5 Tips for Choosing a Credentials Evaluation Agency
Credentials evaluation is a crowded field. There are numerous companies offering these services, which are essential for those who studied in other countries but want to continue their academic pursuits in the United States. Credentials evaluation services may also be required for professional licensure or certification, for employment, or as part of the immigration process.
While finding a service provider is not difficult, finding a really good one can be. Credentials evaluation agencies vary by quality and dependability, and if you choose the wrong company it can cause you a lot of headaches—and heartache—down the line. Simply put, if you select the wrong agency they might make mistakes that can delay your application for college, licensure, or employment, or possibly lead to its rejection.
Fortunately, these outcomes are avoidable. If you take a little time to research before making your decision, you can find a top-notch agency that will do the job fast and do it right.
Here are five of the most important characteristics you should look for when choosing a credentials evaluation agency:
Any agency worth its salt should be a member in good standing of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, or NACES. This nonprofit organization is the official accrediting body of foreign transcript and academic records evaluation companies, and its seal of approval is highly coveted.
NACES members must meet strict criteria to be eligible for membership. For example, they must employ evaluation specialists with five or more years’ experience in the international admissions department of an accredited U.S. university. They must also maintain an extensive database of references and resources, to more efficiently serve the diverse needs of their customers.
To guarantee agencies remain compliant with NACES rules, annual recertification is required. An NACES affiliate could lose the privilege if they are found to have engaged in slipshod or dishonest practices. NACES acts as a guarantor of quality control in the industry, and before contracting any credentials evaluation agency you should confirm their NACES membership
Tip #2 Superior and Accessible Customer Service
The best credentials evaluations agencies are easy to reach and quick to respond. Ideally, you should be able to contact them in multiple ways: by phone, email, text message, or through an onsite chat tool. If you choose phone or chat options, you should be able to get right through, and if you send them a written message you should expect an answer on the same day, preferably within a couple of hours.
In addition to being accessible, customer service representatives must be knowledgeable and well-trained. They should be able to answer any questions or clear up any doubts you might have, regardless of the nature of your request or your country of origin. The best agencies hire qualified people and they prepare them exceptionally well, to make certain they know everything about credentials evaluation requirements and procedures and can successfully relay that information to the public.
Tip #3 A Comprehensive and Well-Designed Website
At the beginning, the credential evaluations process may seem overly complicated and more than a bit intimidating. But it’s really not as difficult as it appears, if each step is explained to you in detail and in simple, easily understood language.
Agency websites should explain precisely what they require from you, and what they will prepare for you and send you in return when you choose their services. They should give you a clear idea of how long the evaluation process will take, once you’ve submitted the required documentation and provided all the necessary information.
Solid organizational skills—or the lack thereof—can reveal much about the proficiency of a credentials evaluation agency. Their website should be logically organized and structured according to common sense principles, for easy and convenient use. If a company isn’t willing to take the time to create a user-friendly website, the chances are they’ll be no more accommodating or efficient in any other aspect of their business.
Tip #4 A Track Record of Success and Customer Satisfaction
In credentials evaluation you should always be on the lookout for fly-by-night operators. The safest strategy when selecting an agency is to choose one that is well-established and has been in business for many years. True expertise emerges from experience, and this can be especially important in credentials evaluation, since transcripts and academic records may arrive from virtually anywhere on the planet. Clients have diverse needs and each nation has a unique educational system, creating challenges that will put unprepared companies out of business in short order.
Aside from longevity, feedback from satisfied—or dissatisfied—customers is one of the surest ways to evaluate the evaluators. A quick Google search should connect you with a few sources for client reviews, which can let you know if there are recurrent complaints against an evaluation agency you are considering.
It should be kept in mind that customer mistakes are sometimes responsible for inadequate service. Consequently, a bad review here or there from disgruntled individuals who created their own problems is to be expected, and shouldn’t be enough to disqualify a company from consideration. But if you encounter multiple negative reviews that repeat similar complaints (i.e., slow service, hidden extra charges, evaluations with missing records), it might be a good idea to look elsewhere.
After doing some comparison shopping you should begin to get an idea of what a credentials evaluation should cost. Once you do, you should beware of the outliers.
The best credentials evaluation agencies won’t charge you significantly more than their competitors. Even if you need rush services, outlandish prices are not justified. No matter how much they brag about their expertise, if an agency’s prices seem out of line they could be guilty of exploititive practices.
Good agencies won’t offer you cut-rate prices, either. If they do, they’re probably trying to gain an advantage in the marketplace by cutting corners. They might be skimping on employee training or taking shortcuts to speed up evaluations procedures which can lead to sloppy and unreliable performance. Needless to say, this isn’t what you want, and you shouldn’t take chances on a company that might be engaged in unprofessional or unethical business practices.
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