October 25th, 2019
On October 18, 2019, the Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI) had the pleasure of hosting representatives from the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) and China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center (CHESICC) and colleagues from the American Education Research Corporation (AERC).
The purpose of the meeting was to learn more about our respective organizations and discuss the role of the US Department of Education and the Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE).
From L-R – Mr. Wenjun (Edward) Chen (CHESICC), Mr. Alan Saidi (ACEI), Ms. Martha Alvarez (AERC), Ms. Weiping (Heather) Yuan (CHESICC), Ms. Xiaoshu (Susan) Li (CHESICC), Ms. Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert (ACEI), Mr. Weixing Cheng (CHESICC), Mr. Bo (Simon) Zhou (CSCSE), Ms. Lei Zhu (CSCSE), Ms. Xiao Huo (CSCSE)
Association of International Credential Evaluators
Founded in 1998, AICE is a professional membership association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for those involved in international credential evaluation and comparative education research. The mission of AICE is to provide guidelines and standards to be used by Endorsed Member credential evaluation services regarding the best practices in international credential evaluation. It also provides a forum regarding the development of standards for its member organizations. These member organizations are endorsed by AICE for having demonstrated excellence in credential evaluation and adherence to professional standards through a rigorous membership process. ACEI and AERC are both Endorsed Members of the AICE. For more information on AICE, please click here
Endorsed Members Representatives from AICE:
- Martha Alvarez, Director, American Education Research Corporation (AERC)
- May Li, Senior Credential Evaluation, AERC
- Alan Saidi, Senior Vice-President & COO, Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI)
- Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert, President & CEO, ACEI and President AICE (Association of International Credential Evaluators)
Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE)
The Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange was founded in 1989. It is a public organization under the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the People’s Republic of China. CSCSE was initially founded due to the increasing number of Chinese scholars studying abroad and returning to China which necessitated the establishment of a specialized department to provide comprehensive services for this group of people. CSCSE mainly engages in international education services by supporting students who are pursuing international student experience and fostering dialogues between higher education institutions and organizations in international exchange and cooperation. CSCSE specializes in offering professional services for international scholarly exchanges, including Chinese students and scholars studying abroad, returnees from abroad, and international students and scholars coming to study in China. One of the services CSCSE provides its students, whether returnees or international students and scholars intending to study in China, is help with the evaluation of their educational credentials for comparability to the Chinese education system. For more information on CSCSE, please click here
Representatives from CHESICC:
- Lei Zhu, Head of Evaluation Team (US & Canada), Overseas Academic Credential Evaluation Office
- Bo (Simon) Zhou, Evaluation office, Overseas Academic Credential Evaluation Service
- Xiao Huo, Evaluation Officers, Overseas Academic Credential Evaluation Service
China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center (CHESICC)
The China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center was founded in 1991 and is the MOE-authorized qualification verification institution in China. It is also the only MOE-authorized body for the verification of higher education qualification certificates. CHESICC maintains the China Higher Education Student Information (CHSI), an official higher education student data depository entrusted by the MOE, which manages a nationwide database that covers all MOE-recognized academic institutions and all post-secondary level students. CHESICC offers digital administration and services for student enrollment, student record and qualification management, employment information, ad military conscription. CHESICC verification service includes postsecondary student record, qualification certificate, college transcript, high school diploma, and Gaokao (National College Entrance Exam) scores. Student record and qualification verification are provided in different forms, including online verification, online verification report, and verification report. In China, the verification service is widely used for employment, graduate admission, and judicial examinations. For more information on CHESICC, please click here
Representatives from CHESICC:
- Mr. Weixing Cheng, Director of Information Division
- Mr. Wnjun (Edward) Chen, Project Manager of International Promotion Department
- Ms. Lan Gao, Director of Verification Service Division
- Ms. Xiaoshu Li, Project Supervisor of International Promotion Department
- Ms. Weiping Yuan, Manager of International Promotion Department
At the meeting, we quickly realized how issues such as fraudulent documents, diploma mills, determining legitimacy of institutions and their accreditation/recognition are global problems and not unique to one country. When our CSCSE colleagues shared their questions about professional degrees in law and medicine from the U.S., we concurred that here in the U.S. we face the same conundrum when evaluating international professional qualifications in these fields as we try to determine their U.S. equivalent. From the U.S. side of the table, we shared our concerns about the inability to verify Chinese high school transcripts. Our CHESICC colleagues expressed that since high school education is under provincial control and records are not housed in a central depository, their verification is very difficult. They recommended that the provincial department where the school is located be contacted for help with verification. CSCSE indicated that the number of Chinese students returning to China after completion of their study abroad has been rising as is the number of international students coming to study in China. For this reason, evaluation of these students’ credentials is very important as the CSCSE reports on degree comparability intended for employers, higher education institutions, and other interested parties. It is heartening to learn that although we may be in opposite sides of the planet, we face the same dilemmas and employ similar standards when evaluating international credentials. We look forward to continued collaboration and mutual exchange of information amongst our respective organizations.
Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert is the President and CEO of the Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI).
President, Board of Directors AICE
The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.