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Career Services’ New Partnership with Interfolio
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September 8, 2009, Volume 56, No. 02

Career Services is happy to announce our partnership with Interfolio, Inc. as the provider of web-based credentials file management for the Penn community. Interfolio is well-established as the premier online credentials management service for students, alumni/ae and recommendation writers. Most of our peer institutions, including five Ivy schools, have established similar partnerships with Interfolio, and have found that service has improved as a result.  In fact, many Penn students and alumni/ae already had Interfolio accounts prior to our partnership. 

Please Note: Pre-Health applicants will continue to use the Career Services Credentials system, whether they are working with Career Services Pre-Health Advisors, or taking post-bac classes through the College of Liberal and Professional Studies. With the exception of pre-health, Career Services will no longer handle student and alumni recommendation files.

Interfolio allows candidates to create and manage a portfolio of their credentials, including confidential and non-confidential letters of recommendation, which they can use to apply to a wide array of opportunities. With Interfolio students and alumni can store nearly any type of document, including letters of recommendation, teacher evaluations, writing samples, unofficial transcripts, and more.

Interfolio also makes the application process easier for recommendation writers:

Convenience and Ease of Use:

• Letter writers may upload their documents electronically into Interfolio’s safe and secure system, or choose to mail or fax letters if they do not wish to upload them directly.

• Letter writers retain access to uploaded documents. Your free Interfolio writer’s account gives you access to all uploaded documents, so you can check on their status or easily make updates.

Reliability and Security:

• Interfolio manually reviews every letter once upon receipt and again prior to delivery to ensure accuracy and legitimacy.

• Letter writers can personally verify the authenticity of documents they upload electronically through writer accounts.

• Interfolio is FERPA compliant and uses multiple layers of technological security to ensure that confidential documents stay that way. Students cannot read closed or confidential letters. 

• Robust technological safeguards, including SSL encryption, keep stored documents secure, and private. Digital backups are stored at a secure, off-site location to further protect important documents.

You can read Interfolio’s Privacy Policies and Security information on their website:  www.interfolio.com

Many recommendations must now be submitted directly and electronically to graduate programs. In fact, ETS has recently established their own electronic recommendation service, using the Interfolio platform.  Penn students using Interfolio will not have to establish a new account to use the ETS service. 

Interfolio charges students a small ($19) annual fee, or $40 for three years. Mailing fees are equivalent to Career Services’ pricing for US mail, but are lower for electronic delivery. Additional options are available for overnight and second day delivery, and for rush processing. 

As part of their service, Interfolio provides students and alumni at no additional cost a web-based portfolio, which will allow candidates to present  documents in support of their applications, such as teaching materials or design sheets. We will be orienting students to both the credentials service and the portfolio in the next few months.

We have transferred active files electronically to Interfolio, and upon student request, we will transfer any file, so you do not have to re-send any recommendations you have previously submitted. 

We think both recommenders and candidates will be very pleased with Interfolio. To learn more, or to open a free writer’s account, please go to www.interfolio.com/writer_overview.html.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Career Services.

—Patricia Rose, Director, Career Services

Almanac - September 8, 2009, Volume 56, No. 02