Foreign Credential Evaluations
Please read this section carefully. After reading it, if you still have questions, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section for further clarification.
EVALUATIONS
Document-by-Document
This evaluation names and describes all diplomas, certificates, degrees, periods of education or training and gives U.S. equivalencies for each. This report is appropriate for freshman or graduate admission, for immigration purposes, for military enlistment and for employment.
University and Post-Secondary Course-by-Course
This evaluation provides the same information as the document-by-document evaluation, but also gives course, grade, and credit equivalents in U.S. terms for university level study in other countries. This type of evaluation is usually required for transfer into a U.S. college or university. It is required for CPA examination, teacher certification, licensing or membership in professional associations (Engineering and Nursing require a different kind of evaluation.)
High School Course-by-Course
This evaluation lists high school courses taken, equivalent U.S. high school units, and equivalent U.S. grades. This evaluation is required for students transferring into high schools in the United States and it is sometimes required for freshman admission. Applicants are required to submit original transcripts including courses, grades, credits or units or weekly periods of instruction. In addition, course descriptions for mathematics courses may be required.
Florida Barbers’ Board Course-by-Course
This evaluation is for state licensure only. Applicant must complete the JS&A application for foreign credential evaluation as well as download the addendum for the Florida Barbers’ Board. See the Download Processing Forms page of this site for this addendum. The foreign institution will need to send a complete transcript with courses/exams, hours completed for each course and the grades obtained along with a completed and signed addendum for each applicant. In addition, the foreign institution or licensing board abroad may need to provide verification of the applicants’ valid license to practice overseas. If these documents are in a foreign language, a certified translation will be required.
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PROCESSING
Standard Processing Time
Evaluations are normally prepared in ten working days, upon receipt of all required fees, information and documentation. Evaluations which require extensive research and correspondence may take longer to prepare.
Rush Evaluation Reports
- 24-hour Evaluation Report
- 2-day Evaluation Report
- 5-day Evaluation Report
Rush evaluation reports will be completed as requested, upon receipt of all required fees, information, and documentation. If for any reason the evaluation cannot be completed within the specified time after the applicant has submitted the required fees, information, and documentation, the rush fee will be refunded and the evaluation will be done at the standard processing time. Rush reports must be paid for by bank check, money order or credit card.
JS&A sends all rush evaluations by First Class mail (US Postal Service). Applicants who would like to receive their evaluations by courier must provide us with a pre-addressed airbill including their account number.
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COST
Document-by-Document
U.S. $75.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
High School Course-by-Course
U.S. $125.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
For transfer into U.S. high schools and admission to some university programs
University and Post-Secondary Course-by-Course
U.S. $125.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
For transfer, admission and all licensing, except Engineering, Nursing or Boards of Accountancy, which require different kinds of evaluation.
Accounting Course-by-Course
U.S. $125.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
CPA examinations
Engineering Course-by-Course
U.S. $250.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
Licensure only
Nursing Course-by-Course
U.S. $250.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
Licensure only
New Mexico Board of Nursing only requires the University and Post-Secondary course-by-course evaluation,
which costs $125.00
Florida Barber's Board Course-by-Course
U.S. $250.00 basic fee (it covers the evaluation of all academic credentials submitted with the application form.)
Licensure only
24 Hour Report
U.S. $150 in addition to the basic fee
2 Day Report
U.S. $100 in addition to the basic fee
5 Day Report
U.S. $50 in addition to the basic fee
Grade Point Average Equivalent
U.S. $40.00 in addition to the basic fee
Required for freshman and graduate admission
Upper Division Course Identification
U.S. $30.00 in addition to the course-by-course evaluation fee
Required by some colleges and universities and many boards of Accountancy
High School Foreign Language Identification
U.S. $30 in addition to the basic fee
Re-evaluation
Re-evaluations based on documents not submitted with the original request are considered new evaluations and a second payment of the basic fee is required. When an applicant requests that a document-by-document evaluation be changed to a course-by-course evaluation, the charge is U.S. $125.
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INFORMATION
Method of Operation
Josef Silny & Associates Inc., International Education Consultants was established as a MAIL ORDER foreign credential evaluation and translation service. Our evaluation and translation fees are based on this principle.
1) MAIL Procedure: PREFERRED OPTION FOR MOST EFFICIENT SERVICE
Clients mail in their applications for foreign credential evaluation &/or translation along with their original documents and payment. (Applications are reviewed by experienced evaluators &/or translators and applicants are notified in writing if any additional information is required.)
2) DROP-OFF Procedure: DROP-OFF ONLY
NOTE: We offer very limited services in person. Our reception staff will only receive your application and process your payment. They are NOT in a position to answer questions about your documents or the status of your file. It is for this reason that we recommend that you APPLY BY MAIL, allowing our expert evaluators and translators to review your application. We will contact you if we require any additional information.
CLIENTS WHO INSIST ON COMING TO OUR OFFICE MUST BRING THE FOLLOWING:
- Completed application form
- Official ORIGINAL academic documents
- 3 sets of photocopies of all academic credentials (Cost of photocopies made by JS&A: $0.25 per copy)
- English translation of documents not issued in English (if you already have one)
- Non-refundable payment for the services requested
If you would like JS&A to translate your documents, a quote for our translation services will be provided free of charge. PLEASE NOTE that receiving an “in-person” translation quote may require a wait time of up to one hour; therefore, we recommend that you obtain your translation quote via fax or email PRIOR to coming to our office.
Fax: (305) 273-1984
Email: translation@jsilny.com
3) CONSULTATION Procedure: 30 minute INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATION - $60.00
For applicants who would like help in filling out their application form and in reviewing their academic credentials and translations prior to applying for our services, we offer an individual consultation by appointment with a member of our Customer Relations Staff. The cost of this consultation is $60 for a half hour session. This fee is non-refundable and it is in addition to any evaluation or translation fees. During this consultation you will receive help in filling out your application form, advice on which academic documents to submit, acceptance or rejection of the professionally prepared English translations which you already possess or a quote for the price of translating your documents. Upon completion of the consultation you will receive a written statement indicating that your application is complete, or if not, which documents or information is missing. You will not be advised what your academic credentials are equivalent to during the consultation session. You will receive a written evaluation report upon completion of the evaluation process.
Reassessment of Education Systems
Evaluations are based upon the best information and resources currently available to foreign credential evaluators in the United States. Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. reserves the right to reassess educational systems as new and additional information becomes available.
Satisfaction with Evaluations
JS&A generally follows the Placement Recommendations of The National Council on the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials. JS&A guarantees that all evaluations are prepared by highly qualified evaluators, but it cannot guarantee that the applicant will agree with the evaluation. Any questions or concerns about evaluations must be submitted in writing.
Processing Information
Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. reserves the right to request to review original documents and may insist that transcripts or examination results be sent directly by the issuing institutions or examination boards. For engineering and nursing licensure: transcript, degree, and course descriptions must be sent by the issuing institution(s) directly to JS&A. The documents you submit with your application, with the exception of any originals, will become the property of Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. and they will not be returned. Applicants must submit self-addressed and stamped envelopes for the return of their original academic credentials. When it has been determined that the documents submitted for evaluation or translation were forged or altered in any way, no evaluation or translation will be prepared and the evaluation or translation fee will not be refunded. All recipients indicated on the application form will be notified. It is the applicant's responsibility to submit the documents which need to be evaluated. JS&A will contact the applicant only for the documents without which the evaluation cannot be completed. If the application is not completed within three months, JS&A will close the file. A new evaluation fee will be required for updating the file. JS&A will keep applications with academic credentials for one year only.
In preparing an evaluation report, every effort is made to consult appropriate resources to provide the most accurate evaluation possible. JS&A will provide a list of the references used in making the specific evaluation upon written request.
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PROCEDURES
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT WE WILL NOT PROCESS YOUR REQUEST FOR ANY SERVICE UNLESS WE RECEIVE YOUR FILLED-OUT AND SIGNED APPLICATION AND CORRESPONDING FEES.
JS&A WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOCUMENTS SENT TO US PRIOR TO THE RECEIPT OF THE FILLED-OUT AND SIGNED APPLICATION AND CORRESPONDING FEES.
In order to receive an evaluation, an applicant must provide the following:
- Application Form
The Application for Evaluation of Foreign Credentials, completed and signed by the applicant. Do not send us any academic credentials before mailing in the application form with the fees.
- Fee
A non-refundable evaluation fee in U.S. dollars. Make the bank check or money order payable to Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
If you are paying by a credit card you must fill out the Credit Card Information on the application form.
All evaluation fees, including fees for rush report, 24 hour report, grade point average equivalent, extra copies, and translation are NON-REFUNDABLE.
- Educational Documents
A. Official Diplomas and Certificates in the original language.
B. Official transcripts in the original language (names of courses, grades, and hours of instruction) for every year of study.
- Translations
Documents in a language other than English must be accompanied by professional, certified English translations. Translations supplement, but do not replace the original documents. JS&A offers professional certified translations. JS&A is a Corporate Member of the American Translators Association. For further information on the JS&A Translation Service, call 305-273-1616 or fax your request for translation estimate along with all pertinent documents to: 305-273-1984.
- Syllabus
Syllabus of university study (description of each course or subject studied): This may be required for a Course-by-Course Evaluation. Do not send this with your application. If it is needed, JS&A will request it.
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Additional Reports
Additional reports requested at the time of evaluation cost $15.00 each. Each evaluation report requested after the evaluation has been completed costs $30.00 each (may be issued up to 3 years from the original date of issue. Please note that no exceptions will be made regarding this policy). Add $5.00 if you would like your evaluation to be mailed to you in a specially sealed JS&A envelope.
If you wish to receive extra evaluation reports after your evaluation has been completed please send us a letter with the following information: your last name, first name and middle name, social security number (if you have it), your mailing address, your e-mail address, your telephone number, on what date your original evaluation was completed, how many extra evaluation reports you wish to receive and to whom these reports should be mailed. Extra evaluation reports will be identical to those previously issued. Any revision or addition to the report will constitute a re-evaluation, for which a new application form, new fee and original documents must be submitted.
Most universities and licensing boards require that the original foreign credential evaluation be sent to them directly by our Company. However, some institutions will accept evaluations mailed to them by the applicant if they are received in an unopened, specially sealed JS&A envelope.
Be sure to provide us with pre-addressed labels or envelopes for mailing of evaluation reports to any location other than your address. If you have a copy of your evaluation, please include it with your letter. Extra evaluation reports are usually mailed out in 10 business days. Rush mailing available, see pricing above.
Notarization of Copies of Original Documents
This service is provided for individuals applying to the Florida Department of Education's Bureau of Educator Certification or other agencies requesting notarized copies of original educational documents. The fee for this service is $10.00 per document (diploma, transcript, etc.) Original documents must be presented with payment. If the service is requested by mail, a self-addressed and stamped envelope must be provided for the return of the original documents.
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