mungozavvy

What does AFAIK stand for? They received my documents on the 30th January and now its the 20th February. I'm tempted to create my EE profile without it but then I'd be screwed for misrepresentation

DigitalGhost

AFAIK = As Far As I Know.

By that timeline they are only just outside of their own quoted timescale and I'm not sure if their quote is 20 business days or 20 calendar days. From my experience, very few people in the Ontario public sector work during the weekend.

not2old

has anyone used the CES?

Comparative Education Service (CES) - School of Continuing Studies

DigitalGhost

I think they charge more than WES and quote a 3 month turnaround time. That's why most people seem to end up opting for WES.

mungozavvy

No, but i know people who have. CES can do it in 5 days if you stump up $500. I wish i did this in the beginning. If you're strapped for cash then they have a lead time for up 7 months.

DigitalGhost

You could still use them. Neither need your original degree so you could just spend more and to CES now if you want to.

mungozavvy

Are you sure. I could have sworn I read somewhere they need original transcripts from university/college

DigitalGhost

The transcripts need to be certified copies straight from the uni however your uni will send out as many transcripts as you want them to. Some uni's will charge you, others won't.

So far I have requested two sets from my uni since last November and I only graduated in July.

mungozavvy

So are you saying that all I need to do is send them a photocopy of my transcripts + certificates with nothing pending to be sent by my academic institutions?

gaz_c2c

Regarding the CES ECA, my understanding of their process is that you will need to have your transcripts sent directly from the university/institution to CES. According to their website it states:

"Please make your request to have official academic records (transcripts/statements of marks) sent by the issuing authority directly to CES in a sealed envelope as soon as possible, as some institutions may take a considerable amount of time to provide them."

I didn't use WES for my application becuase of the apparent slower service that people have been reporting recently, and opted for the CES $500 (in addition to the standard fee of $189) option. WES doesn't offer an expedited option, so CES wins on this front but it might not be the most financially sound option, so can understand why WES wins out in terms of best value.

My experience was quite pleasant if I'm honest. I spoke with my university on 14th January 2017 to arrange them to send the transcripts. Separately, I created an online account with CES (took about 5 minutes) and uploaded an electronic copy of my degree certificate and transcripts on 16th Jan 2017. I called CES on 25th Jan 2017 to see if they had received my transcript from the UK and they confirmed that this had arrived on 24th January. They completed my ECA on 27th January 2017, sending an electronic copy of the ECA on the same day that it was completed. It was quick, but expensive. In terms of getting it done quickly, I received my ITA on 8th February so am happy with the decision, but if the scores continue to drop in the coming weeks then I might feel that I was a little hasty in ordering the expensive option!

DigitalGhost

That's the same process as WES then. You send photocopies of your certificates and the uni sends them certified copies of the transcript.

Nothing original is ever sent because as soon as you send documents to an Embassy, government agency or business acting on behalf of either of those then the documents become their property. In some jurisdictions they will use them and return them to you. In others they will secure destroy them and in the latter group they are legally bound to keep them on file. Ontario uses the last option I believe.

A UK uni will never send originals of anything to an organisation to CES/WES.

mungozavvy

I'm screwed either way. My college takes up to 20 days to print the certificates and send them off. So its a 20 day lead time. Im better off just waiting for my IQAS and WES to clear. Thanks dude and congrats on the ITA. Better to be safe than sorry. Everything going good with the application for ur PR?

DigitalGhost

I just received notification that my university have mailed the transcripts over to WES today. Hopefully WES won't drag their arses along the ground over my application like they seem to be doing with so many others atm.

mungozavvy

So regarding waiting times for WES. I've just had my status changed to in evaluation. A lot of people are complaining about the lack of transparency from WES. They truly do have a backlog. Also I'd call up your university to get the DHL tracking number.

DigitalGhost

If they have a backlog then that's fine but they need to be more honest about it and not still promise a 20 day lead time on their website so that people can make a properly informed choice.

I don't know which mailing method my university used tbh but my IELTS exam isn't for another month yet anyway so there's no massive rush. Ideally I would like the ECA report back by the end of March though.