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Frequently Asked
Questions
OVERVIEW
Our organization provides credential
evaluation services to universities,
state and professional licensing boards,
public and private sector employers,
immigration attorneys, armed services
and the U.S. The Bureau of Citizenship
and Immigration Services. GCE is included
on the evaluation service lists distributed
by college and university admission
offices, immigration attorneys, and
public service and licensing agencies
such as State Departments of Education.
WHY
TRANSLATIONS
EVALUATIONS
1.
Why do I need my educational credentials
evaluated?
| a. |
If you wish to come
to the United States (U.S.) as
a professional, for example on
H-1B visa or J-1 visa, you will
need your educational credentials
evaluated and submitted with your
visa application. |
| b. |
If you want to attend university
in the United States, you need
to ask the university where you
plan to apply if the Admission
Office requires your educational
credentials to be evaluated. If
they require an outside evaluation
you need to determine whether
a document-by-document or a course-by-course
evaluation is required. You also
need to know whether the evaluation
is to be submitted with your application,
or if Global Credential Evaluators,
Inc. (GCE) should mail the evaluation
directly to the Office of Admission.
Please note that some universities
now require that all evaluations
be done from original documents
and not copies. Please check with
the university you plan to attend
to discover what their policy
is. Texas Southern Universities
(TSU)requires original documents |
| c. |
If you apply for a ‘Green
Card’ on the basis of your
professional status you would
need to include an educational
credentials evaluation in the
application package. |
| d. |
If you plan to seek license
or certification to practice in
a particular state in the United
States (e.g., teacher, engineer,
physical therapist), you will
probably need your educational
credentials evaluated. Some
states require the evaluation
to be completed from original
documents for teacher certification.
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| e. |
When you apply for a job a prospective
employer often wants to know whether
you have the US equivalent level
of education required for the
job or research position.
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2.
Who evaluates credentials in the US?
In the US, credential evaluation
is done by universities and by private
organizations such as Global Credential
Evaluators, Inc. (GCE). Many universities
and colleges employ admission officers
who evaluate foreign educational credentials.
Others require foreign credentials
be evaluated by a service such as
GCE. Employers and INS generally require
that credentials be evaluated by a
service such as GCE. There is no US
government agency that evaluates foreign
credentials. There is no US governmental
agency that oversees or licenses evaluation
agencies.
3.
Will the INS accept your evaluation?
Yes. Our educational credential
evaluations meet INS regulations.
The Immigration and Naturalization
Service has always accepted them.
4.
Will US colleges and universities
accept your evaluation?
Many colleges and universities use
our evaluation services. All evaluations
by credential evaluation companies
(including our company) are advisory
to US colleges and universities. Each
school makes its own policies regarding
the evaluation of foreign applicants'
educational credentials. These policies
are different from university to university.
You should contact the college or
university where you intend to apply
to determine:
| a. |
whether it accepts
evaluations from credential evaluation
companies or performs its own
in-house evaluations and |
| b. |
whether it will accept an evaluation
from Global Credential Evaluators,
Inc. |
5.
Do you provide educational credential
evaluations to be used for university
admission purposes?
Yes. We prepare educational credential
evaluations that are accepted by a
majority of universities. An evaluation
report includes a general statement
of educational equivalence, a determination
of the US credit hour equivalence,
a conversion of international grades
to US grade equivalence, and a calculation
of the American GPA (Grade Point Average).
You should contact each school where
you plan to apply and confirm that
an evaluation from GCE will be accepted
by the school. At that time, you will
also need to confirm what type of
evaluation the school requires; a
document-by-document or a course-by-course
evaluation. Many universities are
now requiring that evaluations be
done from original documents only.
Please check with the university you
plan to attend to determine what their
policy is. Texas Southern University
(TSU) requires that the evaluation
be done from original documents that
are sent to us by the school you attended.
It will be your responsibility to
have your school send those documents
to us.
6.
Can you translate my documents?
No. At this time we do not provide
translation services.
7.
Would you accept my own translation
of the educational documents?
Translations need to be done by a certified translator, or the school the documents are issued by.
8.
What kind of evaluation do I need?
A document-by-document report meets
the needs of those who require an
evaluation of the level of education
completed outside the US in US terms.
A course-by-course evaluation, with
a grade point average, is provided
for those who require the international
courses and grades to be converted
to US credits and grades and this
evaluation includes the document-by-document
evaluation. These are used for teacher
certification, transfer credit, etc.
9.
How long does it take to obtain an
evaluation?
An evaluation can be prepared in approximately
15 working days (3 weeks) depending
on the type of service you request.
We do provide a one-business day rush
service and a three-business day rush
service at an additional cost to the
required evaluation fee. However,
if there is additional research or
correspondence is required, it may
take longer. We reserve the right
to contact the university about the
academic records submitted. Answers
often take a long time to be received.
We recommend that you start the process
as early as possible to give yourself
plenty of time to get the evaluation
completed. If you need your
evaluation by a certain date, please
use Rush service the 3 week turn around
time is NOT GUARANTEED!
10.
May I submit copies of my records
and translations or does it have to
come directly from the school?
Copies are acceptable however we
prefer notarized or certified copies.
We do reserve the right to request
the original transcripts sent directly
to GCE by the university or school
attended and we may request original
translations.
11.
What does an evaluation contain?
An evaluation contains a description
of the credential that you present
including its name, the year it was
awarded, the name of the institution
attended and your major field of study.
It gives the US equivalent for each
credential. We call this a document-by-document
evaluation.
If you need to show courses and
credit, you can obtain a course-by-course
evaluation, which includes the document-by-document
evaluation and also lists all the
subjects you studied with the US semester
credit and grade equivalents. A grade-point
average is also calculated for each
program attended in such a report.
A document-by-document report meets
the needs of those who require an
evaluation of the level of education
completed outside the US in US terms.
These are used for teacher certification,
transfer credit, admission into a
US University, etc.
12.
Do you evaluate all higher education
diplomas as equivalent to a bachelor
degree?
Each credential is evaluated individually.
Using research provided by the National
Council on the Evaluation of Foreign
Educational Credentials published
by the American Association of Collegiate
Registrars and Admissions Officers
(AACRAO) and NAFSA: Association of
International Educators, as well as
in- house research, the evaluations
are based on the newest information
available. GCE maintains current reference
materials and conducts its own research
in international and comparative education
through professional contact with
foreign universities and schools,
ministries of education, examination
boards, educational and consular officers
in foreign embassies, information
services in US embassies, Fulbright
Commissions, Institute of International
Education (IIE) offices around the
world, and other reputable advising
organizations. Some first degrees
issued in a foreign country are not
equivalent to a US bachelor’s
degree.
13.
Do you evaluate graduate school’s
diplomas for equivalence to Ph.D.?
Yes, using the above research tools
we will evaluate all graduate degrees
and diplomas. The diploma or degree
submitted for evaluation will be evaluated
in terms of US educational study through
Master and Ph.D. degrees if it is
deemed equivalent.
14.
Do you evaluate diplomas and certificates
for equivalence to associate degrees?
Yes. We evaluate diplomas of some
technical and professional colleges
to equivalency to the US associate
degrees.
15.
Do you evaluate documents of middle
and high school students for corresponding
placement in US schools?
Yes. This type of evaluation helps
determine the level of study applicable
for the candidate. High schools use
our evaluation to help determine what
level of course work is appropriate.
In some cases students are placed
at different levels in different academic
subjects and this enhances the study
experience in the US
16.
Are you a member of any professional
associations related to evaluation
of educational credentials?
Yes. We are a member of NAFSA: Association
of Foreign Educators, American Association
of Collegiate Registrars and Admission
Officers (AACRAO) and AMIDEAST. These
organizations conduct research, provide
training and resources on international
education.
We are also a member of NACES.
17.
I have a medical doctor’s degree.
Can you evaluate my degree so I would
be able to practice as a physician
in the United States?
Licensing to practice medicine in
the US requires an evaluation of academic
credentials as well as a series of
examinations. We can help in the process.
18.
What are your fees?
Costs for evaluations are as follows:
| Document-by-Document
Evaluation |
$90 |
Document-by-Document Evaluation w/GPA
|
$115 |
| Course by Course Evalaution |
$145 |
Additional fees may include:
| One
Business Day Rush |
$200
(includes US express delivery) |
| Three Business Day Rush |
$125
(includes US express delivery)
|
| Duplicates of Evaluation |
$20
each |
| Overnight Express |
$30
per US address |
| International Express |
$60
per address |
| Return Original educational
Records |
$25.00 |
19.
If I am not happy with my evaluation,
what do I do?
| a. |
All disputes must
be sent to us in writing. Please
explain the problem and the reason
you feel that an error has been
made. Upon receiving the written
request we will have two evaluators
review your concerns and your
evaluation. |
| b. |
However, if you did not submit
all the pertinent academic records
to be evaluated and your complaint
is based on this missing material
a re-evaluation fee is required,
along with the documents to be
added to the evaluation. This
fee is equivalent to the original
fee for the original evaluation. |
| c. |
Changes in the evaluation, using documents received with the original application, must be requested in writing within 90 days of receiving the evaluation. |
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