The College of Idaho

Clients:
Credential file service is available to all The College of Idaho alumni with careers in education, those who have completed 12 credits of student teaching through The College of Idaho and to graduating students majoring in education.

Fees:
Credential file service costs $40 for one calendar year (Jan. 1-Dec. 1). Service includes a subscription to the Opportunities in Education Online bulletin (hard copy mailing), any updating of the credential file and 10 mailings to prospective employers. (If additional mailings are required in a calendar year, a subscriber will receive 10 more mailings for a fee of $40.) A single file may be requested for a $5 fee. However, the $5 fee option is not possible unless the file is up-to-date and can be mailed as is, whether it is active or inactive. We will not provide service without pre-payment. Anytime a file, or part of a file is reproduced and mailed, it is considered a mailing.

Service Year:
A file is active from the day the $40 subscription fee is paid through December 31 of the year, no matter when the file is opened.

Opening A New File:
As a graduating senior, you will receive 6 months of free service from the date of your graduation. This service entitles you to have five credential file mailings to prospective employers. Education majors will also receive a mailing of the Opportunities in Education Online bulletin for six months.

Alumni clients may open a file by requesting the appropriate packet of materials. Upon receipt of the general information forms, letters of recommendation and $40 fee, the file is considered active and ready for mailing.

Reactivating A Credential File:
Every file is inactive on December 31 of a calendar year. On January 1 of a new calendar year, any file may be reactivated with a request for reactivation forms. Upon receipt of these forms, any new letters of recommendation the client wants in the active file, and a $40 fee, the file is considered active and ready for mailing.

Updating A Credential File:
It is recommended that a credential file be as up-to-date as possible before requesting to have the file sent to employers. A credential file may have letters of reference added to the file at any time.

Credential File Set Up Information:
Fill out one copy of each of the three education information forms exactly as you wish them to appear when your file is sent to prospective employers. You may download these forms at http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/forms/Doc3.pdf. These forms are available in a "print only" format and cannot be submitted online. Please sign, date and return the forms to Career Services via mail or fax: 208-459-5849. Note: These forms are copied and sent to prospective employers just as you submit them. Therefore, it is important for you to complete the forms without error.

If the space under any heading is insufficient for the necessary information, please note on the form "See Attached Sheet" and record the information on another sheet with headings corresponding to the headings on the printed form.

Opportunities in Education Online Bulletin:
This listing of job openings is published weekly and contains a listing of openings in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The bulletin can be accessed online at the The College of Idaho website: www.collegeofidaho.edu/saf/teacher/edjobs.htm at no cost. If you prefer to have the bulletin mailed to you, there is a fee of $25 per year. Non-alumni may subscribe to this bulletin for a $40 fee.

Transcripts:
Transcripts must be ordered directly from the registrar's office. A transcript is not official unless it comes from the registrar's office. Payment of the credential file fee does not include transcripts. We do not send transcripts. Please see "General Recommendations" section (below) and "Transcripts and Credential Files" memorandum.

Confidentiality:
A file may have either confidential or non-confidential status. A confidential file may not be viewed by the client and recommendations may not be summarized for the client by career service staff. A non-confidential file may be viewed by the client. The policy and the appropriate forms for setting up either a confidential or non-confidential file can be found in "Options for Establishing a Credential File."

General Recommendations:
Keep a copy of all materials in your file. This way it's easy for you to review what is in your credential file and decide when you need to update it. In addition, keep a list of the individuals who are on your active recommendation list. It is also advisable for you to keep a copy of your transcript. This can be an unofficial copy; often a school district will accept an unofficial transcript in the initial screening process. We cannot send a transcript, official or unofficial, as part of your credential file.

Credential File Policies:
In order to maintain the integrity of all credential files, Career Services does not issue copies of confidential files to registrants for hand carrying to employers. We do not send files to employment agencies, private residences, or unknown enterprises.

Career Services retains teaching files for 20 years. If a file shows no activity within a 20-year period, it is destroyed.

The following types of materials are not appropriate for credential files and will not be included in the file: transcripts, copies of certificates, diplomas, newspaper or magazine articles, pictures, military rating forms, and graduate school recommendations.

Employers do not like to wade through quantities of outdated or redundant material. Please keep your file to a reasonable length. If your file becomes too bulky, we will request you determine the most important recommendations and teacher rating forms and remove the rest. Material that is removed may be deleted or placed in a section of the file that is not mailed.