We adhere strictly to the codes of ethics and best practices in our field. Verification of educational documents provided for evaluation may include any of the following:
- Direct Verification with Issuing Institutions: Official documents may be sent directly to us from the issuing academic institution (hard copies via mail, or soft copies by electronic delivery).
- Examination of Security Features: Careful inspection of documents for security features designed to prevent forgery, including watermarks, holograms, special inks, microprinting, security threads, and official seals.
- Digital Verification Tools: Verification via embedded QR codes and digital signatures.
- Cross-Referencing and Consistency Checks: We cross-check information across all submitted documents – such as names, dates, grades, and institutional details – to ensure consistency.
- Certified Translated Documents: We accept certified translations of academic records as long as the originally issued document is provided alongside the translation (we always reject non-certified translations).
- True Copies and Notarization: We accept certified copies of academic records, which must be stamped and signed by the issuing institution or, where required, by a recognized notary public.
- Forensic and Manual Analysis: Our team is trained to detect signs of forgery through manual inspection – reviewing paper quality, ink, alignment, wear and tear, and other physical characteristics.
- In-house Database of Diploma Mills and Unaccredited Institutions: We maintain a proprietary platform to identify and reject documents issued from known fraudulent or non-accredited entities.
- In-house Database of Educational Documents: We maintain a proprietary archive of hundreds of thousands of educational documents. This enables us to compare new submissions with previously authenticated documents, improving our ability to detect alterations, forgeries, or patterns of fraud.
Through these procedures we strive to ensure that every academic document that forms the basis for our evaluations is genuine and reliable.
Past academic equivalency evaluations are accepted regularly by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as by a wide variety of US educational institutions and employers.