The International Education Standards Council (IESC) welcomed its newest voting members, LesLee Clauson Eicher and Shelby Cearly, at the 2022 AACRAO Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. These volunteers contribute to research, vote on all Council-offered placement advice, and provide valuable expertise and experience.
LesLee, former President of TAICEP (The Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals, describes herself as a "long-time international credential evaluator and self-proclaimed evaluation geek [who loves] nothing more than to do research and learn new things."
Shelby enjoys presenting at international and local conferences on international admissions, credential evaluation, and international recruiting to grow upon her credentialing knowledge and skills. She has been bestowed honors from NAFSA (Outstanding Service to International Education award) and TAICEP (Hall of Acclaim) for her work in the field.
Shelby is "thrilled to [have received an invitation] to join the IESC [whose members and expertise she] greatly admire[s] and respect[s]" and "[is excited to help] shape best practices in the credential evaluation field and [contribute to the] debate…". Shelby "particularly enjoy[s] evaluating credentials from Spain, India, China as well as North, Central, and South America" and takes pleasure when researching grading scales and practices. It takes determination and a strict dedication to use best practices to find the information required, but she enjoys the "hunt."
LesLee, who has experience working at universities, private evaluation agencies, and AACRAO, feels "honored to serve on the IESC, and proud that [she's] able to give back to the profession that has given [her] so much." LesLee's career started with a part-time job back in the late '80s. Armed with her "newly-minted Bachelor of Arts in German," her first task was foreign credential evaluation at the University of Maryland's International Education Services office. She fondly recalls being shown AACRAO's World Education Series paperback books—one of the primary resources used to assess education backgrounds—and remembers a particular credential that arrived with the original recipient's name covered and replaced. LesLee has used more sophisticated methods to identify fraudulent documents in her career by incorporating numerous tools to effectively research credentials. Still, she will never forget where her career began.
It's an honor to have both LesLee and Shelby on the Council. The contributions of the IESC open up educational opportunities for everyone who needs their education understood and acknowledged in the context of the U.S. education system. Conclusions from this research, published in AACRAO EDGE, help inform opinions and provide knowledge even to entities outside of the United States education system.
AACRAO EDGE is a tool that professionals can use at all levels of their careers. LesLee, Shelby, and the other members of the Council conduct primary source research to contribute updates within EDGE. Shelby summarizes a sentiment shared by the new members: "As a new evaluator, I received help and advice from many of the people currently on the IESC, and it is my sincere hope that I can pay that forward to fellow evaluators."
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