ACEI and iTEP International launch initiative to help refugees
The Welcome Project
The Welcome Project is a joint endeavor by the Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI) and iTEP International, offering individuals classified as refugees assistance with the verification and evaluation of their international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence and determining their language proficiency through an approved language assessment test.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, as of 2017, there are more than 68 million people who have been displaced because of war, violence and persecution. In an effort to serve this displaced population already in the U.S., The Welcome Project© combines ACEI’s international credential verification and evaluation with iTEP’s English language proficiency test.
“As an international credential evaluation service provider, we see it as our responsibility and moral imperative to do our part to support the integration of refugees, where possible, by offering our expertise in this field, at the onset of their resettlement in the U.S.,” says Jasmin Saidi-Kuehnert, President & CEO of ACEI. “By partnering with iTEP International through The Welcome Project©, we are able to combine our evaluation and English language proficiency test capabilities at specially reduced fees to make it affordable and amenable to institutional and organizational clients.”
“We feel that through our combined expertise, individuals displaced by war and persecution will be able to receive recognition of their education achievements and language competency,” says Dan Lesho, Executive Vice-President of iTEP International. “This recognition will enable them to integrate into their new adopted community much faster as they set out to further their studies or qualify for jobs.”
The Welcome Project© is made available to U.S. schools, colleges and universities, and employers who wish to provide these vulnerable and displaced individuals access to education and employment by ensuring they meet academic and English language proficiency requirements.
About iTEP
The International Test of English Proficiency was introduced in 2008 to modernize English assessment with on-demand scheduling, fast scoring, and rich, accurate data. iTEP offers a variety of assessment tools for university and secondary school admissions and placement, hiring and employee assessment (including tests for specific industries) and iTEP Conversation, which assesses conversation skills in 30 minutes and is graded by certified and trained native English speakers (as are all iTEP exams). More than 750 colleges, universities, high schools, and boarding schools accept iTEP results for admissions. Applicants can take iTEP at more than 700 test centers in 51 countries. iTEP International is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. itepexam.com\
About ACEI
ACEI is dedicated to the advancement of international academic exchange and understanding through the dissemination of information on world educational systems and evaluation of international educational documents.
ACEI works closely with U.S. colleges and universities, Professional State Licensing Boards, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Immigration Division) and the Human Resource Departments of several U.S. corporations with the evaluation and verification of international educational credentials. Our organization is actively involved in the training and professional development of admissions officers at U.S. institutions and examiners at U.S. State Boards, as well as officials at U.S. government agencies on matters concerning world educational systems, credential evaluation, diploma mills, and detecting document fraud. acei-global.org