ECE® Aid is our philanthropic initiative offering free reports for refugees and other displaced populations.

A collage highlighting diverse ECE aid recipients on a background featuring postal stamps and script.

The ECE® Aid program initially launched in August 2016 with the intention of opening the door to education for refugees and asylum seekers.

The scope has expanded to include those with temporary protected status, special immigrant status, and those affected by natural disasters or extreme hardship.

How it works

Green checkmark icon used in the context of explaining how ECE aid works. ECE® Aid recipients receive the same trusted, high-quality evaluation reports and customer service that students, professionals, and higher education institutions have come to expect from ECE.

Green checkmark icon used in the context of explaining how ECE aid works. We select experienced, trusted, higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to distribute fee waiver vouchers to eligible persons. ECE does not provide free reports directly to individuals. Learn more about our participating institutions and organizations.

Green checkmark icon used in the context of explaining how ECE aid works. After a voucher is distributed, the recipient fills out and submits our standard ECE® online application form, enters the coupon code included on the voucher, and sends in the required academic documents for evaluation.

Green checkmark icon used in the context of explaining how ECE aid works. ECE® Aid vouchers cover 100% of the cost for services provided by ECE.

Green checkmark icon used in the context of explaining how ECE aid works. ECE understands that issues can emerge anywhere in the world due to circumstances caused by conflict, natural disasters, and general upheaval. To that end, we place no limitations on eligibility based on which country an ECE® Aid recipient is from.

“For 40 years ECE has been ensuring that foreign-educated people are respected and recognized for their educational achievements. In a time of uncertainty and turmoil, we have the opportunity to make a real and meaningful difference in people’s lives and help build a strong, diverse and productive society. Refugees face many barriers as they pursue getting to this country and starting or continuing an education. Waiving fees for credential evaluation is a small piece of the puzzle, but we hope it can be a very welcoming gesture as they start their journeys.”

- Margit Schatzman, ECE^® President

ECE® Aid Emergency Response

At ECE, like you, we’ve been touched by the events in Afghanistan, Haiti, and most recently in Ukraine. We know that higher education institutions, government entities, and private organizations all make a difference in the lives of those impacted by harsh natural disasters and human-caused calamities.

ECE took immediate steps to support its allies in international education and refugee resettlement and we are in communication with participants of the ECE® Aid program who are planning to assist refugees with further education and employment opportunities. 

Through our ECE® Aid participants:

ECE donated 55 fee waivers for Afghan refugees and 25 for Ukrainian refugees.
ECE donated 25 fee waivers for the Healthcare response at the beginning of COVID for medical professionals looking to enter medical fields.

Our research staff have updated and shared our resources on Afghanistan, Haiti, and Ukraine so educational institutions can serve displaced people more effectively.

When the need arises ECE is there to help.

For more information and resources about international education assistance efforts in Wisconsin and beyond, check out this recent presentation:

ECE® Aid Stories

Learn about some of the individuals who have been impacted by ECE® Aid gifts.

Tarig's Story

Tarig's Story Image

Determined to provide for his small family, Tarig contacted Upwardly Global, a trusted participating organization of ECE^®Aid. They awarded Tarig with an ECE^® Aid fee waiver, and he has just begun using his ECE evaluation to look for jobs in his profession.

–Tarig O.

Lutheran Family Services' Story

ECE helped Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains assist refugees, asylees, and victims of trafficking obtain employment in the United States. With ECE Aid's help, refugees with master's degrees in Teaching, PhDs in Civil Engineering, degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and degrees in Industrial Design have been able to plan for their futures again.

- Katy, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains

Rehab's Story

Rehab's Story Image Rehab was awarded a fee waiver through Upwardly Global and received her completed credential evaluation soon after sending her educational documents to ECE. While she job hunts, Rehab has decided to utilize volunteering as her way to master the English language.

- Rehab

Nidal's Story

Nidal's Story Image Nidal is an agricultural engineer from Syria, who hopes to use our evaluation report to pursue organic farming at Michigan State University.

- Nidal

Yasmeen's Story

As part of a minority group, Yasmeen along with her husband and two daughters decided they needed to leave Pakistan due to threats against them and safety concerns for their children. After arriving in America, she used ECE to improve her study and work toward become a teacher in America.

-Yasmeen