Sepmeyer Award – Excellence in Credentials Evaluation Research

2024 Winner Announced Below

In furtherance of IERF’s mission, the Sepmeyer Research Grants have historically supported current or new research in the field. The annual Sepmeyer Award, however, is intended to honor achievements in credentials evaluation research, completed within the past year, which may come in the form of a conference presentation, newsletter article, or self-published resource (e.g., training videos, blogs, etc.).

Eligibility

All individuals / teams are eligible, regardless of institutional affiliation, citizenship and country of residence. Note: Sepmeyer Awards are intended to recognize and encourage smaller, thoughtful pieces of research and resource material. For this reason, submissions of chapter books and e-books, websites, and databases are not eligible for consideration. Additionally, nominations will not be considered for past honorees who received the Sepmeyer Award within the last 3 years.

Nomination Procedures

Nominations and self-nominations are both encouraged. Submissions should include the following:

Full name and contact information for the nominator and/or nominee(s)
Copy of the conference presentation, newsletter article, or self-published resource delivered within the 2024 calendar year. Supporting video clips and speaker notes for conference presentations may also be submitted, but are not required. The resource must be in English or a bilingual format that includes English.
Proof that the submission was published/presented in 2024 (e.g., website links, screen shots, extracts from conference programs, etc.)
Authorization by the authors for IERF to post the article/presentation slides, if chosen
150-word description of the submission piece and its significance in the field

Submissions must be made via email to institutions@ierf.org by 12 noon (PDT) on March 15, 2025.

Award

The recipient(s) of the award will be formally notified by email no later than June 28, 2025. A single award of $1000 USD will be granted to the honoree(s). In the case where there are multiple authors or presenters, this award is to be shared by and among the recipients.

Criteria and Selection

Each nomination and submission will be assessed based on the following criteria:

Presentation and clarity of nomination package
Presentation and clarity of resource
Helpfulness of resource to the field
Significance of contribution to the field

The selection will be made by a committee comprised of 4-5 members in credentials evaluation and international enrollment management. The decision of the committee, once announced, will be final. The panel members are:

Andrea Armstrong Senior Policy Advisor and Research Lead Admissions, The University of Toronto, Canada
Jeremy Mixell Director, Graduate International Recruitment, DePaul University
Melody Ojeda Senior Evaluator, International Education Research Foundation (IERF), USA
Diana Stevens Associate Director, Strategic Support and Operations, Global and Educational Pathways Australian Catholic University, Australia

Contact

For more information, please email institutions@ierf.org

2024 Recipient Announced

This year, IERF is pleased to announce the 2024 Sepmeyer Award for Excellence in Credentials Evaluation Research is awarded to Matthew Cwiklinski, Credentials Evaluator and Project Coordinator at Scholaro, Inc. as the 2024 recipient of the Sepmeyer Award. His work entitled, “Digital Fraud and Advanced Image Forensics,” introduces advanced image forensics for use in credential evaluation for professionals without extensive training in computer science, digital forensics, or mathematics.

Well done, Matthew!

To access this research, please go to the IERF Vault.

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