More schools implementing electronic receipt of test scores and transcripts due to COVID-19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 9, 2020

Contact: Michael Reilly
Executive Director, AACRAO
reillym@aacrao.org

More schools implementing electronic receipt of test scores and transcripts due to COVID-19
Transcript sending delayed at many campuses

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Almost one-third of higher education institutions are weighing changes to how test scores are received as the pandemic affects in-person business processes, according to the “COVID-19 Snapshot Survey #3: Impact of COVID-19 on Transfer Credit Evaluation, Official Transcript Receipt & Delivery, Test Score Receipt and Fall Calendar/Sessions Plans,” published today by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO).

The third in a series of snapshot reports on COVID-19’s impact on practice, the survey was open for two business days and received 569 responses. This iteration focused on the following:

• The receipt and delivery of official transcripts and standardized test scores.
• Transfer credit evaluation.
• Fall term calendar and session impacts.

“This was a bit of a catch-all survey to address questions that we have been asked in the last couple of weeks,” said Wendy Kilgore, AACRAO Research Director.

Transcript and test score receipt
In direct response to COVID-19, 34 percent of respondents indicated they are considering, or have already made, changes to how high school transcripts are received; 21 percent are considering, or have already made, changes to how official college transcripts are received; and 24 percent are considering, or have already made, changes to how they deliver official college transcripts.

Additionally, 28 percent of those who received standardized test scores are considering, or have already made, changes to how test scores are received, with 58 percent thinking about, or already implementing, electronic receipt where it did not exist before

Transcript sending
Among the 76 percent of institutions still printing official transcripts, 64 percent are printing on campus even though the campus is closed for normal business; 13 percent are printed at home by a staff member.

Moreover, 43 percent are experiencing a delay in outbound printed transcripts at this time, though 56 percent say the delay is less than one business week

Transfer credit evaluation practices
Regarding undergraduate transfer credit evaluation, 56 percent of institutions are considering, or have already decided, to count pass (P) and other non-qualitative grades as earned credit, and 16 percent of institutions are considering, or have already decided, to exclude grades posted for terms impacted by COVID-19 from the transfer GPA calculation

Snapshots 1 & 2
AACRAO’s previous practice impact surveys addressed “Impact of COVID-19 on Grading, Transcript and Commencement Practices,” published April 3, and “Undergraduate Enrollment Indicators and Impact on Admissions Practice,” published April 10. Results of these impact surveys demonstrate the wide-ranging and dramatic impacts the pandemic is having on higher education institutions across the country.

In response to the effects of the pandemic, AACRAO has deployed guidance for higher education professionals on a range of topics.

 

AACRAO
AACRAO is a non-profit, voluntary, professional association of more than 11,000 higher education professionals representing approximately 2,600 institutions in more than 40 countries. Its commitment to the professional development of its members includes best practice guidance on admissions strategies to meet institutional diversity objectives, delivery of academic programs in innovative ways to meet the needs of a changing student body, and exemplary approaches to student retention and completion.

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