Navigating the Maze: Understanding Credential Evaluation Reports

So, you have received your credential evaluation report, and it looks like a labyrinth of information from another dimension. Fear not! Deciphering these reports is indeed a challenge, but armed with a bit of knowledge, you can successfully navigate through the maze of equivalencies and evaluations.

Types of Credential Evaluations Evaluation Type

First things first, let us understand why you needed this evaluation in the first place. The purpose section delineates whether the evaluation is for employment, immigration, professional certification, licensure, or higherfurther education. Knowing the intended use helps contextualize the rest of the report based on the type of service requested.

Analysis Methodology

The type of methodology used for this report, it can either be Year-count or Benchmark, we will explain this further in the Statement of evaluation section.

US Equivalency

This section provides a summary of the equivalencies for each credential, detailing what your qualifications translate to in the US educational system; the details for these equivalencies can be found in the ‘Evaluation’ section.

Country Overview 

Ever wondered what your educational journey looks like from a global perspective? The country overview section sheds light on the educational system of your home country, offering insights into the generic path from primary to post-secondary education which may or may not be in line with the specific path a student took in said country. For instance, if you are from Zimbabwe, you will get a glimpse into the educational landscape there.

Understanding the Credential Evaluation Process Evaluation 

Now, this is where the rubber meets the road. The evaluation section breaks down each credential you submitted, detailing its name, authentication method, country of completion, admission requirements, program length, year of completion, issuing institution, institution status, US equivalency, and any additional notes. Phew! That is a lot to digest but do not worry; take it one credential at a time, and you will conquer this section.

• Credential name – The name of the qualification, certificate or degree to be evaluated (i.e. “Bachelor of Arts”, “Título de Licenciado en Administración”, “Diploma di Esame di Stato”, etc.).
• Authentication – The method in which we received the documents to evaluate

We have three main methods to deliver the documents for the evaluations:

1. Original documents sent physically to our main office in Charlotte, NC by the client or the institution directly
2. Original documents sent via email to our Records team email by the institution directly
3. Scans of the documents sent via email to our Records team email by the client

Depending on how we receive the documents, it will be the line we will use for authentication, our authentication method lines are:

• “Original record received directly from ‘institution'”
• “Original records verified by IEE”
• “Evaluation prepared based on scans of academic records”
• “Scans of academic records provided by ‘Institutional Partner’”

Note: You may view the documentation requirements by country in our website.

• Methodology: Depending on the methodology we used for the credential itself, it will say Year-count or Benchmark (this line will not appear unless the report has one credential that used the Benchmark methodology)
• Country – Country where the studies were completed
• Admission requirement – The credential or qualification required for admission into the program being evaluated
• Program duration – Official full-time duration of the program taken
• Period of study – Year range between first admission to the program until the year when coursework was completed
• Program completion – Year in which the degree was awarded
• Field(s) of study – The major in which the degree was completed
• Issuing institution – The institution that issued the diploma and/or transcript
  • Awarding institution/Teaching institution – To be Included only when the issuing institution is not the same as the teaching institution, or when the teaching institution issues the certificate or transcript in addition to awarding institution issued-documents.
• Teaching practice – Included only for Teaching licensure reports
• Language of instruction – Included for Nursing licensure reports or upon clients request (proof needs to be provided)
• Grade Point Average – This line is added only for DOC+GPA reports or for reports that include a course-by-course (CBC) analysis
• Institution status – Indicates if an institution and/or program are accredited and recognized in the country where studies were completed
• US equivalency – The final US equivalency granted after doing a thorough research of the documents presented.
• Additional notes: Includes any explanatory notes that are required for the recipient of the evaluation to have a better understand the outcome of the evaluation

If you ordered a Document report, your journey concludes here and you may skip to the Statement of Evaluation section. However, if you requested a report with a course-by-course analysis, prepare to continue our exploration.

Course-by-Course Analysis

The most common CBC is the Education Report which will include the coursework listed in transcript order and divided by semester (or year) when possible, as well as the grades and credits converted to the US-equivalent with a final US GPA. Depending on the type of report ordered, it will include different elements on the CBC, however they are very similar one from another:

• Header – Name of the credential as indicated in the Evaluation section
• Courses presented – Conformed two different columns:
  • The first column will be the sub-header, if the transcript is divided by semester or year, we will say “Semester I”, “Semester II”, etc.; It is also possible that the transcript is not divided by semester or year, in which case, we will indicate only the year of the final examination (i.e. “2017”) or the period of studies (2010-2014).
    • Other possible sub-header may be the category in which the course taken falls within; this will only be included for licensure reports (except for Nursing licensure reports)
  • The second column is for the course name as it is indicated in the transcript
• Grade – The US equivalent grade converted based on the native country grading scale
• Credits or Carnegie Units – Secondary credits are expressed in Carnegie units and post-secondary credits are expressed in credits.
• GPA line – Will include the final calculated GPA for each credential and the GPA grading scale used.
• CBC notes – Includes any explanatory notes that are required for the recipient of the evaluation to have a better understand the CBC for each credential.
• Clinical hours – Included only for Nursing licensure reports and will include the Nursing subject area, theory hours and clinical hours.

Statement of Evaluation 

Last but not least, the statement from the evaluating institution reaffirms their qualifications to perform the evaluation on your credentials. It is like the seal of approval that legitimizes the entire report. It will also include a brief explanation of both methodologies used at IEE, year-counting, which relies on the number of years of full-time study, and benchmarking, which emphasizes learning outcomes achieved. For a more detailed definition about our Benchmarking and Year-Counting methodologies, you may read our White Paper in our website.

In conclusion, reading a credential evaluation report can feel like deciphering hieroglyphics at times, but armed with an understanding of its key sections, you can unravel its mysteries with confidence. So, take a deep breath, put on your explorer’s hat, and embark on the journey of decoding your academic equivalencies!For further information on evaluation guidelines and requirements contact our expert customer service team or view our FAQs page!