90 likes | 556 Views
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. Ev
E N D
1. Foreign Credential Evaluation: In-house or Outsource? James P. Meyers
Senior Evaluator, Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
CCID
Orlando FL
March 2009
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)
5. 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)
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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.sec/recruitment_admissions/admissions_and_credential/practice_resources_19/best_practices_1/a_guide_to_selecting