Evaluations

Evaluations (sometimes called Letters of Evaluation, Letters of Reference, or Letters of Recommendation) are submitted by the evaluators themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the evaluator. We are not responsible for verifying evaluators' identities. If a discrepancy is found, we reserve the right to contact the appropriate individuals to investigate and to share the discrepancy with all programs.

Before getting started, consider the following:

• All evaluations are submitted electronically by evaluators using Liaison Letters, our Recommender Portal.
• Research each program's requirements. You should determine whether your programs have specific requirements regarding evaluator roles or relationships before listing evaluators on your application. Many programs have strict guidelines and completed evaluations cannot be removed or replaced.
• Choose your evaluators early in the application process to ensure they have adequate time to submit your evaluation.
• Prepare your evaluators. Once you choose your evaluators, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the evaluation electronically. We recommend getting their preferred email address and asking that they monitor that inbox for your evaluation request (which will come from support@adeaaadsas.myliaison.com), including any junk or spam folders.

1. In the Evaluations section, click Create Evaluation Request.
2. Select whether you are requesting a committee evaluation.
3. Enter the evaluator's full name and email address.
4. Select the date by which you would like this evaluation completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
5. Enter a brief message or note for the evaluator.
6. Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the evaluation. See Waiver below.
7. Click the checkboxes to indicate your permission for us (and programs) to contact your evaluators.
8. Click Save This Evaluation Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the evaluator.
9. Confirm with your evaluators that they received the email notification.
10. Use the Check Status tab to monitor the status of your evaluations. Completed evaluations are marked as "Complete" and have a Complete Date listed. Follow up with your evaluators if their evaluations are still marked as "Requested" or "Accepted." It is your responsibility to ensure that evaluation requests are received and completed on time. We will not notify applicants about missing evaluations.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law that provides certain rights to students who are attending post-secondary education institutions, including the right to inspect and review education records. Under FERPA, unless you choose to waive your right to inspect and review, you will have a right to access evaluations submitted with your application after you begin attendance at a dental school if that school saves applicants’ evaluations post-enrollment. Prior to requesting any evaluations, you are required to indicate whether you wish to waive the rights you will have under FERPA after you are admitted to and attending a school. ADEA AADSAS will release to your evaluators and designated programs your decision to waive or not waive access. Your waiver decision serves the same purpose as a legal signature and is binding.

Selecting Yes indicates to programs that your evaluator completed their evaluation with the understanding that you would not be able to view it. This means you will not be able to see the content of the evaluation. Programs may view an evaluation for which you have waived your right of access as a more accurate representation of your qualifications.

Selecting No indicates to programs that your evaluator completed their evaluation with the understanding that you may choose to view it in the future after you obtain the right to do so under FERPA. Selecting this option does not allow you to view your evaluation during the application process as FERPA does not give you the right to inspect evaluations submitted to a school until you are admitted to and attending that school. If you do not waive your right to view the evaluation, you may ask your evaluator for a copy of the evaluation, although your evaluator is not obligated to provide a copy. Programs may view an evaluation for which you have not waived your right of access as a less accurate representation of your qualifications.

Once you make a selection, you can't change it, so consider the choices carefully.

Review these detailed instructions on requesting letters of evaluation from Interfolio. Note that when you request Interfolio to submit letters on your behalf, you are initially requesting confidential letters from your account that you cannot view. Each letter is assigned a unique email address that you must enter in the ADEA AADSAS application. Click the letter's title to view the email address (e.g., send.Sample.87E56D6B04@interfolio.com), then enter the address into the application.