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This change was made on Mar 27, 2018. See latest version.
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RS 00205.715: Foreign Secondary School Development

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  • Effective Dates: 03/18/2013 - Present
  • Effective Dates: 03/27/2018 - Present
  • TN 15 (01-03)
  • RS 00205.715 Foreign Secondary School Development
  • A. Introduction
  • The student's responses and the school official's certification on the SSA-1372-BK-FC generally supply enough information to determine the status of a foreign school. Responses showing that the school is a secondary school will usually be sufficient, absent information to the contrary, to find the school is an EI.
  • Many schools outside the United States operate on several educational levels. (For example, many universities in the Philippines and Japan provide both secondary and college or university education.) Thus, if a student's responses on the SSA-1372-BK-FC show he or she is in attendance at the secondary level and this is confirmed by the school official's certification, this will generally establish that the school is an EI.
  • See RS 00205.875 - RS 00205.895 for guidelines on identifying secondary-level schools and special instructions on student claims in particular countries.
  • B. Process
  • FOs, FSPs and VARO will review the responses of the student and the school official and:
  • FOs and FBUs will review the responses of the student and the school official and:
  • * document the file in any instances in which a secondary-level school is not part of the educational system in that country.
  • * resolve any problems, by contact with the school as explained in RS 00205.700B, if there is a possible misunderstanding of the "high school" concept or erroneous information. (For example, "Hochschule," "Hogeschool," "Hogskolan" and "Hogskole" are often literally translated as "high school" when in fact they are postsecondary-level schools.) The information need not be over a school official's signature.
  • SSA will assume the school is not an elementary school, absent information to the contrary.
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