Hi s.guo82, we have confirmed that at least TA/RA experience is accepted for eligibility review (but then again, in the two cases where TA/RA only applicants have been given PER, they claimed adaptability points through their either their spouses, or earlier degrees from Canada). Can you tell us how many hours per week for TA/RA you claimed for your applications and how many years?
One of the reasons why I kept asking for clarification a while ago regarding adaptability points was precisely because of this reason. If TA/RA experience is accepted, then assuming a PhD student who has already been enrolled for two years can claim one year of work experience, then he or she will automatically get above 67 points if the 5 adaptability points were awarded (well, assuming he scored high enough in IELTS), even if the applicant only has undergraduate degree. It would also mean that everybody that applies under the PhD stream is automatically awarded the 5 points.
I think in some of the earlier instructions (I think updated back in 07), it was stated that the points would be awarded if the program has been completed, but there was no need for any degree to be awarded (which is confusing I would say):
You, or your accompanying spouse or common-law partner, have completed a program of full-time study of at least two years' duration at a post-secondary institution in Canada. You must have done this after you were 17 years old and with a valid study permit.
There is no need to have obtained a degree or diploma for these two years of study to earn these points.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/factor-adaptability.asp
However, in the instruction guide (which was updated close to the end of last year), it was the following:
You or your accompanying spouse or common-law partner studied at a post-secondary institution in Canada for at least two years on a full-time basis. This must have been done after the age of 17 and with a valid study permit.
So it does look like that, for sure we do not need to have obtained any degree or credential to obtain the 5 adaptability points. However, the language that the program must have been 'completed' would throw a lot of people off. It raises a question on what exactly 'having completed a program' means. I mean, how can you complete a post-secondary program without obtaining a credential?
I would say that the instruction guide was much clearer in its wording, that "you or your accompanying spouse studied for at least two years on a full-time basis", in which case, s.guo82 would be eligible for these 5 points. In this case, question 7 from IMM 0008 Schedule 3 has nothing to do whatsoever with these adaptability points, since there was no mention that the program needs to be completed for the adaptability points, at least in the instruction guide.
I really really hope everything goes well for you, s.guo82. And if you do get your PER, please let us know, as it will most definitely confirm another point of contention regarding the federal skilled worker evaluation process: that 5 points would be awarded to those who have studied full-time in a post-secondary program for at least two years, at least for PER purposes. All the best
