By this time next year, the Florida Southern College Registrar will be offering electronic transcripts for the first time in the school’s history.

The registrar will provide mobile transcript ordering and electronic transcript service to students, hopefully starting next fall.

According to the Registrar’s Assistant, Renee Beals, the project has been a long one.

“I have been researching companies to initiate this for over a year now,” Beals said.

The service will allow students to send out official transcripts via an electronic process.

Currently, students are required to fill out applications for official transcripts in the Registrar’s office one at a time for each location.

The new service will allow students to fill out one transcript request form and send multiple copies at one time.

The new process means that transcripts will be able to reach other institutions faster.

“If you are applying to five different graduate schools, you would normally have to fill out a request form five times…[when it goes live] you only have to fill it out once and list the different schools, cutting down on the process it takes for students when they are applying to graduate schools,” Beals said.

The transcripts will be considered official because the company with which FSC is partnered with in this initiative, National Student Clearinghouse, is an accredited service provider.

“We are working with National Student Clearinghouse, who we already work with in providing students with enrollment data so students can get loans,” Beals said.

The NSC states that “…the Clearinghouse reports enrollment status and deferment information for financial aid students on behalf of participating institutions to the education finance industry and Department of Education. Our compliance reporting services are provided to colleges and universities.”

The convenience of online access to transcripts is extensive. In addition, the transcript exchange process will not be any less secure than the traditional hard copy method.

“Since we will be doing it through the portal, and students will log in with their password, it is very secure.  Alumni will be able to use an electronic signature to verify their identity,” Beals said.

Alumni who are applying to graduate schools or looking for jobs that require official transcripts will no longer have to plan a time to go to the Registrar’s office to fill out numerous application forms.

Beals said that “even if the offices are closed,” students would still be able to order transcripts.

“If an alumnus forgets his portal login information, he can still get information about transcripts,” Beals said.

The Registrar’s website will include a link to begin the application process when the service goes live.

“We will have the link right on our website that students can click.  It will take you to the form that you’ll order from,” Beals said.

The one stipulation to the new process is after students graduate they will still have to fill out the paper copy and return it to the registrar’s office in order to receive free copies.

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