Tips for Completing Your WES Application
A credential evaluation report is an important part of your immigration journey. It helps higher education institutions and employers understand the value of your academic qualifications. The goal of this blog post is to help you complete the credential evaluation process with relative ease.
Keep reading for helpful tips about aspects of the process that applicants ask us about the most. You can also find guidance on specific topics by visiting our U.S. Help Center or Canada Help Center.
Adding Your Academic Credentials
After you have created an account and shared some information about how you plan to use your credential evaluation, you will be asked to enter details about your education. During this step, you will need to add all the academic credentials that you want to have evaluated. It is important to use the same full name on your application that appears on your transcripts and required documents. This will ensure that your evaluation is processed in a timely manner.
Pro tip: Ensure that the name on your application matches the name that appears on your academic documents. This will help prevent delays in completing your evaluation.
For any standard credential evaluation applications (Document-by-Document or Course-by-Course) for the United States or Canada, you can choose to enter educational credentials or degrees that are in progress or incomplete. Just be sure to indicate “in progress” or “incomplete” in the drop-down menu.
However, if you need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) IRCC, you can only have completed degrees or diplomas evaluated.
Selecting Your Recipients
After you have supplied your educational history and credentials, you will need to select your recipients. Recipients are the academic institutions or prospective employers that will receive a copy of your credential evaluation report. You will also automatically receive a copy of your report. Make sure to provide your current postal address.
Pro Tip: Use your current mailing address when filling out your personal information. This is where we will send your completed credential evaluation report.
You will be able to change your list of recipients after you have submitted your application. To add or delete recipients after you have submitted your application, visit My Account. You can do this at any time, as long as your credential evaluation is still in progress.
If you are applying for an ECA, then IRCC will automatically be listed as one of your recipients. You can also choose to add immigration recipients from a pre-approved list of Canadian immigration institutions.
Sending Your Required Documents
Once you have selected your recipients and report delivery options, the next step is to review your Required Documents. You will need to carefully review the list and instructions for having your required documents sent to WES. This list will be available in My Account so you can refer to it at any time to ensure that you have completed all the necessary steps. It is important to remember that WES must receive all your documents to begin the credential evaluation process.
Pro Tip: Sending documents electronically can expedite the completion of your credential evaluation. WES partners with thousands of institutions to securely receive documents via digital channels, making the credential evaluation process quicker and more secure for applicants. Read more about sending academic records electronically.
Working with your institution to have your official documents sent to us directly is the fastest way to ensure that we can begin your credential evaluation. Do not send original documents to WES (unless specifically requested to do so). Originals will not be returned to you. Instead, send official document copies.
Your institution might also be able to send documents to us electronically. This is the fastest possible way for us to receive and begin processing your documents. If your institution is not already partnered with us to take advantage of this opportunity, a representative should contact the U.S. or Canada Help Center. We will respond quickly to explore secure electronic transmission channels.
You should also know that your online account does not expire. Therefore, there is no deadline for sending in your required documents. However, it is important to remember that we cannot begin evaluating your credentials until we receive all your required documents and your account has been paid in full. Simply log in to My Account to review your list of documents and continue your progress at any time.
Paying for Your Credential Evaluation
After reviewing your order, you will be taken to a final page to submit your payment. You can pay via credit card, debit card (in most cases, but please verify with your bank), or a wire transfer using Convera (formerly Western Union).
Here are some helpful tips for making a payment:
- Did you know that many debit cards can be used like credit cards? One way to find out if your debit card will work as a payment method is to see if it has a credit card logo printed anywhere on the card itself. You can also contact your bank and find out, In many cases, applicants are able to use their debit cards exactly like credit cards when ordering a WES credential evaluation.
- If you are having trouble making a payment via credit card, make sure that the postal code you are using matches the one that appears on the credit card’s billing statement. If this does not take care of the problem, notify your bank about the attempt and make sure it is not accidentally blocking the transaction.
- All Canadian payments are subject to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The Canadian government requires that we collect this tax.
- You can change payment methods at any time by logging in to My Account, where you will be able to make a payment via the method of your choice.
What to Expect After You Submit Your Application
After you submit your application, you will receive a reference number. Your WES reference number is an important part of the application process. You can always find it by logging in to My Account. It will appear at the top of the page; however, you can also look for it by clicking on Account Menu and then Order History.
Pro Tip: Keep your reference number in a safe location. You will need to include it in your correspondence with WES.
Once we have received, reviewed, and accepted all your required documents, and your account has been paid in full, a credential evaluation takes about seven business days to complete.
However, an ECA for IRCC can take longer. Upon receiving, reviewing, and accepting all your required documents, as well as obtaining your payment in full, this credential evaluation report takes 30 business days to complete.
You can check the status of your credential evaluation and any documents received in My Account. All updates to your credential evaluation status will be posted there. You will also receive email notifications about any important updates.
Submit Your Application Early and Final Resources
Receiving a credential evaluation is an important step in reaching your academic and career goals. That’s why we always recommend receiving your report early—so you will be prepared in case of a new academic or professional opportunity. Ready to get started with your credential evaluation? Create an account and begin your application today.
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