What is a Credential File?

• A permanent file established by you to support your application for employment and/or graduate school.
• Includes your letters of recommendation and student teacher evaluations.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 gives you the right to establish a file, which contains both confidential and non-confidential letters of recommendation. Those designated non-confidential may be reviewed by you. Those to which you waive your right of access (confidential) will NOT be shown to you once they are received in the University Career Center. Please understand that once you have waived your right to access you may not later revoke that waiver. It is permanent and you may never see that form or letter.

Your credential file is very often the first impression that an employer will have of you. Neatness and accuracy are important, thus it is best to type the forms. The University Career Center has a typewriter in the Resource Room. If you cannot type them, then fill them out in very neat handwriting. If yours is unreadable, ask someone with legible handwriting do it.  Also, find someone to do a test read, since most of us can read our own handwriting (no matter how bad) while others will not be able to do it.

Fees
Current students and recent graduates (within 6 months of graduation date)
$20.00, includes 5 mailings IF the file is established within 6 months of graduation.
Additional mailings, $5 each.
Additional mailings 12 months after graduation, $7.00 each.

UM, College Park Alumni (individuals who have been graduates for more than 6 months)
$20.00, which includes 3 mailings within 12 months of establishing the file Additional mailings $7.00 each.

Payments must be made by check or money order payable to the University of Maryland, with your social security number included on the check. No cash accepted.

Letters of Recommendation
You MUST use the recommendation forms provided by the University Career Center. On the top of the form is a box to check whether you waive (confidential) or retain (non- confidential) your rights to read that letter. SIGN the statement acknowledging your choice before you give it to your recommender! IDENTIFY references for employment and/or graduate/professional schools and inform them of the type of reference (confidential or non-confidential) that you are requesting.

TALK with your chosen recommenders to discuss the purpose of the letter and to provide any additional information about your employment or graduate school objectives. Writers of your letters must also sign where indicated. Letters may be typed either (a) on our forms or (b) accompanied by our forms, with all sections completed and signed in the appropriate spaces. All confidential letters must be received directly from the authors by our office. (You may wish to provide writers a stamped envelope addressed to the University Career Center to facilitate this process.)

There are five Letter of Recommendation forms in the packet. You may choose to have one or all letters sent in any mailing. Approximately three to four weeks after you have given the forms to your recommenders, you may want to contact our office to determine which letters have been received. It is your responsibility to follow-up with writers, who have not submitted their letters.

Transcripts
Neither transcripts, nor copies of transcripts, are included in the credential file. Official transcripts should be requested, as needed, from the Records and Registration Office, or at the Mitchell Bldg, 1st floor.

Requests to Mail
Requests to mail your credential file must be initiated by you and must be made in writing with your signature. Faxed requests are accepted (Fax: 301-314-9114). All requests must contain complete addresses, including zip codes, and be signed by you with your student ID number included. Please allow 5 working days from when we receive your written request for your file to be mailed.

NOTE deadlines for submission of credentials.
We do not accept verbal requests nor send files by special delivery or overnight mail. To protect your file information, requests from employers or graduate schools are not honored. Be sure to indicate to them that you will arrange to have your file mailed.

Deleting Materials
Any materials you wish to delete from your file must be accompanied by your signed and dated written request for such action.

Length of Time File May be Maintained
Once you have established your file you can use it indefinitely, provided you keep it active. This may be accomplished by (1) adding new or updating materials, (2) removing or replacing old materials, (3) requesting the file to be mailed, or (5) through some type of correspondence or verbal communication directly from you indicating your wish to know what is in your file or your desire to keep it active.

You are responsible for keeping your file active and encouraged to update materials that will make the file current and useful. Files that have not been kept active in one of the ways described above will be archived after four consecutive years of inactivity. You WILL NOT be contacted at that time. There is an additional fee to retrieve an archived credential file from the State Archives.

Teacher Education Majors
Student teaching evaluations are a crucial part of your file. You are required to sign these evaluations and to indicate if you want them to be a part of your credential file. Student teaching evaluations are sent directly from the College of Education to our office after you sign the evaluation authorizing its release. You must complete our credential file registration process (including payment of the registration fee) to establish your credential file to house these evaluations. Student teaching evaluations received by the University Career Center will be archived after 6 months if a file has not been formally established.