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Southern Arkansas University: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language
Southern Arkansas University asks transfer and graduate applicants with college work done abroad for a course-by-course evaluation with GPA from IEE, WES, Educational Perspectives, SpanTran or another agency approved by the Arkansas Department of Education, sent to the university officially; first-year applicants upload their secondary transcripts in English. Southern Arkansas's evaluation agencies, such as IEE, WES and Educational Perspectives, accept certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary. The translation comes first: the agency needs it before it can evaluate a transcript that is not in English, and the agency, not eVerbary, then sends the evaluation to SAU.
Course-by-course with GPA
Required for any college work done outside the US.
$230 IEE option
Graduate applicants can have IEE evaluate through SAU.
Sent officially
Do not upload or mail the evaluation yourself.
Southern Arkansas requirements at a glance
| What Southern Arkansas asks for | |
|---|---|
| Translation | SAU publishes no translation rule of its own. Its international pages ask for secondary transcripts "in English" and send college records to an evaluation agency (International undergraduate admission steps). |
| Who may translate | Set by the evaluation agency: WES wants a professional translator (WES), IEE a certified translator (IEE), Educational Perspectives a reputable agency or certified translator (EP), SpanTran an ATA-certified translator (SpanTran). |
| Evaluation | Course-by-course with GPA from IEE, WES, Educational Perspectives (SAU writes "Educational Perspective"), SpanTran, or another private agency approved by the Arkansas Department of Education (graduate criteria, undergraduate criteria). |
| Graduate admission | The evaluation has to show a degree equivalent to a US bachelor's. Pay the $90 application fee and arrange the evaluation yourself, or pay $230 to have IEE evaluate your official foreign transcripts through SAU (International graduate admission steps and fees). |
| First-year applicants | Upload official secondary transcripts in English to the application; students from countries using the WAEC exam add the scratch card (International undergraduate admission steps). Photocopies may be accepted for a time if certified by an American Embassy official or a known world organization (International undergraduate admissions criteria). |
| Delivery | Transcripts from abroad and evaluations go to SAU officially; SAU says not to upload or mail evaluations yourself (International undergraduate admissions criteria). |
| Transfer credit | Your former university sends an official transcript and an evaluation agency assesses it (FAQ). |
| Does it accept eVerbary? | Yes. Southern Arkansas asks for an evaluation from IEE, WES, Educational Perspectives or SpanTran (graduate admission, undergraduate admission), and WES accepts a certified translation from a professional translation service (WES translation rules); IEE accepts one from a certified translator (IEE FAQ) and Educational Perspectives one from a reputable translation agency (Educational Perspectives). SpanTran asks for a translator certified by ATA (The Evaluation Company (SpanTran): translations). Policy checked on October 13, 2026. |
Checked on October 13, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page. Policies change: confirm on Southern Arkansas's own page before you submit.
Two ways to get the graduate evaluation
SAU's international graduate application offers a choice of fee. With the regular $90 fee you order the evaluation yourself from one of the listed agencies and have it sent to SAU. With the $230 fee, SAU has IEE evaluate your official foreign transcripts for you (International graduate admission steps and fees). Either way the report has to be course-by-course with a GPA and show the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree, or the application is not considered.
SAU's page does not say how translations are handled on the $230 route. IEE's own rule is that it does not accept translations made by the applicant, by a notary public, or by a translator who is not certified; translations from a university or the embassy in your home country are generally acceptable, and IEE sells its own translation for $60 a page, which extends its evaluation time by two business days (IEE FAQ, IEE translation). If your transcripts are not in English, ask the International Office whether to send the translation to SAU or to IEE.
What each evaluation agency asks for the translation
WES asks for an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator, in the same order as the original; it does not accept translations by applicants and does not translate (WES). IEE requires a certified translator, as above. Educational Perspectives accepts a translation from a reputable agency or a certified professional translator and also sells its own (EP).
SpanTran, now The Evaluation Company, asks that an outside translator be certified by the American Translators Association, or that you buy its in-house translation after the application is complete (The Evaluation Company (SpanTran): translations). If you choose SpanTran, see the ATA section below. SAU also accepts other agencies approved by the Arkansas Department of Education; each sets its own translation rule, so check it before you order.
High school records: "in English"
For first-year applicants SAU asks only that secondary transcripts be uploaded in English, with a 2.0 minimum GPA, and names no evaluation (International undergraduate admission steps). Its pages do not say whether a translation of a transcript issued in another language is accepted, or who may make it. If your school issues transcripts only in another language, confirm with SAU's international admissions office before you order a translation.
Documents applicants usually translate
- University transcripts (mark sheets) for every year, for the course-by-course evaluation
- Degree certificate or diploma, which the evaluation needs to show a bachelor's equivalent for graduate admission
- Secondary school transcripts and leaving certificate
- WAEC or other national exam results
What an eVerbary translation includes
- A complete English translation of every page, stamps, seals and handwritten notes included, laid out like the original so each line can be matched.
- Grades exactly as recorded, with the grading scale the document prints. We never convert marks to a US GPA.
- A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload.
- $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, certification included; 24 hours for one to three pages as standard. Regular clients who need it can get delivery in as little as 30 minutes, on request.
Uploading the translation to Southern Arkansas
For college records the translation goes to the agency, not to SAU: WES takes uploads in your WES account (WES); IEE, Educational Perspectives and SpanTran take it with the evaluation application. The agency then sends the course-by-course report to SAU's International Student Services officially (International undergraduate admission steps, International undergraduate admissions criteria).
First-year applicants upload secondary transcripts in the SAU application portal (International undergraduate admission steps).
If you need a translator certified by ATA
Some offices accept only a translator who is personally certified by the American Translators Association (ATA). eVerbary assigns one on request, for the languages ATA certifies into English: Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian at $34.95 per page, and Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Danish and Persian at $44.95 per page.
To order it, ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for Southern Arkansas, which program it is for, and that you need a translator individually certified by ATA, plus anything else the office asks for (notarization, delivery by email to the office). We confirm the price and the translator before you pay. ATA does not certify other languages into English, so no translator anywhere holds ATA certification for them. For those languages we provide a notarized certified translation instead, at $44.95 per page plus notarization ($34.90 per order); ask the office to confirm it accepts that, and write its answer in the quote notes.
What we do not do
eVerbary is a translation service, not a credential evaluation service: we do not issue evaluations, US equivalencies or GPA conversions, and we cannot send documents on behalf of the school that issued them. For Southern Arkansas that means we translate your transcripts and degree certificates; the course-by-course evaluation with GPA is ordered by you from IEE, WES, Educational Perspectives or SpanTran after the translation (or through SAU's $230 IEE option), and the agency sends it to SAU.
How to order
- Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
- Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
- Receive the PDF, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages, and upload it with the copy of the original wherever the institution asks for it.
Sources
Southern Arkansas University's own pages, read on October 13, 2026. Enrollment figure: Open Doors 2025 (IIE), master's colleges and universities hosting the most international students in 2024/25: number 20, with 1,515 students.
- International undergraduate admission steps (saumag.edu)
- International undergraduate admissions criteria
- International graduate admission steps and fees
- International graduate admissions criteria
- International FAQ
- WES: translation requirements
- IEE: FAQ (translations)
- IEE: translation services
- Educational Perspectives: translation services
- The Evaluation Company (SpanTran): translations
Frequently asked questions
Does Southern Arkansas need a translation of my foreign transcripts?
SAU publishes no translation rule. For college work it needs an agency evaluation (International graduate admission steps and fees), and the agencies need an English translation of records not in English first; WES, for example, asks for a professional translation (WES: translation requirements).
Which evaluation agencies does SAU accept?
IEE, WES, Educational Perspectives and SpanTran, or another private agency approved by the Arkansas Department of Education. The report must be course-by-course with GPA (International graduate admissions criteria).
What is the $230 application fee?
Graduate applicants can pay $230 instead of the $90 fee to have IEE evaluate their official foreign transcripts through SAU (International graduate admission steps and fees).
Can I upload my evaluation to the application?
No. SAU wants evaluations and transcripts from abroad sent officially and says not to upload or mail them yourself (International undergraduate admissions criteria).
Can eVerbary provide an ATA-certified translator for a SpanTran evaluation?
Yes, on request. Ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for a SpanTran evaluation for Southern Arkansas and needs a translator individually certified by ATA. ATA certifies Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian ($34.95 per page) and Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Danish and Persian ($44.95 per page) into English; no other languages.
Will eVerbary convert my grades to a US GPA?
No. The translation reproduces the grades and the grading scale exactly as they appear. A GPA conversion is credential evaluation, which the institution or an evaluation agency does.
Translating documents for Southern Arkansas?
Upload a scan of your transcript or diploma and see the price and delivery time before you pay.