A growing number of institutions worldwide are making their academic records available in a digital or electronic format. World Education Services (WES) now partners with institutions to accept electronic documents in a secure format from official, verified sources.

Sending documents electronically can expedite the completion of your credential evaluation. It is the most secure, most efficient method of sharing your academic records with WES. This article discusses the methods available for transmitting digital documents.  

First, ask your sending institution if they already have an electronic transmission option. Even if they don’t currently support this option, we may still be able to accept electronic documents from them. We encourage institutions to complete our Digital Partnership Form and someone from our team will respond to the request.   

Please note, WES reserves the right to check the origin of the email address supplied in the Digital Partnership Form. It’s important that the email used in the form be traceable to the institution and person who has the authority to send documents to WES. Examples are: Office of the Registrar, Transcript Officer, Controller of Examinations, Director of Examinations, Registrar Officer, or Senior Assistant to the Registrar.  

Sharing Your Documents with WES

You can upload copies of some documents, such as degree certificates and translations, into your WES Account. This is not a requirement for all applications, so you can disregard this if degree certificates and translations are not listed in your Required Documents. 

Before asking your institution to send electronic documents to WES, it is important to review your academic institution’s website and our Required Documents. 

There are three main methods institutions can use to share electronic documents with WES:

• Online Platform
• Direct Transmission Channels
• Email

Read about each of these options below.

Online Platform

An online platform is the most common way of sharing electronic documents with WES. The academic institution that issues your documents may have its own online platform or it may use a third-party provider. The electronic documents are issued as digitally signed and certified PDFs.

To share documents from online platforms, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account associated with the online platform. 
2. Select WES as the recipient of your electronic documents. 
3. If you cannot choose WES as your recipient, you can share your documents, directly from the platform, with the email addresses listed on our Required Documents page. Sending documents to any other email address will cause processing delays.  

Please note: We only use these email addresses to retrieve documents. If you have other questions, contact Customer Service.  

Once we receive the link that allows us to access the documents, we will retrieve them and proceed with your evaluation. We consider electronic documents official only if they are sent directly through the official online platform of your academic institution or third-party provider.

Some of the online platforms we work with include:

• Digitary Core
• My eQuals 
• MyCreds
• Gradintelligence 
• National Student Clearinghouse 
• OpenCerts 
• Norwegian Diploma Registry 
• University of Birmingham 
• University College London

This is not a comprehensive list. Many universities have their own platforms for electronic transcripts and certificates. The best way to find out if your institution has one is to check its website.

Direct Transmission Channels

WES partners with thousands of institutions around the world and third-party providers in order to receive electronic documents through verified channels. These closed, secure channels enable institutions to transmit documents directly to WES.

WES offers two options for fast and secure delivery of documents: secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) and application programming interface (API).

SFTP is as easy as sending an email. Here is how SFTP works:

If your documents were issued by an institution that already has an agreement with WES, ask if they can use the verified electronic channel to transfer your documents. Currently, some of the institutions that partner with us include:

• Center for Student Services and Development (CSSD) 
• Parchment
• ENIC Ukraine
• Centrul Național de Recunoaștere și Echivalare a Diplomelor (CNRED)
• Docswallet
• University of Mumbai
• Panjab University 
• University of Lagos 
• The University of the West Indies, Mona
• University of Santo Tomas

This is not a comprehensive list. Review our Required Documents page and contact your institution to find out if this arrangement already exists with WES.

Please note: Some institutions send us only electronic documents. If that is the case with your institution, it is noted on our Required Documents page. In such cases, WES does not accept documents that are not sent electronically.

Email

WES recommends direct transmission channels (SFTP and API) for sending documents electronically. But we understand that not all institutions can support these options. If no other options are available, your institution might be able to send its electronic documents as email attachments. If so, they will need to be sent from an official institutional email account. 

Here are a few rules for emailing documents: 

• WES must be able to verify the sender’s email on the institution’s website. 
• The sender must be authorized to send academic records. Typically, the departments that are responsible for sending documents are the Office of the Registrar; the Controller of Examinations; the Exams, Awards and Graduation Department; the Department of Student Services; or the Office of Academic Records. 
• Attached documents should be shared in a secure, immutable format (such as PDF). 
• Emails must pass a stringent anti-spoofing authenticity and security checks. 

Some institutions that currently email us documents include: 

• Osmania University 
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University  
• University of Tehran 
• Coventry University
• University of South Africa (UNISA) 

This is not a comprehensive list. Contact your institution to learn if this arrangement already exists with WES. 

Please note: Email is only used to transmit documents if other options (digital platform and direct transmission channels) are not possible.

Do’s and Don’ts for Sending Electronic Documents to WES 

• Do: Start by checking our Required Documents page to find out if your institution already offers the option of electronically transmitting academic documents to WES.  
• Do: Follow the instructions on our website, and the website of your academic institution, to learn the right steps for sending your documents to WES. 
• Do: Whenever possible, include your WES Reference Number when sending electronic documents. Some online platforms provide a field for notes or comments—this is a good place to put your WES Reference Number. Other platforms let you send additional documents with an academic transcript or degree certificate; you can write your WES Reference Number on this additional document. 
• Do: Only send electronic documents to the email address that is provided for this purpose. There will be delays if your documents are sent to the incorrect email address, even if it is still sent to WES. 
• Do: Upload your degree certificate and translations using the upload function in your WES My Account. 
• Do Not: If the Required Documents instructions specify that we can accept documents from your institution only through the established digital transmission channel, then do not send us documents any other way. They will not be accepted. 
• Do Not: Assign a PIN or an expiry date to your documents. Doing so will block our access to your documents. 
• Do Not: Share your personal login credentials with WES. Because of privacy concerns, we cannot use them to retrieve your documents. 
• Do Not: Unless it is specified in our required documents instructions, do not send us electronic transcripts or marksheets as attachments from your personal email account. This will not satisfy our document requirements. WES only accepts electronic academic records from our list of vetted and approved sources. 

Related Reading

How to Upload Your Degree Certificates and Translations to WES

How to Send Your Documents to WES in a Sealed Envelope

Understanding WES Required Documents