PhORCAS Program Materials

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.

1. In the Program Evaluations section, click the plus sign to add a program evaluation.
2. If you have requested evaluators before, select Previous Evaluator, and choose your evaluator from the list. Otherwise, select New Evaluator.
3. Enter the evaluator's full name and email address, if necessary.
4. Select the date by which you would like this program 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 program evaluation. See Waiver below.
7. Click the sliders to indicate your permission for us (and schools) to contact your evaluators.
8. Click Save 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 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.