Kimberly Hajec, ECE® Sales Manager, explains how Agents can obtain international credential evaluation reports/assessments for their clients.
How can a credential evaluation benefit the students I am helping?
A credential evaluation can benefit a student in many ways. The most value it can offer is making sure that the student receives proper recognition for education they have already completed at the secondary or post-secondary level at an international institution. Credential evaluations validate work completed outside the United States and Canada and can offer a grade point average (GPA) calculation indicating how the GPA correlates on a U.S. grading scale. Certain evaluations can also calculate the number of credit hours a student has completed overseas. When making admission decisions, U.S. and Canadian institutions can use this information to decide if a student is admissible (at the graduate or undergraduate level). Also, at institutions that offer merit-based financial aid and/or graduate assistantships, the GPA calculation can help determine if a student is eligible for those competitive scholarships. Finally, the credential evaluation can help a U.S. or Canadian institution determine if any transfer credit could be awarded, saving the student time and money towards their U.S. or Canadian degree.
How can a recruitment agent use a credential evaluation?
Credential evaluations can help you (the agent) with information on a student’s academic profile. When helping students choose schools to apply to, knowing what their GPA is, how many credits they have completed, or if their bachelor’s degree is equivalent to a U.S. or Canadian bachelor’s degree, can help you counsel students to choose schools that align with their academic achievements. If receiving scholarships is a factor for your student, then knowing how well they have done academically can help you determine which schools may be able to provide them with the financial aid they need. Also, knowing your student’s academic profile allows you to have preliminary conversations with admission officers at potential schools to help determine if your student is the right fit for that institution. Having all this information can help you properly guide students through the admission process.
When helping a student choose a credential evaluation organization, what should an agent look for?
There are a variety of factors that go into choosing an evaluation company, while keeping your student’s needs in mind (factors such as time, cost, customer service, etc.). First, figure out what type of report your student needs, and then research to see if the evaluation company offers it. Second, how soon can the evaluation be done? What is the turnaround time for a completed evaluation? Third, what is the cost? Finally, how are the evaluations completed and what documents need to be sent? For example, at ECE it takes five business days (on average) for a completed evaluation. We offer a variety of evaluation report types (general reports that validate prior coursework, course-by-course reports that offer a more in-depth look at what a student has completed, and many other report types). The cost varies depending upon the type of report the student needs, but our cost for evaluation reports is competitively priced in the industry. Finally, our document requirements vary per country. We complete reports based on country-specific data collected by our research evaluator team that spends a great deal of time determining what is most secure and what is truly available to students in their country. We also have a dedicated customer service team to help answer any questions along the way, and questions are answered within 24 hours. Another thing to look for is can the evaluation company receive electronic documents to complete the evaluation. Also, can they send completed evaluation reports electronically to the schools? This can save time and money for your students. At ECE, we can accept electronic documents from a variety of sources like Digitary, the National Clearinghouse, Worldwide Transcripts and more. With ECE® Dispatch, a free online portal, we can send completed evaluation reports to schools that also include color copies of the student’s official, vetted credentials.
How can I help my students through the process of ordering a credential evaluation?
Helping your students understand what is needed for a credential evaluation to be completed is key to moving them through the process smoothly. Advising the students on what documents to collect and how the documents should be sent to the evaluation company and helping students with the application process for an evaluation will all be instrumental in making the process seamless. I am sure your students will appreciate that help and guidance! Also, check to see if the evaluation company works directly with agents. Perhaps you can have a more hands-on approach with the evaluation application process. At ECE we value working with recruitment agents, and we have a variety of ordering options that allow agents to be directly involved in the application process for a student who needs an evaluation completed.
Any final thoughts?
While researching evaluation companies, I would encourage agents to review background information on the company. I would look for testimonials and a customer satisfaction rating. ECE is a Charter member of NACES, the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, which is an organization that certifies private companies that provide degree and transcript evaluation services. ECE has over 40 years of experience in international transcript evaluation, and our customer satisfaction is at 90%. Those are all important things to look for when helping your students choose the right company to provide a credential evaluation.