In this post we will be looking at the meaning of Transcript and transcript processing system, types of transcript, how a student’s transcript look and steps to make a student transcript.
INTRODUCTION.
it is a great expectation to document all the academic performance of the students since this helps to ascertain the different grade by each student. When a report is generated on the entire performance of a student at a particular point in time, such a record is called transcript. Till date, many tertiary institutions in Nigeria still use the manual system to process and file students’ transcripts. This system is time consuming, prone to errors, encourages wrong manipulations of students’ academic records and it very tedious to use. Due to the nature or challenges of this manual system, significant number of students has been discouraged to study in Nigeria. In addition, due to unnecessary delay, some students’ academic records have been wrongly manipulated and computed, some students have lost their lives to accident while travelling to their tertiary institutions they graduated from. This motivated the need to employ information communication technology (ICT) in processing students’ academic transcripts. A well deployed application will eliminate most of these challenges in the current system.
WHAT IS STUDENT TRANSCRIPT And TRANSCRIPT PROCESSING SYSTEM?
Student Transcript is an academic record that details all the academic performance of a particular student throughout the years spent in the higher institution of learning. It can simply be seen as a copy of student’s academic record in higher institution of learning. It includes details of all programs/courses in which the student has had an effective enrolment and the marks/grades achieved in the courses undertaken. It also lists University prizes and conferring details where applicable. In other words, transcript simply refers to a copy of a student’s academic record. A transcript processing system is a student information management system for processing and managing students’ academic data. Hence any system used for managing students’ academic records is referred to as transcript system. The students’ transcript management system allows the department/exam and record to collect and analyze more accurately and comprehensively information about students’ academic records. It provides accurate, consistent, timely, reliable and complete students’ academic records
TYPES OF TRANSCRIPTS.
Transcripts are necessary for almost every college application. They give college admissions officers a quick overview of a student’s academic performance and help them decide who to admit. Colleges almost always ask for official transcripts because they want to make sure the information on the transcript hasn’t been changed. Talk to your school counselor to find out how to send official transcripts when you’re applying to college. There are two types of high school transcripts: official and unofficial.
- Official transcripts: An official transcript includes a seal and signature of the registrar as well as all of your coursework and degree information. Schools tend to charge for these transcripts to be processed. Your previous institution’s registrar is responsible for transcripts and therefore, you need to contact the registrar to get official transcripts. Since transcripts are prepared after you have appeared for the final exam, you will have to either call or go in person to enquire about your transcripts
- Unofficial transcripts: can be given directly to students. Many schools have online portals where you can print copies of your unofficial transcript. Unofficial transcripts are printed on plain paper and do not have a college seal or registrar’s signature. Unofficial transcripts cannot be used to transfer to another college or university and are issued for use by the student only.
HOW SHOULD A STUDENT TRANSCRIPT LOOK?
Your transcript is evidence of the coursework and exams you completed, your grades and academic achievements, and your graduation from high school.
Your transcript should include the following information:
- Your first and last name
- The name of your school
- Total credits and your current GPA
- All terms you attended school with the course names/codes and grades as well as total credits/hours earned
- High school transcripts should also include your class rank
- The classes you retook or dropped. It’s essentially a record of your academic career.
- The graduation dates
- A signature and date
- How many credits you earned. The transcript should include:
STEPS TO MAKE A TRANSCRIPT.
This plan should ensure that the student stays on track to complete the state’s high school graduation requirements and should include careful recordkeeping. However, don’t despair if you are coming to the transcript process without the benefit of such forethought. You can still create a quality high school transcript.
Make a list of all coursework and material the student has covered: With the benefit of careful records, creating a year-by-year listing of subjects and materials the student has studied should be fairly simple. If records are more scattered, compiling this list may take more effort. Make sure to include extracurricular activities, independent courses of study the student has undertaken in subjects of their own interest, classes the student has taken at a community college or the local high school, and online classes.
Create course names and assign credits: At this point you need to turn your list of courses and materials the student has covered into something you can enter into a transcript.
Enter the information into a formal transcript template: There are several options: you can create a transcript through an online form; pay to have a transcript created professionally; download and customize a template; or design your own transcript using a word processor. If you are interested in downloading and customizing a template, whether you pay a service or use an online form, download a template or design one from scratch, it’s important that the transcript look professional.
Calculate the Student’s GPA: Try to make your grades as fair and accurate as possible. Once you have the letter grades, you can calculate the student’s GPA. If you are using an online template or service, these calculations may be done automatically. If you are designing the template yourself or filling out a template you have downloaded, you will need to do these calculations yourself. There are a variety of online how-to articles and GPA calculators available. For your convenience, we will walk you through the basics below. We have also created our own form for calculating a student’s GPA. First, each letter grade is assigned a value (A = 4, B = 3, etc.). Next, for each course that value is multiplied by the number of credit hours. The resulting grade points are added together and then divided by the total number of credits. The result is the student’s GPA.
Get the diploma signed and notarized: That’s it, your transcript is complete! Now it’s time to print the transcript and sign it. The signature on the transcript is usually could be that of a portfolio evaluator or other individual with knowledge of the student’s educational accomplishments. You may want to get your transcript notarized, which involves completing the signature in the presence of a notary public. This verifies the identity of the signer. If you plan to attend college, remember that you will need to send a transcript to each school you apply to, so plan accordingly. And with that, your transcript is done!
CONCLUTION: Student transcript processing system helps both the students and the academic institutions to process and post (or e-transcripts) to address supplied by students. The system helps to improve the efficiency of requesting and processing transcript in tertiary institutions. It removes the stress and bottleneck face when processing transcript manually. The system allows students to request and track the progress of their transcripts process at the comfort of their homes. The system encourages paperless administration in our university system. It is very cost-effective to the students and easy to operate and administer by designated officers of academic institutions.