morocco and degree transfer to US credits

[sereia 0]

going off of today's daily post...

Has anyone had their SO from Morocco specifically do this process of transferring their college degree to American credits? What was the outcome? Did they have to attend more schooling or were their degrees transferred easily? What company did you use in particular? Are there particular translators in Morocco you used that you would recommend to translate the credits?

My husband and I should have done this process months ago...but the procrastination is over!

[Nasturtium 500]

OK, I'm intruding.. but unless your school/place of work wants something specific-- I'd have your husband translate his own transcripts because he's the only one who will have a clue which classes he took and some of the words are the same in Arabic with different meanings in English.. ie Ammar took what we decided to be "Fundamentals of Philosophy" but is could have also been "schools of philosophy" would be a different kind of course. Most schools will actually give English transcripts so I'd just ask about that part. now I'm going to step out and let Moroccans talk (edited to add-- and of course then he'd get the translation certified by a certified translator.)

Oh! And if you have his transcripts.. two big things as far as deciding equivalency- did he take enough credit hours towards the degree and did he take enough hours within the subject of the degree. Just count his hours and the subject course and you should be able to figure it out more or less on your own just to avoid some initial worry Just look at some universities by you and see what they require, and a few other state schools as well. Like Ammar had 144 hrs as an undergrad which is smack in teh normal range, and then 45 hours were Sociology-- which is definately enough for a BA. His MA was 100% anthropology classes at 48 hours which is definately enough as well. But some places do things like give a degree for only 18 hours in a subject or for maybe only 100 credit hours as an undergrad (too little to pass accreditation). This is a major sticking point. Also for grad hours-- thesis/dissertation or not-- that can mean the difference between them accepting your stuff as well. hope that gives some general help.

Edited December 11, 2007 by julianna

[sereia 0]

see thats the thing.. i don't know if he needs more school or if he can just go straight into engineering. so maybe its better to get the transcripts ourselves and get them translated here? is that what you were saying? or translate it ourselves and get it certified here? how do you find someone to do that? ugh!!!

Edited December 11, 2007 by sereia

[Nasturtium 500]

Most poeple who translate will certify a translation so just call around.. where you are you're in a good spot Just look in the phone book for one. You'll have to get his transcripts, yeah... but try to get the English version. As far as the other part, jsut look up engineering programs wit him and see if he did what is required for the degree.. it should give you a heads up as to if you're going to need more school.

[Aymerlu 3]

My husband has a Bachlor of Science in education in Egypt. When we had things translated here, he found out that he needs about 2 years of college here to even be able to teach which totally sucks. He's looking into other things now. After seeing how the schools are here, he doesn't want to step foot in schools anymore.

[Meriem_DZ 37]

I also wanted to add, that if you are doing this for education purposes. You can not get any financial aid or student loans until the university receives the transcripts from WES. (world education services) or whatever service you are using. Hachemi has received a full pell grant, but it will not be awarded until they receive the transcripts and he is officially accepted by the college. They are allowing him to attend college on a conditional bases until they receive the transcripts. So if you plan to take college courses get this done early. We kind of waited until the last minute, but it still worked out.

Meriem

[Nasturtium 500]

My husband has a Bachlor of Science in education in Egypt. When we had things translated here, he found out that he needs about 2 years of college here to even be able to teach which totally sucks. He's looking into other things now. After seeing how the schools are here, he doesn't want to step foot in schools anymore.

Sounds like his school was not accredited?

I also wanted to add, that if you are doing this for education purposes. You can not get any financial aid or student loans until the university receives the transcripts from WES. (world education services) or whatever service you are using. Hachemi has received a full pell grant, but it will not be awarded until they receive the transcripts and he is officially accepted by the college. They are allowing him to attend college on a conditional bases until they receive the transcripts. So if you plan to take college courses get this done early. We kind of waited until the last minute, but it still worked out.

Meriem

That just depends on the system though, like University of Arkansas doesn't need anything other than the sealed transcripts to apply (as far as from previous universities), and then once you're accepted they will contact the other universities on their own. Lucky for us it's like a Mecca for people from my Dh's previous university.

[patiently_waiting 0]

I feel your pain Jen! We can't even get his transcripts because the gov't has them since he was a teacher there. We are at a complete loss. I will keep up with this thread to see what others have to say.

[doodlebugg 10]

My husband has a Bachlor of Science in education in Egypt. When we had things translated here, he found out that he needs about 2 years of college here to even be able to teach which totally sucks. He's looking into other things now. After seeing how the schools are here, he doesn't want to step foot in schools anymore.

Is it because he needs his Masters? I was told that I could not teach unless I had my Masters back when I was looking into teaching math.

[Nasturtium 500]

Is it because he needs his Masters? I was told that I could not teach unless I had my Masters back when I was looking into teaching math.

The Egyptian collegiate system as a whole has lost its world-wide accredidation as far as I can tell from speaking with my husband, Americans, and Egyptian-Americans. I know European, North American, and even other Middle Eastern schools refuse to accept their degrees as valid because they are not meeting basic criteria. That really could be the major problem.

[Jenn! 918]

My husband has a Bachlor of Science in education in Egypt. When we had things translated here, he found out that he needs about 2 years of college here to even be able to teach which totally sucks. He's looking into other things now. After seeing how the schools are here, he doesn't want to step foot in schools anymore.

Is it because he needs his Masters? I was told that I could not teach unless I had my Masters back when I was looking into teaching math.

If he teaches math, he could look into teaching at a private school. I was able to teach Math at a charter school here in Boston with neither my teaching credential nor a Master's. Of course, they said I should be working on those, but I think the bottom line is that they are always in need of math teachers, so if you have some experience and capability, they'll overlook credentials, at least temporarily.

[Nasturtium 500]

If he teaches math, he could look into teaching at a private school. I was able to teach Math at a charter school here in Boston with neither my teaching credential nor a Master's. Of course, they said I should be working on those, but I think the bottom line is that they are always in need of math teachers, so if you have some experience and capability, they'll overlook credentials, at least temporarily.

But don't you still need at least a bachelor's degree to teach even at a private school?

[Jenn! 918]

If he teaches math, he could look into teaching at a private school. I was able to teach Math at a charter school here in Boston with neither my teaching credential nor a Master's. Of course, they said I should be working on those, but I think the bottom line is that they are always in need of math teachers, so if you have some experience and capability, they'll overlook credentials, at least temporarily.

But don't you still need at least a bachelor's degree to teach even at a private school?

Yes, of course. I was assuming that the additional two years Amy was referring to was for a Master's or for specific teaching courses necessary to the credential. If it's the case that his education translates to less than a Bachelor's, then he still has the problem.

[athena_ny 1]

If he teaches math, he could look into teaching at a private school. I was able to teach Math at a charter school here in Boston with neither my teaching credential nor a Master's. Of course, they said I should be working on those, but I think the bottom line is that they are always in need of math teachers, so if you have some experience and capability, they'll overlook credentials, at least temporarily.

But don't you still need at least a bachelor's degree to teach even at a private school?

Usually yes, but it looks like Jenn had a Bachelor's, just no teaching credentials or Master's. The standards for teaching in private schools are much lower.

[Nasturtium 500]

Yes, of course. I was assuming that the additional two years Amy was referring to was for a Master's or for specific teaching courses necessary to the credential. If it's the case that his education translates to less than a Bachelor's, then he still has the problem.

Exactly.. and I know people who are hitting this problem because of the changes in the Egyptian standards of of late-- so they lost the international accreditation... they are basically having to take enough classes to satisfy an initial degree requirement in the first place. Sucks in a way since it's not like they determine the standards of the available universities. I heard the American University in Cairo still has acreditation, but I'm not 100% on that. The system lost it in general because they are not requiring enough courses as a whole and not enough within the major of the degree being given... so people are being hit up with having to make up a bunch of hours within the dicipline and possibly in minors as well.