In June, a workgroup was created to develop national guidelines for disciplinary notations on transcripts and appropriate procedures surrounding this practice. This week, work group chair, Kristi Wold-McCormick, registrar at University of Colorado Boulder and Brad Myers, registrar from The Ohio State University, presented on this issue at the 2016 Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Historically, student records and transcripts were considered one in the same. In 1996, AACRAO identified the recording of disciplinary actions on the transcript as no longer recommended best practice. However, with the shifting perspectives and increasing pressure from state legislatures on the notation of disciplinary action on transcripts, AACRAO’s recommendation on the issue has shifted from “Not recommended” to “Optional,” as stated in the updated edition of the 2016 Academic Record and Transcript Guide, released in December 2015.
Disciplinary actions differ from academic actions in that they are typically defined as violations of an institution’s code of conduct. They may include, but are not limited to, academic infractions (plagiarism, cheating, etc.) or misbehavior (harassment, sexual misconduct, substance abuse, etc.). AACRAO’s stance is that adding disciplinary notations is essential in the database and optional on the transcript, except for those states who have mandated notations by state law (New York and Virginia).
Wold-McCormick said the work group was charged with identifying the following:
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The types of infractions that may be notated
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Options for working of notations
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Development of institutional policies and practices
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Options to notify other institutions when transcripts notations are not used
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Permissible disclosures under FERPA
“The work group will come to a consensus of best practices and policies, but ultimately, it is up to the institution to determine what works best for them,” said Myers.
Many attendees of the session were concerned with how long notations would appear on the transcript. Both Wold-McCormick and Myers said this is something the work group still needs to discuss. Additionally, the work group will need to determine a due process for students to appeal a notation, identify if or how pending investigations are handled and recorded, how long offenses are reportable, if the student must go through other steps to have the notification removed, and if there will be an automatic removal process after the suspension period has ended.
“We have a very aggressive timeline and hope to have our recommendations ready to share with institutions this spring 2017,” said Wold-McCormick.
If you have questions about the work group or general questions regarding disciplinary notations on the academic transcript, please contact Kristi Wold-McCormick at kristi.woldmccormick@colorado.edu or Brad Myers at myers.7@osu.edu.