Ive been working as an assistant professor at a small college since september. I came from another country in Asia, and have a gold ARC card because i have a phd. I was told when i was hired that i would need to bring my original phd which seemed weird but i did it. Then, a few months later, i was told i would need the phd notarized. I spent several days travelling back and forth to the Mofa to have the degree notarized, and then i paid to have my phd transcripts sent from my school to the “embassy” in the US. Now im being told that i need to pay to have the notarized copy sent to the usa with a prepaid return envelope, which is going to cost ANOTHER 3,000+ nt. This is on top of already paying out of pocket to have several hard copies of my phd dissertation printed. This is getting prohibitively expensive and i never agreed to pay for all of this when i was hired on, and its been super disorganized, and now the college is like HURRY UP GET IT DONE WE’RE ON A DEADLINE. Im thinking of refusing to pay the shipping myself and telling them that they need to pay it. Do you think that will work? Honestly the whole “college” is in such shambles that im not planning to come back next academic year, which should be fine because i havent signed a contract for next year, but im waiting until i have another job lined up to tell them this. Please advise and 謝謝 in advance!
If you’re planning on staying in Taiwan and working at a university, you’ll have to do this anyways. It’s an MOE requirement because otherwise they can’t tell the difference between an earned PhD and a fraud, which I understand had been an issue in the past.
If you’re not planning on staying in Taiwan, then it doesn’t matter.
Either way, you could ask them to pay for it. Seems highly unlikely they will agree, but you might get lucky. It could be a way to draw out the process a bit, until you get a new job…
@TT’s take on things is solid.
I doubt any employer would pay for this, as you are personally responsible to take care of all visa and other issues including certification of your PhD. It is unfair as it dumps extra costs onto the new guy (in this case you, in another era, me). It is absolutely worth it if you are planning to stay as this is MOE level certification that then would be portable should you find a better university gig in Taiwan.
Good luck with this. And don’t let the bureaucracy grind you down!
Guy
Thanks @TT and @afterspivak !
Ive requested that they pay for it. Based on what youre saying, they probably wont, but if they wont then im not going to send it until after they pay me on the 12th. Im still living precariously, financially, because of moving costs, and its not worth it to blow my food budget on documents.
But it will help with university job searching in Taiwan, to have this sorted. The place where you are might also want it to get yet another piece of paper from the MOE that you need to be a professor here, which will also help for job searching. You only have to sort this all out once, and those documents you can take to other universities in Taiwan. There may occasionally be other ridiculous reqests, like having it all translated and then certified
Taiwan loves paperwork, they are very bad at it but it keeps a lot of people employed
Otherwise, you are looking at moving costs again…
The big question to consider is, how invested are you in working at universities in Taiwan?
@TT im actually interviewing for a job back home in the States. Ive really enjoyed Taiwan but im feeling jaded by the experience at this school (the administration is awful, with no support at all for research or even networking. I was promised several things they never delivered, including Mandarin classes) and i think, personally, it would be good for me to be near close friends. I havent gotten a response to my request that they pay shipping, so im just planning to pay for it myself after i get paid. I imagine they cant use my moving slowly on the shipping as grounds for firing me midsemester, before my contract is up, so that should be ok?
I think this is pretty standard here. Though it is possible to find a sweet spot, I think they are getting rarer and the folks that have them aren’t in a hurry to go.
My situation was pretty good, until it wasn’t
I might just delay, if I were planning on leaving and they had lured me under false pretences. Next time they put you on the spot about it, ask about your email. If they say anything but ‘yes’, ask that they ask someone higher up. Eventually, you can say you will pay, and tell them you are looking for the cheapest option. After that, ask them if there is anything else; when they say nothing else, ask them to double check with their boss. And then HR. And then the MOE
And when they complain, remind them that you could have done this before you came if they told you, and you just want to make sure that everything is finalized properly so there is no problem later.
You only have to stretch this out another month, right?
And if they threaten you, ask for that in writing so you can check with a lawyer, which will just delay things more
Don’t say no, don’t get confrontational. Just smile and apologize and say ok and put things off until you know you’re going
I’m not a lawyer, but I understand it is difficult to just fire someone. And also, having to finish your semester becomes their problem. If you have a work permit, I’m confident you can finish the semester. They probably won’t renew you without it, and now is about the time for them to think about next year
A lot of things to like about it, but the management culture and the paperwork culture are pretty awful. For people who settle down and find a sweet spot it can be easy to stay, but I think newbie turnover is pretty high
Seems this is not a great place for making friends. Not impossible, but language barrier and other things are an issue
Ok, good luck on the interview. I guess if it is just an interview you might not want to delay too long on the Taiwan paperwork to keep your current job as a backup. Don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot, 3000NT isn’t astronomical
Wait, are these guys not depositing your salary right on the first of the month? Or: are you in the dreaded non-full time teachers category?
Guy
I don’t get paid on the first, except maybe for the odd holiday situation. But I am full time. Private unis…
Damn.
My uni (part of the national system) moves in a slothlike manner in countless ways, but they do pay the full timers promptly on the 1st of each month. The so-called part timers on the other hand . . .
Guy
Yeah its private. I have no idea why i get paid on the 12th.
I’m paid promptly on the same day early every month, and early when there is a holiday or weekend, it is fine
Everybody does this. It’s a pain but it’s just how things are here. Frankly, I’m amazed you were hired without doing this first.
Probably a combination of Gold Card and desperation. I had to get my degree certified, courier internationally at my own expense, to get the work permit, to get the visa. I didn’t go the gold card route
Also, if the PhD was good enough for the Gold Card, why is it not trustworthy for the MOE? Because Taiwan paperwork, is why
The school year is finished in June anyway. It sounds like OP wants to go home and the admin won’t fire him a month before the school year ends (unless they’re real hard asses), so in his case I think he can just drag his feet until the year ends and make a quiet exit. Although might not be the smartest move if he wants a reference.
He did say his uni is shockingly disorganized . . .
Guy
Different government agencies / ministries! Why should the MOE trust the MOI? lol
Guy
With a PhD he should probably set his sights higher then. Still… it’s probably something he also should’ve independently been aware of.
she*
but, yeah, I think they were desperate to hire someone.
They also generally don’t seem to know what they’re doing.
I wasn’t even told I needed to do this until several months into the school year. I had (wrongly, obviously) assumed that the gold card was enough proof of the PhD.
also lol @ assuming there are infinite great jobs available for PhDs in the humanities.