Welcome to the Credentials Service! This service is for students pursuing jobs in academia who need a confidential place to store letters of recommendation. Although students applying to graduate school may open a file, the service is not designed for this purpose, so problems may arise. Please contact the Credentials Coordinator for more information.
Downloads
Eligibility
What The File May Contain
How The Service Works
Mailing Guidelines and Price List
Policies
FAQs
Release and Accessibility of File
Web
Sites for Credentials Clients
A list
of helpful web sites related to academic job search. Just click on the
titles to go directly to the web sites.
DOWNLOADS
- Authorization Form
- To open a credentials file, download this authorization form, fill it out and return it with a $10 check or money order payable to UT Austin and mail to: Career Exploration Center, A115 Jester, Austin, TX 78705. You must be a current UT Austin student, or have graduated from UT Austin in the last 12 months in order to use the Credentials Service.
- Credentials Information Sheet
- This contains everything you will need to know about the Credentials Service. Please read it carefully!
- Academic Job Search Tips
- By Professor Katie Arens of the UT Germanic Studies Department. Reproduced by her kind permission.
ELIGIBILITY:
Currently enrolled UT-Austin students, or those who have graduated from UT-Austin in the last 12 months, may open a Credentials File.
WHAT THE FILE MAY CONTAIN:
- Letters of Recommendation - as many as you need
- Transcripts - from any school. It is your responsibility to have copies delivered to us. You may contact the UT Transcripts office at (512) 475-7689.
- Curriculum Vita/Resume - we will not copy resumes onto "nice" paper
- Program of Work/Course List
- Dissertation Abstract - no more than 3 (three) pages
WE WILL NOT SEND COVER LETTERS, WRITING SAMPLES, GRAD SCHOOL APPLICATION FORMS, TEACHING EVALUATIONS, OR ANY OTHER ITEMS NOT LISTED ABOVE.
It is your responsibility to make sure that your materials have arrived. You are always welcome to call or e-mail and ask for a list of your file's contents.
HOW THE SERVICE WORKS:
The cost to open a Credentials file is $10.00; your file will remain active for one year. Once your file is opened, you may arrange to have those items listed above mailed or hand delivered to our office. After verifying that all your materials have arrived, you may begin to make mailing requests. For each institution, you may select which letters or other items to include/exclude from your mailings. The order of the letters will not be rearranged for each individual package.
ONLY PHOTOCOPIES OF MATERIALS IN YOUR FILE WILL BE SENT.
MAILING GUIDELINES AND PRICE LIST:
There are several ways for you to submit a mailing request:
- For one or multiple mailings, email your request to
- If you need to request only one mailing, fill out your request online.
- Mail your request to us, at the address listed at the top of this form.
- Come into the Career Exploration Center and submit a typed request in person.
- Fax your request to our office (512) 471-8494.
- We do NOT accept requests via telephone.
|
ACTION |
PRICE |
| Opening a new file (eff. 9/1/06) |
$10 |
| Renewal (ANNUAL) (eff. 9/1/06) |
$5 |
| Regular Mail Package |
$5 |
| Priority Mail Package |
$8 |
| DHL Express Domestic (eff. 9/1/06) |
$15 |
| International DHL Express |
Varies |
-
Regular and Priority mail requests are processed no later than two (2) business days from the date they are received by our office. Requests must be received by 5:00 PM CST to be considered received on that day. Typed requests are required (the Credentials Service will not be held responsible for errors contained in your mailing request or caused by illegible handwriting).
- WE WILL NOT ACCEPT REQUESTS TO HAVE A CREDENTIALS FILE FAXED NOR HAND DELIVERED. If you need to have your Credentials file sent quickly, we offer Priority Mail or Overnight Express service. Priority mail will generally reach it’s destination 2 to 3 business days after it is mailed (U.S. only), but specific delivery times are NOT guaranteed by the Credentials Service or the USPS.
- DHL-Overnight packages will generally reach their destination one business day after shipment. DHL-Overnight will also ship internationally; we will obtain a price quote for international addresses, and you will be charged that amount (rounded up to the nearest whole dollar), plus the $5 processing fee. Your DHL-Overnight package will go out the same day of the request, provided the request is madebefore 12:00 noon CST. If it is received after noon, it will be sent out the next business day. NOTE: A complete physical address (not a P.O. Box), contact name, and telephone number is required for all DHL-Overnightmailings.
- IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONFIRM THAT YOUR FILE CONTAINS ALL MATERIALS LISTED ON A MAILING REQUEST. If a request is submitted and the materials requested are not present in your file, the Credentials Service will not accept the request. You are always welcome to call or email and ask for a list of your file’s contents.
- If you decide to mail, fax, or email your requests, you must have sufficient funds available in your Credentials account to cover the mailings. Payment is due upon request for mailing. The Career Exploration Center does not accept cash nor credit cards. Personal checks or money orders should be made payable to ‘UT Austin’. The Credentials Service cannot accept requests if you do not have sufficient funds on account.
- THE CREDENTIALS SERVICE IS AVAILABLE TO YOU FOR A MAXIMUM OF 10 YEARS. However, if you do not renew your file on an annual basis, or if we are unable to contact you due to incorrect address, your file may be closed. You may close your file at any time and request a refund of monies on account; refund requests must be made in writing.
Always feel free to call or email us when you have questions or concerns about your file. Our staff members are happy to help.
Q: Can I phone in my request?
A: Sorry, we can only accept dossier requests emailed, brought in person, faxed or mailed to us at: UT Austin, Career Exploration Center, Credentials Service, Jester A115, Austin, TX 78705. (please contact us for unusual circumstances)
Q: Will you hold my Dossier Request until my letters come in?
A: We do not wait for missing letters. We handle many files, and to hold a file for receipt of letters could cause it to be forgotten or misplaced - this could result in missing a deadline. We ask that you check with us often to make sure your letters are here by calling us at 512-471-1217.
Q: Can letters be sealed and mailed to me or can I pick them up?
A: If you have waived your rights of access to your letter, we cannot release them to you in any way, shape or form - including a signed and sealed envelope. If your letters are confidential, we can only send them directly to the organization or institution you are applying to.
Q: Who determines Credentials regulations?
A: Our policies are governed by the Career Exploration Center and by federal law, specifically the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Q: Although I have not started a Credentials File, some of my recommendation letter writers have already sent letters to your office, what happens to those letters?
A: We are unable to store letters if you have not established a Credentials File with our office. We will return all letters that do not have a corresponding Credential File to their authors.
Critical note: Although our service assures that your letters are mailed as requested, we know of unfortunate cases where letters were incorrectly processed by our mail carriers, lost en route, incorrectly delivered or misfiled by the receiving office. Because these situations are beyond our control, the Credential Service Policies state that the Career Exploration Center cannot be responsible for ensuring the delivery of letter packets we mail, nor for their delivery times or dates once we have released a Credential File Service request to our carriers. As a protective measure, always follow up with academic departments to make sure your letters have been successfully received.
RELEASE AND ACCESSIBILITY OF FILE:
In compliance with Public Law 93-380 (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 1974, Amended), all persons wishing to use the Credentials Service are required to sign a form indicating their desire to waive/retain the right to access the information in the file. The release authorization form represents an agreement between you the the Career Exploration Center Credentials Service to release your Credentials material to employers or graduate schools. No Credentials file can be established or released by this office until this form has been signed and returned.