Foreign Credential Evaluation: Inhouse or Outsource

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Foreign Credential Evaluation In-house or
Outsource?

• James P. Meyers
• Senior Evaluator, Educational Credential
  Evaluators, Inc.
• CCID
• Orlando FL
• March 2009

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What is foreign credential evaluation?

• Credential evaluation is the practice of
  determining United States educational equivalents
  of foreign academic credentials. A credential
  evaluation will usually come in the form of a
  report that states the United States equivalence
  of foreign academic work. Evaluation agencies
  usually offer different types of credential
  evaluation reports. The two most common types of
  reports are (1) A general report that states
  an overall U.S. equivalence of a foreign
  educational credential (2) A course-by-course
  report that gives a more detailed equivalence of
  individual courses, credits, and grades that were
  part of a foreign degree or diploma program.
• United States colleges and universities use the
  information in a credential evaluation report to
  make appropriate admissions decisions. For
  example, some institutions will want to determine
  if a student has the equivalent of a high school
  diploma. In other cases, a US college or
  university will review work completed in a
  foreign country to decide if they should grant
  advanced standing or transfer credit in an
  American degree program.

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History of credential evaluation in the US

• Initially provided by the U.S. Office of
  Education (which became a branch of the
  Department of Education), free of charge.
• Responsibility shifted from public to private
  sector in late 1960s.
• Private credential evaluation agencies were
  formed. It was determined that no governmental
  oversight was required. Non-profit agencies were
  the first companies established currently there
  are more for-profit and than non-profit agencies.
• Educational institutions came to rely on external
  agencies or develop expertise in-house
• NACES was founded by 8 charter members in 1987.
  There are currently 19 member organizations.
• It is estimated that there exist more than 50
  credential evaluation agencies, some of which are
  single-person operations.

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National Association of Credential Evaluation
Services (NACES)
http//www.naces.org/
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How institutions use foreign credential
evaluation agencies

• Institutions that do not have in-house expertise
  rely upon private educational credential
  evaluation services to evaluate the academic
  documents of all foreign-educated students
• Institutions that have limited in-house expertise
  rely upon private educational credential
  evaluation services to evaluate the academic
  documents of some foreign-educated students
• Acquire agencies research publications or
  on-line subscription-based tools relating to
  comparative international education and
  information on country educational systems
• Receive from agencies specialized training on
  practical approaches to foreign credential
  evaluation
• Verify educational credentials of the colleges
  foreign-educated professors
• Public service (conferences, phone calls for
  assistance, newsletters)

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Need for specialized knowledge in credential
evaluation

• Determine authenticity of documents
• Determine recognition of educational institutions
  and identification of diploma mills
• Foreign language capabilities
• Identification of official and original
  documentation
• Consistent application of institutions placement
  policies (across systems and over time)
• Changes in educational systems and degree
  programs
• Maintaining a library on resources
• Contact information for foreign institutions and
  knowledgeable colleagues

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Pros and Cons of using a credential
evaluation service PROs
CONs

• Expertise of professional evaluators
• No cost to your institution
• Streamline the application process
• Complaints of dissatisfied students should be
  handled by evaluation agency
• Evaluation report useful for other purposes
  (professional licensure and employment)

• Inconsistency of equivalencies among agencies
• Another cost for the student
• Uncertainty of the quality of the evaluation
  company
• The agency does not know the policies or mission
  of your institution
• The report is only advisory in nature

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What to look for in a credential evaluation
service

• Determine if the organization meets your needs in
  the following areas
• Quality Customer Service - does the organization
  answer their emails and voice mail messages in a
  timely fashion? Do you feel they are friendly and
  helpful? Are they sensitive to your needs?
• Type of evaluation report - make sure the
  evaluation agency provides clear, concise
  information on their evaluation report that your
  school would like to have included on the
  report.
• Quality Research Skills - determine if the
  organization has current research materials and
  training. You may ask if the organization is
  active in professional organizations such as
  NAFSA.
• Price - compare prices to see if there are added
  costs for information your school may need to see
  on your evaluation report, such as a grade
  average calculation, or inclusion of high school
  level work or upper level courses.
• Years of experience - do not hesitate to ask the
  history of the evaluation agency and their
  training procedures.
• Website - does the organization have a helpful
  and user-friendly website? Can you access your
  evaluation information from their website?
• See also
• http//www.nafsa.org/knowledge_community_network.s
  ec/recruitment_admissions/admissions_and_credentia
  l/practice_resources_19/best_practices_1/a_guide_t
  o_selecting

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