Can a college refuse to send your transcripts?

Nurses General Nursing

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Just a situation. My DH and i are getting prepped to go back to school and get our BSN. Sent off for our transcripts at the college we graduated from nursing school at. Before we left there, DH had taken a handful of classes AFTER we graduated (prereqs for BSN) and didnt' complete the semester cuz we had our first son. So he dropped them. We got this letter a while back saying we owed the FULL tuition's worth for the semester, which turned out NOT to be true due to his drop date. So we had to hash it out with them, etc...and figure out what was owed, then it was paid. NOW they are saying we owe $700!!!! :eek: for classes that he didn't complete and dropped BEFORE the final drop date! So they sent a letter saying they would send proof of his degree/classes to the pending school we are going to attend after he paid this. So tomorrow we are going to be on the phone for the BETTER part of the day i'm sure trying to straighten this out. But my question is, shouldnt' they have to send the stupid transcripts to the other college regardless? I mean he's already GOT a degree from this school.....can they just hold transcripts forever or something??? i mean he has to be able to PROVE that he's got a degree at some point right?? :uhoh21:

Yeah, my college has a policy that they will hold your transcripts and my degree until ALL fees are paid - guess you just have to fight it out with them now...

Sorry to hear...good luck

Yeah, sad to say, that is standard--else how would they get people to pay up?

You might see if you can negotiate a reduced amount of tuition, or, if you feel the drop occurred early enough, and they won't be cooperative, you might talk with an attorney--at least the consultation is free. Usually.

Sometimes they can be agreeable. When I was halfway through a semester, many years ago, my new husband had an accident that landed him in ICU for a week and a med surg floor for another 5 weeks. When I went to withdraw, it was way past the cutoff date. By a twist of fate, I wound up talking to someone who was sympathetic, who sent me to another person, who was able to go into the computer and completely remove my enrollment.

Today, that might be hacking. Then, it was a blessing.

Good luck....

My school also says they will hold everything until all fees are paid. Even if you owe the library like .05 cents, they will hold everything.

I hope you get this straightened out. It's a PITA to deal with, I know.

Specializes in OB.

My school held my transcripts because my immunization records in the health office were not current! I didn't even go to the school anymore, what was the difference. I had to send copies on my shot records before they would send them! :rolleyes:

Molly, that is just ridiculous!!

Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

This is the only stick colleges have for those who don't pay their debts. Normally, they can refuse to allow someone to register for the next semester and I've seen registration holds put on people for financial reasons as well as failure to turn in immunization or other required documentation. Sounds like something has been missed in your case. I am a hideously anal retentive record keeper just in case of such emergencies. Hopefully you have a paper trail of old checks, balance statements from the Bursar, etc.

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Ooohh - don't talk shots in front of me. Glad I'm doing online now. Yeowwwhh! All the schools I've been to have the "pay us before you get the transcript" too. Good luck...

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

in one word.

yes.

they can do just what they want until debts are cleared, one way or the other.

it stinks. but they hold the cards.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGG! This just pisses me off! Oh well what can ya do? Wish us luck with them on the phone today. GGRRRRRRRRR.........

Good luck!...but yes, they are totally within their rights :o

I guess maybe it is just me, but it almost seems as if we, the western world, collectively expect to get something for nothing, and then when we don't, we are ticked off. (Kinda reminds me of some toddlers I used to know.) I mean, when I applied to school and again when I enrolled, I agreed I would pay the fees assessed by the school, according to the school's rules, and that if I didn't do that, I wouldn't get my grades or be allowed to enroll in more courses, or, if I had already graduated, I would not get my transcripts. That was just it. But you are certainly not the only ones who complain when, having not held up your end of the bargain, you do not get any more of the benefits of the relationship. :rolleyes:

I mean, I sympathize with the frustration, but there is an old expression my Dad used to say: you pays your nickel and you takes your choice. :imbar If he withdrew within the proper time frame, he probably got some kind of confirmation, and it will be in the school's computer, right? This should be a simple thing to clear up.

This will all go away as soon as you are able to take care of your responsibility with the school. You are lucky, actually, because I don't think schools charge interest on what is owed them, and they probably don't turn people over to collection agencies or report it as a bad debt. Thank God it's not the IRS or a loan company! :stone

Someday, hopefully soon, all this will just be an old fuzzy memory.

Good luck.

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