Credential Evaluation: Why is it necessary?

The elementary foundation stone of one’s career in Education. The amount of time and energy one invests in education is crucial to his/her future success. If these educational degree does not get recognised justly by foreign universities, then all the hard work might seem a waste. Therefore, it is vital to get your degrees/diplomas evaluated by expert organisations before applying to foreign universities. Procuring a credential evaluated degree is also the first step for a skilled worker aspiring to work abroad/ gain employment. In short, credential evaluation helps you to achieve recognition for your academics. Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), World Education Services (WES), and Educational Perspectives (EP) are three of the famous agencies that provide this kind of service. Before we get to know about ECE, WES and EP, let’s understand the concept and requirement of a Credential Evaluation.

Credential Evaluation and its importance

In simple terms, a Credential Evaluation is the valuation of your degree/ diploma through expert analysis. It basically analyses your national education degree to provide an American or Canadian equivalent, i.e it converts your academic credentials to fall in line with the academic credential system in that of the USA or Canada. It is done majorly for countries such as Canada and the USA as they do not have a national education ministry to evaluate foreign degrees. Hence, universities, employers, etc expect an evaluated degree from independent credential auditors. While there are some US universities that evaluate degree on their own terms, but most of the times, the university will ask for an evaluated degree. Even if you are called upon for a job in these countries, you need to submit evaluated degree during the documentation process. As it is a crucial process, only an expert with an all-round knowledge of international education systems can perform a full credential evaluation.

The necessity of a credential evaluation arises from the fact that the education system of each of the countries in the world is distinct from each other. Thus, accurate and precise validation of a candidate’s marks/percentage and degree can be rightly calculated only through a proper evaluation. This is where organisations like WES and EP step in. They are able to analyse and compare the given degree of a certain university to that of the U.S or Canadian education system so that your hardwork is duly recognized, along with prior education and experience.

Credential Evaluation from ECE, WES and EP

Let us discuss about the three agencies and see how they work:

Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)

Formed in 1980, ECE is a non-profit organisation that has helped more than 600,000 internationally educated people, including almost 40,000 from India over the past 10 years, receive recognition for their educational achievements. The ECE Reports are valid for a period of five years. Colleges, universities, employers, and governments trust this organisation to evaluate international education as part of their admission or hiring process.

ECE generates reports that are:

• Completed fast with an average turnaround of five business days
• Developed with the highest level of quality and integrity
• Offered at a competitive, often the lowest, cost
• Easy to order online
• Supported by excellent customer service that has earned ECE a 95% customer satisfaction rating

ECE has an A from the Better Business Bureau and was the recipient of the BBB Torch Award for Ethics in 2018. Besides, it was a founding member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) in 1987.

Read: How does ECE help in the evaluation of your documents?

What is WES evaluation?

WES offers credential evaluation services since its origin in 1974. Here, the evaluation process starts with the candidate sending all the required documents to the organisation. Next, a credential evaluator is assigned to verify and authenticate the documents sent by the candidate. Once it is done, the credentials are assessed on the basis of the following points:

• The education system of your country
• The reputation of the educational institution you attended
• The curriculum and content of your programme
• Any other requirements you had to fulfil while getting admission to the university/college

Post this, the obtained data is then calculated according to the American or Canadian standard depending upon the university/ country you will be going to. This includes the grades obtained, credit hours, and courses converted to their American or Canadian equivalent points. After the first evaluation report is generated, it is sent for a review to check its accuracy and then, sent for approval to a senior credential evaluator. The whole process takes about 7-8 business days right after the verification of the candidate’s documents.

Know more about How WES converts Grades to GPA? and the WES report on How Master's Students Choose Institutions

Educational Perspectives (EP)

EP is a non-profit international education research organisation, dedicated to assisting candidates in evaluating their educational degree so as to be accepted internationally. They boast of highly experienced evaluators who are actively involved in the field of international education. Being members of the National Association of Graduate Admission Professionals (NAGAP), American Association of Collegiate Registrars (AACRAO), and the European Association for International Education (EAIE), the evaluator is up-to-date with any change in the evaluation process.

Since 2003, EP itself is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). It also one of the signatories of the Groningen Declaration that attempts to find a common platform for individuals seeking academic and professional help for international mobility worldwide. The declaration ensures that interested parties and stakeholders are brought together to serve such candidates. Known for their quick response, EP usually takes five business days to complete a credential evaluation.

While now you must be clear about why students require a Credential Evaluation, there must be a lot of questions arising in your mind regarding it. Here are a few FAQs to clear your doubts:

For any doubts, please drop us a comment below and we'll be happy to resolve your queries!