PLANS to computerise the country's system for validating foreign university degrees is just six months away, George Leondaris, president of the Hellenic National Academic Recognition and Information Centre , told a special parliamentary committee on May 31.
But this technological upgrading may be unrealistic in a country that has yet to computerise its paper-based public sector. Greece is still struggling to implement a multimillion euro endeavour known as Syzevxis (Harnessing), which was launched in December 2000 to put local and central government online. Which was another waste of our taxmoney
Leondaris, however, said he is confident that e-assessment will succeed in breathing new life into DOATAP (formerly DIKATSA). Of course he couldn't say otherway
If all goes according to plan, a special computer programme will be used to process the information for each degree application in order to determine whether the degree satisfies the conditions for recognition(which are numerous). At present, it is almost impossible to contact DOATAP by telephone(m i have tried) - the line is always busy (there are only three telephone operators or so i have heard)) - and information on its website (www.doatap.gr) is available only in Greek, pretty simple since no1 who studied abroad would like to return to greece.
"We are almost ready [to implement] this so-called e-assessment system," Leondaris told a cross-party parliamentary committee. He said he has spent the past two years preparing for the new technologies to shed DOATAP's reputation of long queues and bureaucratic difficulties and delays.
"We have tried to quantify these two types of recognition," he said, explaining that parity will be based on the number of academic credits earned by the foreign-degree holder.
To simplify the system for recognising equivalence, Leondaris said he has drafted a list of "core" classes that foreign-university degree holders should have completed.
At present, the recognition (parity and equivalence) of foreign degrees by DOATAP is a four-step process that can take between two months and two years(just to recognise it:
1. Applications are filed and registered. Applicants receive a priority number (protokolo)
2. Applications (including transcripts, confirmation of graduation etc) are reviewed by members of DOATAP's academic committee, which meets twice a month
3. Applications are reviewed by DOATAP's advisor (eisigitis)
4. Applications are brought before the president of DOATAP for final approval or rejection
Problems
DOATAP, which receives an average of 1,000 applications each week(DO NOT FORGET that Greece is the country with one of the higher percentage of students studying abroad, except me), reportedly spent the past two years reducing a backlog of some 10,000 applications. Half of all applications involve degrees earned from universities in the United Kingdom.
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Another problem has to do with American-degree holders who had enrolled at a community college before transferring to a four-year university degree programme. DOATAP, however, can only recognise the university degree if the holder has not earned more than 30 credits at the community college.
The biggest problem facing DOATAP today, however, has to do with thousands of university graduates who began their studies at a local KES (a local private liberal arts institution affiliated with a university abroad).
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