I can't even get my graduation certificate after completing my studies, so I spent 230000 yuan on online courses to study Portuguese University Certification | Lisbon University College | Graduation Certificate
You can obtain a master's degree from the University of Lisbon College by taking online classes at home, and there is also a degree certification from the China International Student Service, with no requirement for English proficiency... Recently, multiple consumers have complained to the Pengpai Quality View platform that they have encountered false advertising from study abroad agencies, paid over 100000 yuan in tuition fees, and took online classes for a year. Not only have they not obtained a master's degree, but they also do not have a paper version of their graduation certificate.
The second page of the admission notice shows that the project is a "non degree course".
"Later on, it was discovered that the second page of the admission notice stated 'non degree courses', but the study abroad agency only sent us the first page, intentionally misleading us." The whistleblower, Shao Ting, told The Paper that a total of 60 students applied for the one-year Master's program in Management at the University of Lisbon College, paying service fees and tuition fees ranging from 150000 to 230000 yuan. "Currently, everyone is defending their rights, but the study abroad agency refuses to refund the fees.".
The reporter from Pengpai News learned that the actual agent for the above-mentioned project is Chengdu Keshijie Overseas Service Co., Ltd. The person in charge, Wu Sifeng, stated that he did not deceive the students, but due to policy changes, the conditions for obtaining a graduation certificate and degree certificate have changed. "Now, pay an additional 5000 euros, go abroad to complete a seminar and graduation defense, and you can obtain your graduation certificate and degree certificate.".
Why does the admission notice state "non degree courses"? Can students ultimately obtain a nationally recognized master's degree? Wu Sifeng did not respond.
It is understood that currently, some students have filed lawsuits with the court, hoping to protect their rights through legal means.
I paid a service fee of 160000 yuan but couldn't get my graduation certificate after completing my studies
Shao Ting has graduated and worked for many years, but she has always wanted to further improve herself through learning. In October 2021, she found a study abroad information website operated by Shenzhen Noda Information Technology Co., Ltd. online and left her contact information on it. A teacher who claimed to be Shenzhen Xihe Education Development Co., Ltd. contacted her.
"After hearing about my request, she recommended me to the one-year Master's program in Management at the University College of Lisbon. She also said that this course has been in existence for a long time, and during the epidemic period, completing studies online can earn a master's degree and certification for Chinese study abroad degrees." Shao Ting said that this program is short in time and is online, so you can improve your education without resigning and going abroad, which is very suitable for her needs. ".
So, Shao Ting paid a registration service fee of 2000 yuan and a down payment of 10000 yuan for tuition fees to Shenzhen Xihe Education, and both parties signed a Study Abroad Information Consulting Service Agreement. On November 5, 2021, she received an admission letter from the University College of Lisbon. According to the agreement, Shao Ting paid another 148000 yuan in tuition fees, totaling 160000 yuan.
"After receiving the admission letter, they asked me to add a teacher from Chengdu Keshijie, who was responsible for the management and classes in the future." Shao Ting said that after the classes started as scheduled in early November 2021, the teacher from Chengdu Keshijie once again promised her that the project would be taught in the form of online courses during the epidemic, and that passing the exam would result in obtaining a graduation certificate and a master's degree.
Shao Ting enrolled in an 8-month course. In July 2022, all courses were completed and Shao Ting successfully passed the online exam.
After the end of the class, Shao Ting kept asking the teacher at Chengdu Keshijie about the issuance date of the graduation certificate, but the other party delayed the issuance due to issues with the certificate that needed to be modified. It was not until November 2022 that Shao Ting received the electronic version of the graduation certificate from Chengdu Keshijie. "However, the teacher said that this graduation certificate is an informal version and even sent us a notice for us to sign. The content is that we cannot use this graduation certificate to go to the China Service Center for certification, otherwise the consequences of certification failure will be borne by ourselves.".
The electronic version of the graduation certificate received by the student has failed to be authenticated on the Chinese retention server.
On February 27, 2023, Shao Ting submitted an electronic version of her graduation certificate to the Study Abroad Service Center of the Ministry of Education for authentication. However, she received a notice stating that Shao Ting's electronic version of her graduation certificate was not within the scope of the center's authentication. "The staff said that what we received was a graduation certificate obtained from studying non degree education courses, which is not an officially recognized higher education degree certificate in Portugal."
China Scholarship Service Certification, also known as Foreign Academic Degrees Certification, refers to the evaluation and certification of academic degrees of returned students by the China Ministry of Education's Study Abroad Service Center based on their applications. Failure to obtain certification from the China Scholarship Administration means that the degree is not recognized in China.
On the promotional brochure for the one-year Master of Management program at the University College of Lisbon sent by Shao Ting, the cover not only reads "one-year Master of Management", but also specifically marks "China Ministry of Education Study Abroad Service Center Certification".
The brochure states that the project is a one-year Master's degree in Management and has been certified by the China Service Center.
The admission notice has been truncated by one page
From the promotional brochure of the aforementioned project, it can be seen that the enrollment requirements for this project are relatively low, only requiring a college degree or above and more than 2 years of work experience, with no requirement for English proficiency.
Shao Ting told Pengpai News that she learned that the students who applied for the project are divided into two classes, with a total of 60 students. The service fees and tuition fees paid by each person range from 150000 to 230000 yuan, with an estimated total amount of 12 million yuan involved.
Mr. Wang from Shenzhen is currently the student who has paid the most fees as learned by Pengpai News. Mr. Wang introduced that he learned about the project through Shenzhen Noda Information Technology Co., Ltd. in November 2021. At that time, a teacher from Shenzhen Bosi Education Development Co., Ltd. also promised him that he could complete his studies without going abroad and ultimately obtain a master's degree certificate certified by the China Scholarship Service.
Following Shao Ting's path, after paying a service fee and tuition fee of 198000 yuan, Mr. Wang signed an electronic service agreement with Shenzhen Bose Education and was ultimately transferred to Chengdu Keshijie, where teachers from Chengdu Keshijie were responsible for the subsequent courses and management.
Due to Mr. Wang's long-term work abroad and time difference, the teacher at Chengdu Keshijie suggested that he choose the company's "half daycare service", which means he only needs to attend online classes and participate in graduation defense. All regular assignments, graduation theses, etc. are to be completed by the company. In the end, Mr. Wang spent 38000 yuan to choose the half childcare service.
But to his surprise, he spent 236000 yuan before and after, but ultimately did not receive his graduation certificate and master's degree.
In the process of safeguarding their rights afterwards, the students learned that the main cooperating institution of the course project was Chengdu Keshijie, but multiple study abroad agencies sold it layer by layer. After the students paid the fees, they would be uniformly "transferred" to Chengdu Keshijie. The problem that students are facing now is that "Keshijie asked us to find the agency that paid for registration. The registration agency said they were just agents and asked us to contact Keshijie.".
Shao Ting said that the paper version of the graduation certificate has been delayed, and many students have contacted ISCTE University College of Lisbon. In March 2023, the college held an online briefing for the students of this project.
"At the meeting, they said that this project is a non degree course, which was already explained on the second page of the admission notice. However, in order to deceive us, the study abroad agent only sent us the first page of the admission notice, cutting off the key content." Shao Ting said that after communication, Lisbon University College stated that if students want to obtain their graduation certificate, they need to go to the school to attend seminars and thesis defense, and each person needs to pay an additional 5000 euros in tuition fees. "But they also said that the paper version of the graduation certificate cannot guarantee certification from the China International Student Service because it is not a degree course in itself.".
It is understood that during the online briefing, the University College of Lisbon sent the students a complete version of the admission letter, and the second page of the letter clearly stated that this is a non degree course.
The study abroad agent claims that there is no deception
In response to the above situation, on June 30th, Pengpai News contacted Shenzhen Xihe Education. The other party stated that the company is only assisting Chengdu Keshijie in promoting and distributing the project. Specifically, Chengdu Keshijie will liaise with the school. "At present, the school, study abroad institutions, and students have also been in communication. We respect the students' demands, but we also need to listen to the school's arrangements and cannot process refunds for students.".
Why is it that only the electronic version of the graduation certificate is issued after the end of the course, and cannot be certified by the China International Student Service? The staff member stated that due to a notice issued by China International Student Service stating that online course certification has become difficult during the epidemic, the school has extended teaching hours in order for students to obtain their graduation certificates. "The electronic version of the graduation certificate is only used to verify personal information, but if students submit it for authentication without authorization, it is definitely not possible." He said that after extending the teaching time, Lisbon University College currently requires students to go to Portugal to complete a seminar and graduation defense, which will take about a month to successfully graduate and obtain the graduation certificate. After students go abroad and obtain their graduation certificates, study abroad agencies will assist them in obtaining certification through the Chinese study abroad service.
The admission notice clearly indicates that the program is a "non degree course". Can students obtain their master's degree certificate after going abroad for defense? Regarding this, the staff member stated that they were not aware that "all admission notices were provided by Chengdu Keshijie.".
In response to the above-mentioned staff's statement that "China International Studies Service has issued a notice stating that online course certification has become difficult during the epidemic period", a reporter from Pengpai News noticed that on March 19, 2021, the official website of China International Studies Service issued a notice stating: "For international students who are affected by the epidemic and are forced to choose to take some or all courses online, their degrees can be certified normally after meeting the degree granting conditions stipulated by foreign universities." This means that if the courses meet the degree granting conditions stipulated by foreign universities, they can be certified on China International Studies Service.
On the same day, Pengpai News contacted Wu Sifeng, the person in charge of Chengdu Keshijie. He stated that he did not deceive students, but rather due to policy changes, the conditions for obtaining graduation and degree certificates have changed. "Originally, due to the epidemic, courses did not need to go abroad, but when the epidemic improved during the defense, the school required students to go abroad for defense, which was brought about by policy changes and required students to cooperate." He said that this was a requirement of the school, and the specific fees were also charged by the school, which has nothing to do with the company.
Why do students only receive one page of the two page admission notice sent by the school? Wu Sifeng said that the company only received one page of admission notice, and "we only found out about two pages of admission notice when we had a meeting in March 2023.".
As for the admission notice stating "non degree courses", he did not reply whether the student can guarantee to obtain the degree certificate and pass the certification of the China International Student Union after going abroad for defense.
Shao Ting and others believe that Chengdu Keshijie had previously promised to complete the China Study Abroad certification without going abroad, and now requires students to spend an additional 5000 euros to go abroad, which has been going back and forth for more than two years. "Moreover, the University of Lisbon College also stated at the briefing that obtaining a graduation certificate does not guarantee passing the China Study Abroad certification. Now, whether it is the duration of study or the final result, it violates the previously signed study abroad agreement.".
According to the previously signed "Agreement on Study Abroad Information Consulting Services", the "Breach of Contract Liability" clearly stipulates that if Party B fully fulfills the agreement, participates in the teaching activities organized by the university on time, completes all credits, passes the exams organized by the university, completes their studies, and fails to obtain the corresponding degree certificate, Party A shall refund Party B's tuition and intermediary service fees. Therefore, Shao Ting and others advocate for a refund.
It is understood that currently, Shao Ting has filed a lawsuit with the court, hoping to protect her rights through legal means.
It is worth noting that in March 2021, the China Ministry of Education's Study Abroad Service Center issued a notice reminding students that "certain universities and intermediary agencies in some countries have been using the epidemic as an excuse to continuously launch various online courses, and by reducing admission requirements, graduation requirements, or shortening study hours, they have recruited Chinese students to study, claiming that they can easily obtain overseas diplomas without going abroad. These behaviors are suspected of indirectly selling diplomas, seriously infringing on the interests of overseas students." Students are reminded to remain highly vigilant and beware of being deceived and losing their interests.
