Terms and Conditions for Evaluation Reports

Terms and Conditions for Evaluation Reports*

*The details below are provided for informational purposes only. The “Terms and Conditions” and “Customer Agreement and Certification” applicable to an order for evaluation services are presented as part of the Evaluation Report Application (“Application”).

Documentation Requirements. It is your responsibility to review the Documentation Requirements and submit all necessary educational documents (“Documents”) based on where you studied. We cannot prepare an evaluation report (“Report”) until we receive them from you. Documents submitted in institutionally sealed envelopes become our property and will not be released, unless required by law. If you ordered a Translation Waiver, then English translations are not required.

Information and Documentation Requests. We will determine if the Documents submitted are acceptable for preparing a Report. We reserve the right to request additional information and Documents at any time, including original Documents and attested copies in institutionally sealed envelopes.

Payment; Discounts. Payment must be made in U.S. dollars by check or credit card (we cannot accept bank drafts, money orders, or cash). If the check is from a bank outside the United States, it must contain the preprinted name of the affiliated U.S. bank. A $40 fee will be charged for each returned check. Sometimes we offer discounts or other promotions. Each such offer is also subject to the additional terms and conditions presented at the time of the offer.

Limitations on Refunds. We will refund the difference in fees if you have paid more than the cost of the Report issued. Otherwise, there are no refunds once an Application is submitted. If an order is canceled or all required Documents are not provided, no Report and no refund will be issued, but the rest of the Application will remain in force.

Abandoned Orders. We cannot keep orders open indefinitely. If you have not submitted sufficient Documents for an evaluation, we will contact you to request additional Documents. If we do not receive any response from you by the specified date, we will consider the order abandoned. We reserve the right to cancel abandoned orders.

Verification of Authenticity. We reserve the right to contact educational, governmental, and professional institutions for additional information and to verify the authenticity of Documents.

General Report for Unrecognized Study. During the evaluation process, we may determine a credential does not represent the equivalent of for-credit study at an institution with official diploma or degree granting authority. For such credentials, our Report will not list individual courses, credits, and grades. If you do not have any for-credit study at all, we will issue a General Report only (if you ordered something else, we will refund the difference in fees).

Delivery Services; Electronic Delivery. We are not responsible for packages and their contents once they leave our offices with a delivery service. For some third parties, Report copies may be delivered electronically along with copies of the Documents.

Guarantee; Advisory Nature of Reports. We guarantee only that each Report will be prepared by a qualified professional evaluator, and we disclaim all other guarantees and warranties, express or implied. ECE^® Reports are advisory and non-binding. We do not guarantee anyone will agree with our Reports and assume no responsibility for the decisions of those who use them. Reports reflect our professional judgment based on over forty years of research and experience in applied comparative education.

Refusal of Service; Copies. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, including the right not to provide copies of a previous Report. Normally copies can be ordered for five years after we issue the Report (we reserve the right to change this without notice).

No Obligation to Revise. Education is dynamic, and all educational systems change. Our ongoing research may identify new equivalents for some credentials, leading to different results than before. It is understood that prior Reports were based on the best information available to U.S. professionals in applied comparative education at the time. We have no obligation to revise a Report to reflect changes that may have occurred since it was issued or to maintain an equivalency from an earlier Report.

Data Use, Security, Privacy, and Retention. We process personally identifiable information (“PII”) based on the Application and for purposes of preparing and delivering Reports. We keep PII secure and do not disclose it, except: (1) as directed by you; (2) if needed to verify Document authenticity; (3) as described in “Falsified Document Measures” below; and (4) if required by law, court order, or subpoena. To provide Report copy services, we retain PII for five years after the Report is issued. We reserve the right to keep non-PII beyond five years.

Information Subject to Change. Information on the ECE^® website and application form, including our Documentation Requirements and fees, may change without notice.

Falsified Document Measures. Falsified Documents are Documents that are forged, altered, or otherwise used to misrepresent education. If false information or falsified Documents are submitted to ECE at any time, for either an active or a canceled order, ECE will: (1) prepare no Report, or retract it; (2) issue no refund; (3) send notice of falsification—including the birth date and the name[s] on the Application and Documents—to Report copy designees and other educational, governmental, and professional institutions, including evaluation agencies; and (4) take additional measures (as detailed in the Application) to deter and identify further use of falsified documents.

Terms and Conditions for Canada Assessment Reports*

*The details below are provided for informational purposes only. The “Terms and Conditions” and “Customer Agreement and Certification” applicable to an order for assessment services are presented as part of the Canada Assessment Report Application (“Application”)

Documentation Requirements. It is your responsibility to review the Documentation Requirements and submit all necessary educational documents (“Documents”) based on where you studied. We cannot prepare a Canada Assessment Report (“Report”) until we receive them from you. Documents submitted in institutionally sealed envelopes become our property and will not be released, unless required by law. If you ordered a Translation Waiver, then English translations are not required.

Payment; Discounts. Payment must be made in U.S. dollars by check, money order, Visa, or MasterCard (we cannot accept bank drafts or cash). If the check or money order is from a bank outside the United States, it must contain the preprinted name of the affiliated U.S. bank. A $40 fee will be charged for each returned check. Sometimes we offer discounts or other promotions. Each such offer is also subject to the additional terms and conditions presented at the time of the offer.

Limitations on Refunds. We will refund the difference in fees if you have paid more than the cost of the Report issued. Otherwise, there are no refunds once an Application is submitted, except as provided in the Acceptance Guarantee below. If an order is canceled or all required Documents are not provided, no Report and no refund will be issued, but the rest of the Application will remain in force.

Verification of Authenticity. We reserve the right to contact educational, governmental, and professional institutions for additional information and to verify the authenticity of Documents.

Guarantee; Advisory Nature of Reports. Except as provided in the Acceptance Guarantee below, we guarantee only that each Report will be prepared by a qualified professional evaluator, and we disclaim all other guarantees and warranties, express or implied. ECE® Reports are advisory and non-binding. We do not guarantee anyone will agree with our Reports and assume no responsibility for the decisions of those who use them. Reports reflect our professional judgment based on over forty years of research and experience in applied comparative education.

Report Acceptance Guarantee (“Acceptance Guarantee”)¹. To be eligible for a refund under the Acceptance Guarantee:

(i) Your Report order must include at least one Report copy (“Copy”) designated for direct delivery to a higher education institution in Canada (“HEIC”)²;
(ii) An HEIC receiving a Copy directly from us must reject it (i.e., decline to use it in an admissions/transfer decision);
(iii) Within 90 calendar days of the Report issue date, you must contact us and provide the name and direct contact information of an admissions official at the HEIC that rejected a Copy; AND
(iv) After we contact the admissions official directly, the HEIC still will not use the Copy.

If all eligibility requirements are met, you may choose one of the following options: (1) a full refund on the Report order; or (2) a refund of just the Copy and delivery fees for the HEIC(s) that rejected a Copy. If you choose option (1), the order is cancelled, and we will issue no further Copies related to it (but the rest of the Application will remain in force). If you choose option (2), you may still order Copies for five years from the Report issue date, subject to the Agreement.

NOTE: The Acceptance Guarantee expires at the earliest of the following: (a) once all designated HEICs use a Copy, regardless of outcome (use in an unfavorable decision is not a rejection of the Copy); (b) once we refund any amount to you; or (c) ninety (90) calendar days after the Report issue date.

¹ Limitations and restrictions apply. We may discontinue the Acceptance Guarantee at any time without notice.
² The Acceptance Guarantee does not apply to: any Copy not sent by us directly to an HEIC, and any Copy ordered after the Report issue date.

Refusal of Service; Copies. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, including the right not to provide Copies of a previous Report. Normally Copies can be ordered for five years after we issue the Report (we reserve the right to change this without notice).

Data Use, Security, Privacy, and Retention. We process personally identifiable information (“PII”) based on the Application and for purposes of preparing and delivering Reports. We keep PII secure and do not disclose it, except: (1) as directed by you; (2) if needed to verify Document authenticity; (3) as described in “Falsified Document Measures” below; and (4) if required by law, court order, or subpoena. To provide Report Copy services, we retain PII for five years after the Report is issued. We reserve the right to keep non-PII beyond five years.

Information Subject to Change. Information on the ECE® website and application form, including our Documentation Requirements and fees, may change without notice.