Summary:

The Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) – a body under the Ministry of Education – has announced changes to its process for certifying overseas degrees, with immediate effect.  The main change is that returning graduates from overseas institutions no longer need to submit an official translation of their degree certificate.

The updated guidelines also set a maximum time-frame for the degree verification process. Degrees from UK institutions will be verified within 15 working days of document submission, while those awarded by joint programmes and institutes which have been formally registered with the Ministry of Education will be verified within 10 working days.

A third change in the guidelines is aimed to address the issue of fake overseas degrees in China. If applicants provide false information or fake documents, this information will be noted in the national credit management system and shared with other relevant departments.

Analysis by Kevin Prest

This relaxing of requirements is aimed to make the degree verification process smoother for applicants who wish to return to work in China. Registration of overseas degrees is not legally required, but a large majority of returning graduates register their degree as many employers use CSCSE’s system to verify candidates’ overseas qualifications. Based on the recent change, UK institutions may wish to update the guidance they provide to Chinese graduates on the degree verification process.

Documentation requirements for overseas degree registration were previously relaxed in mid-2016, as reported on SIEM News, cancelling the need for graduates to provide degree transcripts and for those that participated in a TNE programme or credit transfer to provide proof of enrolment at their previous institution.

The new guidelines also follow a roundtable discussion held as part of the UK-China High-Level People-to-People Dialogue in London on 7 December 2017. This discussion was convened by the British Council in order to address recent concerns brought to public attention by media reports on the issue of fake UK degrees in China. Representatives from both sides – including Prospects’ Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD), a number of UK sector bodies and higher education institutions, CSCSE, and the Chinese Embassy – raised awareness of fake UK degrees in China and how this was impacting UK alumni, employers, and the integrity of the UK education brand. Both sides discussed how to work together to address this problem and streamline the degree verification processes.

Sources:

1. Official announcement by CSCSE (in Chinese): http://www.cscse.edu.cn/publish/portal0/tab38/info14967.htm

2. SIEM News article on the previous round of document liberalisation: https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/chinese-ministry-of-education-relaxes-requirements-returning-graduates%E2%80%99-proof-of