General FAQs

EDGE is copyrighted material, and violating the terms of use will result in cancellation of your subscription with no refund and may incur legal action. Previous versions of EDGE strictly prohibited subscribers from using screenshots as supporting material. As of EDGE 3.0, we have reconsidered this policy.

Subscribers may now use a screenshot for reference purposes, provided it is properly attributed. A proper attribution includes both of the following:

1. A statement of subscription and permitted use:
   

   [Insert entity] is a paid subscriber to the AACRAO Electronic Database for Global Education (EDGE) and is sharing this information as a reference to an evaluation. Other use is strictly prohibited.

2. A citation in this format:
   

   “AACRAO EDGE [Insert Country] Profile.” [Insert Country], AACRAO EDGE, [insert access date], [insert weblink to main profile].

The AACRAO Electronic Database for Global Education (EDGE) is available to subscribers only. Any rendering of an EDGE page reflects the database as of the date it was created. The database is dynamic, and credential advice is subject to change as additional research is completed. New placement recommendations are reviewed and approved by the International Education Standards Council (IESC). Copyright © 2004–2026 American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

EDGE does not evaluate documents or credentials or assess individual evaluators on credentials they are working on. However, AACRAO Members can connect with evaluators in the credential evaluation space who are often happy to help a colleague in the AACRAO Exchange.

If you’ve checked the relevant EDGE page and believe that this document is not covered there, you can submit the document to the IESC for review, it is important that you redact the document to protect individual student privacy.

If the document is not yet in EDGE, we will need to do additional research before we can answer your question. The IESC is an volunteer group who meets twice monthly and so updates do take some time to complete.

If an EDGE profile describes a credential but does not contain an example document, please use the above link to submit it to the IESC. We are always happy to expand our collection.

Grade conversions are developed based on a number of factors. For example, the native grading system is taken into consideration, including what the grade represents in the country of study, the distribution of grades there, and whether it is a criterion-referenced system (set against a predetermined standard) or a norm-referenced system (set against other student performances). Some educational systems may have a marginal/conditional pass, which would be regarded as comparable to a grade of D in the United States. Such a grade, however is non-existent in other systems. Similarly, some countries may have a centralized, standardized grading scale, while others may have a variety of grading schemes. During this process, the minimum passing grade, the failing grade, and the top grade are also noted, along with the overall range of grades that make up a particular scale. This information is then collectively used to establish US grade equivalencies. Although the recommended grade conversions are provided in EDGE, users are always advised to check if a grading scale has been provided on the transcript of record for the studies in question.

The AACRAO Exchange would be a fantastic place to find an expert in a particular area. There is a wide range of professionals participating that may be able to answer your questions; this is an excellent opportunity to learn from more experienced colleagues and share best practices and information with colleagues who are still developing their evaluation techniques.

AACRAO international offers trainings and workshops for everyone who works with international educational records that can better address this.

Please send your statement using the Request an Update form on the Credential in question. Include your rationale.