A guide to help determine the minimum academic records that should accompany the documentation of participants proposed for study in U.S. universities and colleges is presented to assist the Overseas Mission staff of the Agency for International Development. The information should also be valuable for foreign student admissions officers in U.S. universities, since it identifies, in a convenient and consistent form, the educational credentials that should be available for applicants from each of 84 countries. The format is as follows: column one lists the two major levels of study in U.S. higher education: undergraduate and graduate. Each level is further divided: freshman, transfer, and unclassified/special at the undergraduate level; masters, Ph.D., and unclassified/special at the graduate level. In column two, the certificates, diplomas, and degrees that should accompany applications for admission to each level are specified, and in column three, the documentation required in addition to the certificates, diplomas, and degrees is described. For programs that fall into the undergraduate transfer and undergraduate unclassified/special categories on the lists, it is also desirable that syllabi of the programs be included with the dossier, although this is not essential to the initial placement of an applicant. Details regarding nearly 90 countries are provided. (SW)