I don’t suppose the MOE has given the OK on these yet have they? Has anyone heard anything or any speculations when this will get approved?
I’ve heard that the MOE is flouting WTO rules on this. If you’re being shafted in this area, you might consider taking the issue up at your embassy, and they can lodge a complaint. The MOE has a long history of spitting at the international community in many areas, like turning a blind eye to and even encouraging copyright violations of Hollywood movies on their college intranet (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/02/08/2003348130) — and Coke lawyers were peeved when they learned that the MOE was encouraging improper trademark usage in textbooks by listing Coke on their 2,000 list of English “words” for Taiwanese children to learn (It’s been removed recently). Maybe it’s a DPP thing; I support their goal of Taiwanese independence, but I have to admit that criticisms concerning general administrative incompetence seem on target.
“OK on these” for what purpose? In what context?
Which WTO rules? And in what context are you answering the question?
(Don’t take it the wrong way… just curious as to what you both mean)
I’m speaking from the experience of a friend: a Taiwanese university won’t recognize a degree obtained long-distance, which degree is apparently fine with the rest of the world — certainly in the U.S.A. and U.K. (The WTO, which Taiwan joined in 2002, promotes free trade and seeks to eliminate trade barriers.) The way it was explained to me, the Taiwanese government worries that competition from long-distance degrees could take away students from their precious universities — perhaps because it’s cheaper, or perhaps because it’s better (especially once students compare the quality of instruction with what they’ve known and experienced here). WTO officials are working behind the scenes to break down trade barriers in E-education.
I asked my friend about his situation and this is how he replied:
[quote]The MOE rule, last promulgated in October 2006, states
that those with “correspondence” degrees will not be
accepted as instructors at Taiwan universities. It’s
infuriating, but there it is in black and white. As
Scott says, this ruling will change. In fact,
according to Taiwan’s WTO commitments, it has to
change. But it won’t change without a struggle–note
that the last set of regulations were put out less
than a year ago, after many people had lobbied to get
the regulation changed, and so the MOE is not moving
on it. If this regulation negatively effects you, I
suggest you take the following actions: 1)Write
directly to the Education Minister and complain,
setting out your reasons why you think the regulation
is unfair. CC letter to your trade office. 2) Write to
your local Trade office and ask them to raise the
matter with the Taiwan government. 3) Apply for jobs
at universities anyway, and make a big stink if the
MOE does not approve your appointment; you have a much
stronger case with the school on your
side–face/guanxi etc. 4) Try semantics–try to
convince the MOE that your degree is not a
“correspondence” degree–it might be a face-saving way
out.
Remember that regulations are arbitrarily applied in
Taiwan. As Scott points out, the ruling is in place
primarily to stop Taiwanese students doing distance
degrees overseas, i.e. it is in effect an invisible
trade barrier. As far as the “diploma mill” [sigh]
problem goes, wouldn’t it be a simple thing to make a
list of accredited institutions offering distance
education? Scott’s point about Taiwanese bureaucrats
having problems differentiating between schools is
well taken, but it’s really not that difficult if the
will is there. In fact, I suggested just this solution
to someone at the MOE the other day, and they seemed
to think it was a viable solution. So, the more people
who get on to them, the sooner distance degrees will
be recognised. Don’t take it lying down.[/quote]
By the way, here is Scott Sommer’s blog on it:
http://scottsommers.blogs.com/taiwanweblog/2004/07/distance_degree_1.html
So are distance degrees accepted or not?
Does anyone know where to find the list of colleges/universities that are accepted when applying for a work permit in Taiwan?
I am thinking about doing a distance learning degree. I am a long term resident in Taiwan and plan on staying so I need to know if a distance learning degree will be accepted.
No, to work in a public or private post-secondary institute, you can not use a distance degree to get hired. You need at least a master’s degree where 8 months of the degree is spent on campus studying. Private companies can accept anything they want.
Just because a degree is on campus does not mean it is accepted. It must be from one of the schools listed on the Ministry of Education list. This list is in Chinese and the website is designed like it was done by a bunch of high school kids, but here it is.
edu.tw/EDU_WEB/EDU_MGT/BICER … ca/ca3.htm
Here is the English version of the website:
english.moe.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=1
Furthermore, you can catch a glimpse of those high-school kids here:
english.moe.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem= … e=516&mp=1
(I read the article: there’s no possible relevance or apparent rationale other than this is Taiwan.)
Unless I’m mistaken, only the Chinese-language page has the list of recognized colleges and universities.