Recommendations
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Before You Begin
Recommendations (sometimes called Letters of Evaluation, Letters of Reference, or Letters of Recommendation) are submitted by the recommmenders themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the recommmender. We are not responsible for verifying recommmenders' 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 recommendations are submitted electronically by recommmenders using Liaison Letters, our Recommender Portal.
- Research each program's requirements. You should determine whether your programs have specific requirements regarding recommmender roles or relationships before listing recommmenders on your application. Many programs have strict guidelines and completed recommendations cannot be removed or replaced.
- Choose your recommmenders early in the application process to ensure they have adequate time to submit your recommendation.
- Prepare your recommmenders. Once you choose your recommmenders, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the recommendation electronically. We recommend getting their preferred email address and asking that they monitor that inbox for your recommendation request (which will come from support@umhs.myliaison.com), including any junk or spam folders.
The Recommendation Process
When you request recommendations, your recommmender receives an email request with a link to Liaison Letters. Recommenders review your requests, and then accept, complete, or deny them. Recommenders may complete assessments such as writing essays, completing Likert scales, and/or uploading letters.
Once your recommmender completes your recommendation, you'll be notified via email. You can check the status of your recommendation requests in the Check Status tab of your application at any time.
Requirements
At least 2 recommendations must be received by UMHS for your application to be considered Complete. Recommendations can be requested either during the initial submission of your application or after the application has been submitted.
You can request a maximum of 10 recommendations. If you want to submit more, send those additional recommendations directly to your programs.
Committee Letters
If you want to submit a committee letter as part of your application, you can do so by entering the committee chair (or their alternate) as the recommmender. The committee chair must then complete the ratings section and upload one letter (that includes the assessments of various committee members) via Liaison Letters, the Recommender Portal. Note that a committee letter only counts as one recommendation and the individuals who contributed to the letter may not be used as additional recommmenders.
Submit a Request
- In the Recommendations section, click Create Recommendation Request.
- Select whether you are requesting a committee evaluation.
- Enter the recommmender's full name and email address.
- Select the date by which you would like this recommendation completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
- Enter a brief message or note for the recommmender.
- Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the recommendation. See Waiver below.
- Click the checkboxes to indicate your permission for us (and programs) to contact your recommmenders.
- Click Save This Recommendation Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the recommmender.
- Confirm with your recommmenders that they received the email notification.
- Use the Check Status tab to monitor the status of your recommendations. Completed recommendations are marked as "Complete" and have a Complete Date listed. Follow up with your recommmenders if their recommendations are still marked as "Requested" or "Accepted." It is your responsibility to ensure that recommendation requests are received and completed on time. We will not notify applicants about missing recommendations.
Resend the Recommendation Request
If you need to resend a request:
- In the Recommendations 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 Resend this Recommendation Request.
Change the Recommender's Email Address
If you entered an incorrect email address for any recommmenders (or if any recommmender 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 recommendations unless you choose to waive your right of inspection and review. Prior to requesting any recommendations, you are required to indicate whether you wish to waive your rights. UMHS will release your decision to waive or not waive access to your recommmenders and designated programs. Your waiver decision serves the same purpose as a legal signature and is binding.
Selecting Yes indicates to programs that your recommmender completed their recommendation 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 recommendation. Programs may view this type of recommendation as a more accurate representation of an applicant's qualifications.
Selecting No indicates to programs that your recommmender completed their recommendation with the understanding that you may choose to view it in the future. Selecting this option does not allow you to view your recommendation via the application. If you do not waive your right to view the recommendation, you may ask your recommmender for a copy of the recommendation. Programs may view this type of recommendation 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.
Requesting Letters of Recommendation from Interfolio
Review these detailed instructions on requesting letters of recommendation 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 UMHS 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.