PhORCAS Program Materials

Overview

The Program Materials section includes additional information and requirements for the programs you selected in the My Programs tab. Each program's requirements may vary, so it's important you review this section in detail.

Your selected programs are listed in the Program Materials quadrant. Click the arrow next to the program name to expand it. Then, click the Details, Documents, or Program Evaluations links to begin your review.

Details

Documents

Program Evaluations

The Program Evaluations tab is available for programs that require you to submit program evaluations.

Before You Begin

Program 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 program 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 program program evaluations cannot be removed or replaced. Refer to the Participating Programs Directory for more information.
Prepare your evaluators. Once you choose your evaluators, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the program evaluation electronically. We recommend getting their preferred email address and asking that they monitor that inbox for your program evaluation request (which will come from support@phorcas.myliaison.com), including any junk or spam folders.

The Program Evaluation Process

When you request program evaluations, your evaluator receives an email request with a link to Liaison Letters. Evaluators review your requests, and then accept, complete, or deny them. Evaluators may complete assessments such as writing essays, completing Likert scales, and/or uploading letters.

Once your evaluator completes your program evaluation, you'll be notified via email. You can check the status of your program evaluation requests in the Statuses section of your application at any time.

PhORCAS also saves your evaluator information. After you add evaluator information once, you can select those evaluators from your list and add them for other programs.

Submit a Request

In the Program Evaluations section, click the plus sign to add a program evaluation.
If you have requested evaluators before, select Previous Evaluator, and choose your evaluator from the list. Otherwise, select New Evaluator.
Enter the evaluator's full name and email address, if necessary.
Select the date by which you would like this program evaluation completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
Enter a brief message for the evaluator.
Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the program evaluation. See Waiver below.
Click the sliders to indicate your permission for us (and schools) to contact your evaluators.
Click Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the evaluator.
Confirm with your evaluators that they received the email notification.
Use the Program Status Details section to monitor the status of your program evaluations. Completed program evaluations are marked as "Complete" and have a Complete Date listed. Follow up with your evaluators if their program evaluations are still marked as "Requested" or "Accepted." It is your responsibility to ensure that program evaluation requests are received and completed on time. We will not notify applicants about missing program evaluations.

Resend the Program Evaluation Request

If you need to resend a request:

In the Program Evaluations section, locate the request you wish to resend.
Click the pencil icon to edit the request.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Re-send.

Change the Evaluator's Email Address

If you entered an incorrect email address for any evaluators (or if any evaluator asks that you send the request to a different email address), you must delete these requests and then re-add them with the correct email.

Waiver

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) gives you the right to access program evaluations unless you choose to waive your right of inspection and review. Prior to requesting any program evaluations, you are required to indicate whether you wish to waive your rights. PhORCAS will release your decision to waive or not waive access to your evaluators and designated programs. Your waiver decision serves the same purpose as a legal signature and is binding.

Selecting Yes indicates to programs that your evaluator completed their program 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 program evaluation. Programs may view this type of program evaluation as a more accurate representation of an applicant's qualifications.

Selecting No indicates to programs that your evaluator completed their program evaluation with the understanding that you may choose to view it in the future. Selecting this option does not allow you to view your program evaluation via the application. If you do not waive your right to view the program evaluation, you may ask your evaluator for a copy of the program evaluation. Programs may view this type of program evaluation as a less accurate representation of an applicant's qualifications.

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