Will my degree be recognized?

[Laowai1960]

I am an Australian man in my late 40s. I have a 20 year old business diploma from an Australian vocational institute (equal to 2 years of study although I did it part time over 4 years) and a TESOL.

Five years ago I was retrenched from my job in Australia, found it tough getting a new job, went through a divorce, came to China to teach English (1 college and 1 university) and I've been here for 3 years. The divorce left me financially weak.

I want to move on to South Korea or Taiwan to earn a higher salary. I checked out online degrees but simply couldn't afford the tuition fees from 'mainstream' universities. I settled on Clayton University of Hong Kong ( http://www.culhk.com/Index.html ) which offers a Portfolio Assessment Program. Clayton give credits for a wide variety of (minimum 4 week duration) courses undertaken during one's life.

I had to give Clayton copies of my high school certificate and college diploma. I was evaluated as having to do 6 out of 22 subjects to get a degree in accounting & finance. I am actually studying and I am required to submit assignments and papers. Also, I have a local mentor.

It was recently suggested to me that a degree from Clayton University will not be recognized in South Korea or Taiwan. How and where can I find out?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some helpful and informative replies.

Cheers

[amm65]

Korea's Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development should be able to help. Their website is:
http://english.moe.go.kr/
(Look for the orange box on the right-hand side that says "Help Desk - Q&A/FAQ" -- seems like the people who've posted questions have received timely responses.)
Also, the site states:
"The basic requirement (for an E-2 foreign teacher's visa) is to hold at least a bachelor's degree and be a citizen of one of the six major English-speaking countries, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. In addition, your possession of a teacher's certificate, TESOL certificate, work experience, master's degree, etc. will allow you to apply for a higher-level position."

Lastly, I know a teacher in Korea who received his Bachelor degree through a correspondence course, and he had no problems obtaining a work visa. Good luck! Hope this leads you in the right direction.

[amm65]

Sorry, I should mention that while an online degree may be accepted, it must be from an institution in an English speaking country.