2002 News

CGFNS announces changes to the Credentials Evaluation Service

PHILADELPHIA, PA — FEBRUARY 2, 2002 — The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) is announcing some modifications and streamlining in the Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) in an effort to increase efficiency in the formatting and processing of our evaluation reports, while maintaining the CES' integrity and reliability.

Currently, CGFNS offers three levels of CES Reports: General Report, Healthcare Profession and Science Course-by-Course Report and Full Education Course-by-Course Report. In our periodic review and assessment of our credentials evaluation services we have determined that the course-by-course reports have become increasingly popular with state boards of nursing and academic institutions. Due to this increased demand for CES, we have examined our processes and formats to increase efficiency in terms of timeliness, enhancing the reports' relevancy and decreasing redundancy, while ensuring the same high standard in the integrity of the reports. Changes will only affect the format of the reports, not the substance.

As of March 1, 2002, CGFNS will only provide two levels of reports: the Healthcare Profession and Science Course-by-Course Report and the Full Education Course-by-Course Report. In an endeavor to avoid redundant efforts, the Healthcare Profession and Science Course-by-Course Report will no longer contain a typed version of the transcripts in the body of the report. However, a copy of the transcripts will still be attached to the report. The course-by-course review will continue to be done as always, and will be reflected in the comparability statement. Also, CGFNS will continue to report on foreign registration and licensure, but not U.S. registration and licensure. Due to the NURSYS and the compact state programs available through the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), we believe it is unnecessary to duplicate this effort.

These changes for a more streamlined process will allow CGFNS to produce reports more efficiently and quickly, while still continuing to provide quality credentials evaluations that foreign-educated nurses worldwide have come to expect and depend upon.

CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, PA, USA, and is an internationally recognized authority on education, registration and licensure of nurses and other health care professionals worldwide. CGFNS’s mission is to provide responsible leadership in the delivery of relevant services to the global nursing and health care community. The organization was founded in 1977 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor; Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services); the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and representation from nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing.

For more information about CGFNS and its services, contact: Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2651 USA; telephone: (215) 349-8767; fax: (215) 349-0026.