WES-compatible academic transcripts: what credential evaluators look for

World Education Services (WES) and its peers — Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), the International Education Research Foundation (IERF), and SpanTran — convert foreign academic records into US-equivalent statements that universities and professional licensing boards rely on. They do not translate documents themselves. They require a certified English translation alongside the original, and they reject filings whose translations are incomplete, summarized, or missing the structural cues an evaluator needs. This guide walks through the evaluator-facing decisions a translator makes for transcripts, diplomas, and course descriptions.

The document set evaluators expect

A complete WES-style evaluation packet is rarely a single document. For an undergraduate degree, evaluators typically want all of the following — each translated:

• The official transcript of all coursework, year by year, with credit hours and grades.
• The diploma or degree certificate confirming graduation.
• The institutional grade-scale legend, if the transcript does not embed one.
• Course descriptions or syllabi for licensure cases (medical, engineering, accounting, nursing).
• An institutional accreditation letter where the registrar can provide one.

Grade-scale legends

The grade scale is not optional. WES needs to know what range the institution uses (0–20 in France, 0–100 in Egypt and Iran, 1–5 in Russia, A–F with weighting in many Commonwealth systems), and what mark constitutes passing, distinction, and failure. If the institution prints a legend on the transcript, translate it verbatim. If the legend appears on a separate institutional bulletin, translate that as a companion document. If no legend exists, document the omission in a translator's note — and tell the client to request a legend from the registrar before submitting.

Course-title rendering

Translate every course title fully — do not abbreviate, do not modernize, do not generalize. A course called مبادئ الاقتصاد الكلي should appear in English as Principles of Macroeconomics, not Macro or Macroeconomics. Evaluators map course titles against US subject-area equivalents; a vague title produces a vague equivalent. For technical subjects where the source-language term has no exact English match, render the closest equivalent and add the source term in brackets on first appearance.

Credit-hour and ECTS conversion

Do not convert credit hours yourself. The evaluator is the party that decides how a foreign credit unit maps to US semester credits. Translate the source numbers exactly as they appear — ECTS credits, contact hours, lecture hours, lab hours, or the country-specific local unit — and let WES apply its conversion table. The same rule applies to grades: if the transcript shows 18/20, the translation says 18/20, not B+.

Institution names

Translate the institution name into English on first appearance, and preserve the source-language name in brackets. For institutions that have renamed themselves over time — common in Iran, Iraq, and the former Soviet bloc — show both the current and historical names in a translator's note. Evaluators sometimes pull the institution's WES Country Resource file to confirm accreditation history, and a name discrepancy without context can stall the evaluation.

Diplomas and degree certificates

Diplomas are usually short — a single page — but they carry seals, embossed marks, and signatures that must be described faithfully. Translate the conferring institution, the recipient's full name, the degree awarded (use the closest English equivalent and bracket the source term), the date of conferral, and the signatories with their titles. Latin honors and equivalents (cum laude, with distinction, dengan pujian) are translated, not omitted.

Course descriptions for licensure

State medical boards, engineering boards, and pharmacy boards routinely require course descriptions for foreign degrees. These can run twenty to fifty pages — every required course, with topic outline, contact hours, prerequisites, and assessment method. The translation preserves the same structure. Verdacert prices course-description packets per page; clients sometimes underestimate the volume by half. A translator's note at the top of the packet enumerates which courses appear and confirms the source institution.

Translator's notes that help evaluators

Three kinds of translator's note materially reduce evaluator follow-up. First, an institution-history note where the school has been renamed or restructured. Second, a calendar-system note where the academic year boundaries differ from the US (e.g., Iranian academic year runs Mehr to Khordad, roughly September to June). Third, a credit-system note flagging the unit in use (ECTS, vahed, kredi, contact-hour) without offering a conversion. These notes give the evaluator the context they need to apply WES's internal mapping correctly.

Pre-submission checklist

1. Every page of every transcript translated, in original order, with no consolidation across years.
2. Grade-scale legend either embedded on the transcript and translated, or delivered as a companion translated document.
3. Course titles rendered fully in English, with the source term bracketed on first appearance for unusual subjects.
4. Credit hours, ECTS, and grades transcribed exactly — no conversion to US semester credits or letter grades.
5. Institution name translated and source-language name preserved; renaming history noted where relevant.
6. Diploma translated with all seals, signatories, and Latin honors described in place.
7. Course descriptions packaged in original sequence for licensure cases.
8. Certification statement signed and dated by the translator, with the source language identified.