Dive Brief:
- The Comprehensive Student Record Project, a joint collaboration of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, is producing a number of modern transcripts that incorporate more information.
- Inside Higher Ed reports the University of Maryland University College has one of the more advanced products, and it plans to pilot its “extended transcript” in the fall, a digital document that includes student progress toward learning objectives and the competencies and skills that go into them, as well as links to student work.
- Data will be one of the key issues to resolve with digital transcripts, as there needs to be a standard, organized way to access data from various parts of the student experience through the new documents.
Dive Insight:
Many traditional colleges and universities have been able to withstand the competitive threat of alternative post-secondary programs because of the cache their graduates receive with degrees from their institutions. Familiar brands garner trust. Mozilla’s badges and other products like it that describe a skill and link to proof of student work offer a way to make the unknown known.
Competency-based degree programs let students move through programs as they prove they have mastered certain skills and gained certain knowledge, doing away with the traditional practice of awarding credits based on time spent at an institution. Digital transcripts are another step toward defining student success with proof of their work. Theoretically, if a student can learn important skills at a less-known institution, she should be just as competitive in the job market. And graduates from even those well-known institutions can offer more illustrative examples of their college experiences through digital transcripts.