documentation and evidence Reconstruct educational history Verify if possible Create portfolio Develop policy Case Studies What else is going on in the U.S. Many examples were shown in yesterday’s session on Vulnerable & At Risk Populations: Who is doing what and how. Presented by Annetta Stroud & Amy Ullrich Initiatives & Projects in the USA: institutional evaluation perspectives US higher education is decentralized The U.S. Department of Education is primarily a State and local Education is dedicated to: responsibility in the United States. Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education. Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research. Focusing national attention on key educational issues. Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education. The policy for qualifications Scope of recognition can be as varied as decentralization the individual school itself. The source of a qualification requirement may come from various sources The State government An accreditation board There are about 4600 A university Board of degree-granting Regents institutions in the USA, A university including 2-year and 4- department/faculty year schools. In the absence of a centralized Ministry of Education, what do you do? It is often up to individuals State within U.S. universities to government determine their best course of action, with input from the appropriate entity, which might be the state government or a University University graduate department. Board of department Regents or faculty University of Colorado Boulder Public research university located in Boulder, Colorado Governed by the Colorado Board of Regents, regulated by the Colorado State constitution 35,510 total enrollment (Fall 2018) University of Colorado Boulder Applicants without Affects students applying qualifications are to all levels (post- relatively rare for the secondary, University of Colorado graduate/post-graduate) Boulder Countries of origin Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine How would you start this What’s the process? plan? Who would you contact? What resources are at your disposal? How well do you know your “A goal without a plan is campus or organization? just a wish.” ― Antoine de Saint- Is the process formalized, Exupéry transparent and accessible? A well-thought-out policy can cover multiple situations. Why would we do this? Initially done informally Go to where the In April 2016 the idea was raised silence is and say to establish a formal procedure Reviewed by the Directors in the something. Office of Admission -Amy Goodman Currently in use Allows consistency Lends legitimacy to the outcome Identify situations in which applicants requesting a service are legitimately unable to provide complete academic credentials. Who is seeking a service What is being sought o Refugees/asylees o Admission o International students o Transfer credit o Permanent residents toward a degree of the US o Qualifications recognition for another purpose Assessment Behind each request is an individual who wishes to better his and best or her circumstances. practices As a representative of your institution or organization, you are Balance compassion with responsible to do due diligence in practicality in meeting the carrying out the mission of that needs of your organization. institution or organization. Start the process Identify existing appeal process Alternatively, develop a process Possible flexibilities Waive fees. Explore other methods of validating academic backgrounds. Based on the source of your requirements, Accept scanned copies that may have determine where you been used for non-academic purposes have flexibilities (e.g., employment). Request that the student provide as much information about the academic background as possible, for example, creating a self-reported transcript with course titles, course descriptions, dates, levels, etc. Identify the stakeholders and Contact the decision makers, and their purpose decision makers in the process University Administration Graduate (Post-Graduate) School Academic Department A small group of thoughtful Admissions Office people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that Registrar ever has. Subject Matter Experts Margaret Mead Other Finalize the Create a report process Make it part of the student’s record Share this with the stakeholders Ensure that the Establish a written process and process is formalized, share it with the appropriate transparent and individuals for the next such accessible instance. Outcomes Don’t accept anything and recommend study elsewhere, with different admission requirements (e.g. open admission) Accept some of the documents, such Decide on an action and as those that are verifiable communicate this to the Accept what’s been provided as student. official Waive documents and/or fees Admit the student The Lost Boys and Girls of the Sudan • Sought admission to a bachelor degree • Late 1990s through early 2000s • Had advocates in the community and on campus • Support from the Director of Admissions Refugee from Syria • Sought admission to a doctorate • Had only a letter from a former faculty members at the school in Syria and department support, including funding • Used the web to check on the university attended • Checked information in the letter against Syrian higher education system • Kept documentation proving the exception, such as email threads, in the students record In conclusion Balance compassion with practicality in meeting the needs of your organization. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Conduct research and explore best practices. A well-thought-out policy can cover multiple situations. Qualifications Passport for Refugees Marina Malgina NOKUT Implementation in Europe and testing of the Qualifications Passport methodology in Turkey in REFREC- project by Yasar University and NOKUT Our inspiration: The Nansen Passport, 1922- 1938 The Nansen Passport, issued by League of Nations, was established after World War I to give selected groups of refugees / stateless persons an internationally recognized refugee travel document By 1943: Honoured by governments in 52 countries Qualifications Passport for Refugees 30 Challenges Volumes Unfinished qualifications Access to documentation or confirmation of qualifications Demand for mobility and portability Qualifications Passport for Refugees 31 Qualifications Qualifications Passport for Refugees solution as a (EQPR) for Passport Qualifications Accessible Assessment accessible to the refugees Including those with lacking Fair documentation Professional possible Refugees Interview with the professional evaluators Presenting available relevant Relevant information in easy-to-understand way Fast Issuing the passport in 1 week | 32 European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR): methodology Assessment of available documentation (conducted by professional evaluator) + • Analysis of the qualification (conducted by professional evaluator) + • Structured interview (conducted by two professional evaluators) = Identify and present refugees’ qualifications in a standardized and structured document (European Qualifications Passport for Refugees) with the aim to assist end-users like universities, employers, persons working in the field of integration etc. In addition, the document provides advice on the way ahead Not a legally binding decision – advisory statement IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OF REFUGEES’ QUALIFICATIONS UNDER THE LISBON RECOGNITION CONVENTION Qualifications

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