By Drew Carlisle, Assistant Director, EDGE Development
Understanding a learner's educational background is vital to welcoming them onto your campus or into your workforce. Whether you’re working to support international students, evaluating foreign transcripts for admissions or transfer, or shaping policies that reflect an increasingly global academic environment, staying informed is key.
The ̽»¨Â¥ Electronic Database for Global Education exists to support that work. Built on decades of expert research, EDGE equips professionals with foundational knowledge of global education systems and tools to interpret international credentials accurately and fairly. It can help you assess whether a credential meets undergraduate or graduate admission criteria, offers advanced standing, or holds professional relevance. From grading scales to program structure, EDGE provides insight to guide decisions and policy.
Using EDGE as a Strategic Asset
David Mihalyi, ̽»¨Â¥ Associate Director, International, recalls that before he joined ̽»¨Â¥, he was involved in the early development of EDGE and referred to it as a user in his work as a credential evaluator. Many other institutions and evaluation agencies soon adopted the EDGE Credential Advice to maintain consistency and align with a vetted standard. Entities needing to understand educational backgrounds to determine visa eligibility, such as , immigration attorneys, and various academic institutions and boards of licensure, recognize the value of a vetted standard determined via consensus.
Our monthly EDGE User Group webinars provide details on the International Education Standards Council's ongoing research that goes into credential and grading advice published in EDGE. In fact, should you find something that needs to be addressed, each page within EDGE contains a button where you can highlight an omission or an error. This interactive online tool allows you to submit your rationale behind your suggestion and, if appropriate, enables you to attach any redacted documents relevant to your submission.
How Do You Know if EDGE is Right for Your Institution?
EDGE is the only product to be vetted by a panel of respected experts in the field, voting on all Credential Advice and all suggested Grading Scales. And when used as a tool to develop admissions policies, ̽»¨Â¥ EDGE is a cost-effective solution that facilitates welcoming international students and provides a framework for understanding these students’ educational experiences. There is no similar comprehensive collection of knowledge that is published elsewhere.
Since its foundation more than 20 years ago, Mihalyi explains that, “EDGE exists to fill the void formed by the discontinuation of the World Education Series and Project on International Education Research volumes that were published as a joint effort between ̽»¨Â¥ and . The International Education Standards Council was formed by ̽»¨Â¥ after the dissolution of the National Council on the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials, which used to publish the placement recommendations in the WES and PIER volumes and workshop reports.”
Additionally, Dr. William Paver of deserves special mention. He was instrumental in developing EDGE and assembling the team required for this tremendous project.
You Can Participate in New Developments Coming to EDGE
An example of a comprehensive change in EDGE content will soon be apparent to users because, as Associate Director Mihalyi notes, “[̽»¨Â¥] will be finished with a years-long project to replace all educational ladders for each system with new, updated, and consistently formatted ladders.” But that’s not to say that EDGE can ever be complete. The perpetually fluid nature of hundreds of educational systems requires constant updates and research.
The work within EDGE remains ongoing. Your submissions prompt further research. New authors are currently performing research to revamp certain profiles, including those of multiple nations within Southeast Asia. You can remain confident that ̽»¨Â¥ will continue to improve the information within EDGE.