April 19th, 2018
April in Paris. 80 degrees and sunny. Paris is a city built for walking and my colleagues from AACRAO IESC and I together kept daily log to see who had walked the most. Thanks to the apps on our smartphones or FitBits, we have been comparing notes on our individual steps and miles. Since my arrival last Saturday, I’ve clocked nearly 80,000 steps or about 50 miles. Not bad for a car dependent long-time resident of Los Angeles.
The primary purpose of the IESC’s visit to Paris has been to gather information on the Business Grande Ecoles in order to update the country profile on France and include the credentials offered by these specialized institutions of higher education. Members of IESC here in Paris include William Paver (FCSA), Robert Watkins (UT Austin), Emily Tse (IERF) and yours truly. Melanie Gottlieb, Deputy Director of AACRAO is also here in Paris and it is thanks to her that we had appointments to meet with administrators at the ESSEC, a Grande Ecole in Business, and representatives of the French Ministry of National Higher Education and Research.
AACRAO’s IESC Delegation in Paris(L-R): William Paver, Robert Watkins, Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert, Melanie Gottlieb, Emily Tse
Since IESC will be preparing a report on its recent visit and findings on the Business Grande Ecoles, I will not share details of our meetings as we are still waiting to receive additional information. However, I can say that our meetings with both ESSEC and the MOE were successful and offered us very helpful insight on the various access pipelines to the degree programs at the Grande Ecoles of Business. One thing that we were able to confirm is that the Diploma from a Grande Ecole and the title of Grade de Master represent completion five years of full-time study beyond the Baccalaureat. The first two years comprise of studies known as prepas or classe preparatoire which are completed at authorized schools in France. On completion of the two-year prepas, students intending to study at the Grande Ecoles of Business must sit for concours, entrance examination. Their performance on the concours will determine their eligibility for admission into the Grande Ecoles of Business where they continue their studies for an additional three years.
Ministry of National Education, France
AACRAO IESC delegation at Ministry of National Education – French officials, right to left: Dr. Jean-Luc Nahel, Dr. Nadine Van Der Tol, Prof. Jean-Luc Clemente. IESC delegation: Melanie Gottlieb, William Paver, Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert, Robert Watkins, Emily Tse.
Immediately after the conclusion of our meetings, it was time to attend the Groningen Declaration Network annual summit, held at the University of Sorbonne, Marie-Curie campus. Discussion continues on what progress has been made in promoting digital mobility of student records worldwide. Of concern to many was the Melanie Gottlieb’s presentation on the GDPR, (General Data Protection Regulation) and how it may impact education and access to academic documents. Here’s a quick explanation of the GDPR: In April 2016, the European Parliament, The Council of the European Union, the European Commission drafted a Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Protection of national persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. For more on the GDPR, click here.
Venue for the GDN Summit, Paris 2018
We are in the heart of the college and university center of Paris. We’re staying at a hotel near the University of Sorbonne where the GDN meetings are held, which is aptly name Rue des Écoles (Street of Schools). It is, therefore, impossible not to stumble or walk by a collège, institute, faculté, or université. As an international credential evaluator who has been in the field for 30 years, seeing the very institutions from which we receive academic transcripts to evaluate never gets old; in fact it’s downright invigorating and makes our work so much more tangible.
Since there is still one more day of presentations left at the GDN, I may have more to report in another dispatch from Paris. In the meantime, stay tuned for updates on the Business Grande Ecoles from the IESC in the upcoming weeks.
A bientôt!
Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert is the President and CEO of the Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI).
At ACEI, we see the importance of international education in our global economy and strive to maintain the exchange and dissemination of information by assisting colleges and universities, professional organizations, and employers around the world with our research and credential evaluation services that help enhance their reputation and competitive recruiting effectiveness. To learn more about ACEI and its services such as Credential Evaluation, Translation, Webinars and Training, and how we can assist you with your credential evaluation and recruitment needs, please visit www.acei-global.org or call us at 310.275.3530.