I suppose my lack of familiarity with advanced practice nursing education in Canada might be one issue in this situation. I assume that, because master's programs for NP are common and doctoral programs are becoming more so, there is some equivalent educational structure in Canada. Perhaps my assumption is wrong. When the equivalency statement says, "Completion of advanced study and training in nursing," that suggests to me at least a master's degree. If nothing else, they had the option of contacting me and saying they needed more information, which I would have been glad to supply. Just feels like this all could have been handled more professionally. They have to know that if a person selects ECA for immigration purposes that they probably need something compatible with the EE system.
Express Entry- ECA question
- Thread starter ALam86
- Start date
Unfortunately that's an incorrect understanding of the WES evaluation. You may want to look up examples online to get a better understanding. They are very readily available. If your education was evaluated as the equivalent of a Master's, it would specifically state that on your WES report. Also a bit of tough love, more time is needed on your end researching and understanding the process. The immigration process takes quite a bit of work and you must put in that work if you are truly serious about moving here - or hire an immigration lawyer to do this work for you. You had misunderstandings on at least a couple of important fronts, including believing the WES results are guidance.I suppose my lack of familiarity with advanced practice nursing education in Canada might be one issue in this situation. I assume that, because master's programs for NP are common and doctoral programs are becoming more so, there is some equivalent educational structure in Canada. Perhaps my assumption is wrong. When the equivalency statement says, "Completion of advanced study and training in nursing," that suggests to me at least a master's degree. If nothing else, they had the option of contacting me and saying they needed more information, which I would have been glad to supply. Just feels like this all could have been handled more professionally. They have to know that if a person selects ECA for immigration purposes that they probably need something compatible with the EE system.
Do you have any recommendations on good, authoritative sites regarding the process? I've done countless hours of research and have seen nothing that addresses this particular situation.Unfortunately that's an incorrect understanding of the WES evaluation. You may want to look up examples online to get a better understanding. They are very readily available. If your education was evaluated as the equivalent of a Master's, it would specifically state that on your WES report. Also a bit of tough love, more time is needed on your end researching and understanding the process. The immigration process takes quite a bit of work and you must put in that work if you are truly serious about moving here - or hire an immigration lawyer to do this work for you. You had misunderstandings on at least a couple of important fronts, including believing the WES results are guidance.
Which part? How to interpret ECA results? This is very clearly spelled out on the main IRCC web site (which is what you should be using) including results and how to interpret them.Do you have any recommendations on good, authoritative sites regarding the process? I've done countless hours of research and have seen nothing that addresses this particular situation.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/education-assessed/read-report.html
Hello, what was the resolution to this if you don't mind me asking? I have the exact same issue - I am a US doctorally-prepared Nurse Practitioner and received the same ECA from WES stating "Completion of advanced study and training in nursing" for my DNP. I have reached out to WES for clarification as I am facing the same problem with Express Entry as you have. I do not want to misrepresent myself, but there is no appropriate option to choose in creating the EE profile that corresponds with this ECA statement.Good morning. I am attempting to collect all the documentation needed to create an Express Entry profile and have encountered a confounding issue with my ECA.
A little background- I am a nurse practitioner in the U.S. and have been practicing as such for four years. In preparation for this position, I completed an advanced degree at a 'brick-and-mortar' university here. The program was BSN to Doctorate program, meaning that I went straight from my bachelor's degree to a doctorate, bypassing the more conventional master's degree step in between. My degree is Doctorate in Nursing Practice, which is a terminal degree in my field.
In studying the parameters for Express Entry, I have always had a question about whether I would be allowed to claim a doctorate degree, since my degree is technically DNP, instead of PhD or if I might have to select Master's degree for fewer points. I expected WES to clarify the matter on my ECA. What I didn't expect was the actual equivalency statement I got which was... "Completion of advanced study and training in nursing." No mention of a degree level at all even though the credential analysis portion does note that the degree is a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
So now I don't have a clue which education level to select on my Express Entry profile. I had a one-time consultation with an immigration specialist previously and he said he thought it would be the doctorate level but it occurs to me that this degree situation might be unusual. Obviously, I don't want to choose the wrong degree level and risk having my application rejected at some later date but at the same time, these 15-20 points will presumably make a big difference in the likelihood that I get selected. I am near the cutoff we have seen for healthcare draws in 2024.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Good morning. I'm happy to report that there is a fix for this issue... but it won't come from WES. Unless you have a much better response from WES than I had, you won't get a resolution there. I attempted to contact them through their online message system twice and then tried a phone call, which went to what I believe to be a contract call center that can only send messages along to WES (which they then don't answer).Hello, what was the resolution to this if you don't mind me asking? I have the exact same issue - I am a US doctorally-prepared Nurse Practitioner and received the same ECA from WES stating "Completion of advanced study and training in nursing" for my DNP. I have reached out to WES for clarification as I am facing the same problem with Express Entry as you have. I do not want to misrepresent myself, but there is no appropriate option to choose in creating the EE profile that corresponds with this ECA statement.
However- I do have some good news for you. After I failed with WES, I chose a different route and it worked. I would recommend using CES which is connected to the University of Toronto to do another ECA. I also sent transcripts for my Associates, Bachelors and Doctorate when I used CES, as opposed to simply doing my highest degree as recommended by WES. I wanted them to be able to see the entire flow of my studies.
The bad news is that it costs three times the money. The good news is that CES evaluated my degrees in about the same length of time as WES and gave me the equivalence of a doctorate. The exact equivalency outcome on my ECA from CES was 'Professional Doctorate degree from a recognized institution'.
Hope this helps and best of luck to you.
Thank you so much for your quick and helpful answer! I'm going to do exactly as you've suggested, probably no point in waiting around for WES, and I want the proper recognition for the education I've worked hard for! I hope you were able to apply for EE and that you get PR soon!Good morning. I'm happy to report that there is a fix for this issue... but it won't come from WES. Unless you have a much better response from WES than I had, you won't get a resolution there. I attempted to contact them through their online message system twice and then tried a phone call, which went to what I believe to be a contract call center that can only send messages along to WES (which they then don't answer).
However- I do have some good news for you. After I failed with WES, I chose a different route and it worked. I would recommend using CES which is connected to the University of Toronto to do another ECA. I also sent transcripts for my Associates, Bachelors and Doctorate when I used CES, as opposed to simply doing my highest degree as recommended by WES. I wanted them to be able to see the entire flow of my studies.
The bad news is that it costs three times the money. The good news is that CES evaluated my degrees in about the same length of time as WES and gave me the equivalence of a doctorate. The exact equivalency outcome on my ECA from CES was 'Professional Doctorate degree from a recognized institution'.
Hope this helps and best of luck to you.