A Practical Guide to Documentation Review and Verification in International Admissions
Ann M. Koenig, Jane Yahr Shepard · College and university · 2002
There are many reasons why an applicant with foreign educational records would submit fraudulent or misleading documents to a college or university in the United States. These range from a sincere desire to be admitted to the institution, to an attempt to obtain an institutions official admissions documentation so that it can be altered and sold for a variety of illegal purposes. We as international admissions officers and credential evaluators must be alert to the reality that applicants do submit spurious documents. Our best protection against our institutions becoming victims of foreign educational record fraud is a solid knowledge base among our foreign document evaluators, and a strong network of information sharing about verification successes. Best practice in the international admissions office calls for: * training and continuing professional development for foreign record evaluators so that they are knowledgeable and up-to-date about country educational systems, documentation practices, and events that impact international education; * clear communication to applicants about the documentation required for admission; * careful review of the documents that are submitted; * requests for verification of suspicious documents; * appropriate follow-up when verification is received from the issuing institution or educational authority; * and sharing success stories in the verification process. This article is based on a presentation given by the authors that outlined step-by-step guidelines for admissions professionals and foreign document evaluators to implement these principles of best practice. The session also included an interactive review of a variety of spurious documents actually submitted by applicants to u.s. institutions that illustrated the concepts outlined in the guidelines. Discussion among the session participants focused on institutional policies on documentation, resources for evaluation and verification, and approaches to handling cases in which the documentation submitted was confirmed as being fraudulent. Goal 1: To Assemble a Complete File of Authentic Records The first goal in working with an application for admission is to assemble a complete file of authentic documents that provide all of the information needed to do an accurate evaluation. * Learning about Documentation Practices: The Importance of Resources and Networking Evaluators need to consult reliable resources on country educational systems and documentation practices, and learn to identify what constitutes official and authentic documentation. It is very important for evaluators to stay abreast of country information and current events that impact on issues in international admissions-by attending professional conferences and workshops, using print and electronic sources of information and current awareness services, and networking with colleagues. The knowledge base, skills, and experience required to work with international applicants and foreign educational records effectively can only be gained and honed by an investment in reliable resources and continuing professional development. * Use of English Translations In order to do an accurate assessment of applicants' previous education, evaluators should insist on receiving official documents in the original language in which they are issued. English translations may be needed, and evaluators need to establish guidelines on how English translations will be used in the evaluation process. Evaluations should never be based on translations alone. English translations should be literal, complete, wordfor-word representations of the language in the original documents, prepared in the same format as the original, by a person familiar with both languages. If the evaluator is not familiar with foreign languages, a professional English translation may be required. …