FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AACRAO Contact: Communications@aacrao.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) has released a fully revised edition of its best practices report, Closed or Merged Institutions: Guidance and Best Practices Pertaining to Student Education Records. This essential resource supports higher education institutions facing closure or consolidation with clear, actionable strategies to safeguard student records and uphold regulatory compliance.
The 2025 update reflects current technologies, FERPA considerations, and evolving institutional realities, including an increase in closures and mergers due to shifting enrollment, financial pressures, and systemic transformation. Originally published in 2020, the revised guidance provides expanded detail for both closing and receiving institutions, including step-by-step recommendations for records transfer, retention, student communication, and teach-out planning.
“Institutional transitions, whether closure or merger, are deeply consequential to learners,” said Julia Pomerenk, AACRAO Vice President for Records and Academic Services. “Our updated guidance ensures institutions can carry out these changes with integrity, transparency, and learner protection at the forefront.”
Key Highlights of the 2025 Revision
- Checklists for closing and receiving institutions
- FERPA-compliant protocols for data custodianship and access
- Technology and SIS considerations for records migration and access
- Guidance on maintaining course catalogs, syllabi, and articulation agreements
- Best practices for handling veterans’ benefits, international student records, and financial aid data
Who Should Be Involved
AACRAO strongly encourages registrars, CIOs, student records managers, legal counsel, and senior leadership to coordinate closely when managing institutional transitions. Effective cross-functional collaboration is key to ensuring students retain access to their academic records and that compliance risks are mitigated.
This guidance also aligns with AACRAO’s broader commitment to learning mobility and systemic transformation, ensuring that institutional changes do not create unnecessary roadblocks for students’ educational and professional journeys.
Access the Report
The revised guidance is available for download or contact: Communications@aacrao.org.
AACRAO
AACRAO is a non-profit, voluntary, professional association working to make higher education more responsive to learners. With a membership of more than 15,000 higher education professionals representing approximately 2,300 institutions in
more than 40 countries, the association provides advocacy, research, and policy-based guidance and training to higher education professionals to smooth the path for learners at every stage of their journey.