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NOTICES & ALERTS APPLICANT NEWSLETTER APRIL/MAY 2007
Online Application System Gets a Makeover and a New Name — CGFNS Connect! CGFNS Connect, formerly the Online Application System launched on March 9, 2007. The graphics associated with CGFNS Connect have been updated to reflect CGFNS''s overall website. Applicants visiting CGFNS Connect will experience cleaner, simpler, and more attractive webscreens throughout the online application system. Check it out!
Re-Process Expired Order Fees Go Into Effect On May 1, 2007. Beginning May 1, 2006, applicants were given 12 months to meet the requirements of the program before the order is expired. The 12-month deadline is now approaching. Once an order is expired, an applicant can re-apply and pay a second year re-process fee. Re-process orders will remain open for 12 months starting from the date the re-process order is placed. A re-process order cannot be placed until the previous order has been expired. No re-process orders will be accepted prior to May 1, 2007. Executive Order Issued in the Philippines Authorizing Partial Re-take of June 2006 Philippine Nursing Licensure Examinations March 12, 2007 — Philippine President Gloria M. Arroyo issued an Executive Order authorizing a partial re-take of the June 2006 Philippine nursing licensure examinations. This Order, as the "Whereas" sections make clear, was in response to the announcement by CGFNS on February 14, 2007, that nurses who were licensed in the Philippines pursuant to the June 2006 examinations would not be eligible for VisaScreen certification unless the June passers re-took and passed the equivalent of the compromised Tests 3 and 5 of those examinations. What follows are answers to the Frequently Asked Questions CGFNS has received regarding this subject. Does passage of the NCLEX or the CGFNS Exam make someone who passed only the June 2006 Exam eligible for a VisaScreen Certificate? No. In order to become eligible for a VisaScreen Certificate, CGFNS has required that a June 2006 passer must first re-take and pass, with a score of 75 percent or better, the “special voluntary examination” covering the subject matter of Tests 3 and 5. Passage of the NCLEX or the CGFNS Examination by any passer of the compromised June 2006 PRC examination will not substitute for the requirement that he or she take the “special voluntary examination” authorized by Executive Order 609 issued by the Philippine Government on March 12, 2007. Does the CGFNS decision have an effect on the validity of the Philippine nursing licensure? No. CGFNS recognizes the validity of the Philippine nursing license obtained by the June 2006 passers. The CGFNS decision to deny issuing a VisaScreen Certificate to the June 2006 passers of the Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination relates only to their status under U.S. immigration law. When must I re-take Tests 3 and 5 to be eligible for a VisaScreen Certificate? June, 2006 — Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination test passers must re-take Tests 3 and 5 as provided in Executive Order 609 stating that a “special voluntary examination” for this purpose will be given both in June and December, 2007. A June 2006 passer may take this special voluntary examination in either one of those months, at the examinee’s choice. Executive Order 609 does not authorize re-takes of Tests 3 and 5 after December 2007. What score do I have to get in order to be eligible for VisaScreen Certificate? You must obtain a passing score of 75 percent or better on each Test. An average score of 75 -- in which one score is above 75 and one below 75 -- will not be sufficient to qualify for VisaScreen certification. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has recommended that the June 2006 passers should re-take the entire licensure examination, even though CGFNS requires a re-take of only Tests 3 and 5. Which path should I follow? To gain eligibility for VisaScreen certification, which is a pre-requisite to obtaining a U.S. occupational visa, you should meet the standard set by CGFNS, i.e., retaking Tests 3 and 5 before the end of 2007. ANA has clarified its position by stating that "ANA recognizes the CGFNS'' position that successful retake of Tests #3 and #5 is an acceptable remedy to meet the needs of a VisaScreen Certificate." If I take the re-take of Tests 3 and 5 in June 2007, and I fail to get a score of 75 in one or both tests, can I re-take one or both Tests in December 2007? No. After you have re-taken Tests 3 and 5 once in a “special voluntary examination,” no further re-take is authorized by the Executive Order of the Philippine Government. If I pass Tests 3 and 5 in 2007, what other things must I do to obtain a VisaScreen Certificate? Detailed information about the requirements for a VisaScreen Certificate are available on this website at http://www.cgfns.org/files/pdf/req/vs-requirements.pdf Order Processing Fee Now Required for Select CGFNS Services Beginning on January 1, 2007, CGFNS began charging an Order Processing Fee of $50 for select CGFNS services, in addition to the published application fee. The Order Processing Fee defrays operational cost increases associated with energy, transportation, mail services, electronic record management, and technology enhancements for the secure transmission of doc-uments. The Order Processing fee and application fee must be paid within 60 days of submitting the application. Both fees are non-refundable. The Order Processing Fee applies to the following services: VisaScreen?? Initial Certificate (valid for five years) VisaScreen?? Renewal Certificate Certification Program: Initial Applicant: CGFNS Qualifying Exam, Credentials Review, English Language Proficiency Credentials e-valuation Service: Full Education Course-by-Course Report Credentials e-valuation Service: Healthcare Profession & Science Report Credential Verification Service for New York State (CVS) Click here to view the 2007 CGFNS Fee Schedule. CGFNS opens new exam centers in China The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS International) is pleased to announce that it is opening three new exam centers in China, in addition to the current exam site in Beijing, beginning with the July 11, 2007 CGFNS Qualifying Exam. The new exam centers in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu are currently scheduled to be open for the July 11, 2007 exam. The exam center number assigned for Shanghai is # 808; the exam center number assigned for Guangzhou is # 809; and the exam center number assigned for Chengdu is # 811. The exam center number assigned to Beijing is # 801. Applicants who are interested in taking the July Qualifying Exam in any of the four exam sites in China need to indicate the appropriate exam center number as their choice of exam center on their Certification Program application. The dates and deadlines for the CGFNS Qualifying Exam in 2007 are as follows: Exam Deadline for Application July 11, 2007 April 11, 2007 (extended to May 11, 2007) November 14, 2007 August 15, 2007 To obtain an application for the Certification Program (CGFNS Qualifying Exam) or for additional information about CGFNS and its services, contact: Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2651 USA; telephone: (215) 349-8767; website: www.cgfns.org. Average Lengths of Time to Receive Required doc-umentation, Review Applicant Files, and Process Certificates and Reports by Countries of Education CGFNS International has compiled the average lengths of time to receive required doc-umentation, review applicant files, and process Certificates and Reports based on 2006 data. The first column for receipt of doc-uments varies from approximately 1 to 4 months, the second column for reviews varies from approximately 6 to 8 weeks and the third column for total time varies from approximately 3 to 6 months.
The length of time to receive transcripts and licensure verifications is impacted by the volume of requests and a country’s or institution’s resources for processing those requests. Both the VisaScreen and Certification Programs have English proficiency exam requirements and, for registered nurses, nursing knowledge exam requirements, which may increase the time it takes an applicant to receive a certificate. The graph does not account for this time. Click here for more information. Copyright ©2007 CGFNS International. OPT-OUT: To unsubscribe from this email list, please type "Remove from email list." in the "Question or Comments" box in our Contact Us form at http://www.cgfns.org/contact/