As the long path toward graduation comes to an end, the necessity of an official transcript may be required for awards, employers and graduate schools. However, students may be faced with more overwhelming costs and more collegiate debt.
At Ohio State, an official transcript will cost the student $7 with regular processing and $10 for rush processing. If the transcript is received via the Internet, there is an additional $1.75 cost that applies for Internet use.
These costs may be too much to handle for many students.
Jessica Bowser, OSU alumna, said the cost of the transcript itself can be overwhelming.
“It is an incredible amount of money to be paid out in one period of time for the grades you earned,” Bowser said. “In just this one year I have sent out 15 to 20 transcripts and (I’m) not done yet. I just wonder why it costs so much money for a copy of your grades,” Bowser said.
She has been frequently sending transcripts for graduate schools, awards and job opportunities. This has cost her well over $150.
“With the debt I already have from college, transcripts cost drive me crazy,” said Matt Shaw, OSU alumnus.
Shaw does not agree with the cost of transcripts.
“Many students pay for college themselves, and with that kind of debt in the start of your new life it is hard to grasp when (OSU) keeps demanding more money from us,” Shaw said.
Other universities in Ohio and in the Big Ten charge less, or nothing at all, for an official transcript.
If Bowser or Shaw attended the University of Michigan, Purdue University or the University of Wisconsin, these transcript fees would not exist – these are the only Big Ten universities that do not charge for regular processing.
“I do not mind paying for the paper or the ink, but I do not understand why it cost so much here at OSU,” Bowser said.
Brad Meyers, OSU university registrar, said the transcript fee is based on a benchmark study of other Ohio and Big Ten universities. This is to see what these schools are doing and charging for fees.
“The money paid out for the transcripts does not all go to the registrar. Money is needed for the security paper, input, documentation of the system and the staff who diligently do this work for our university,” Meyers said. “We have staff that only concentrate on transcript request.”
Meyers said OSU raised its transcript cost from $5 to $7 last fall. In the 1970s, the cost of transcripts was only $2.
“These transcripts are printed on special printers and special paper to give the student a quality transcript,” Meyers said. “We want to give people a quality transcript that they can rely on.”
Meyers said universities that offer free transcripts often place these fees in tuition or as a flat rate instructional fee.
But according to the registrar representatives for Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue, fees are not set into students tuition or in a general fee.
Catherine Shesky, assistant to the registrar at Wisconsin, said there is no hidden fee for this service, and transcripts are free.
Jo Seidler, spokeswoman for Purdue, said the transcripts are also free without hidden costs for the student.
Other universities, like Ohio University, charge $5 for an official transcript, while at Bowling Green State University transcripts are free.
On average, an official Big Ten collegiate transcript costs around $5. The only schools that charge more than OSU are Indiana University charging $9, and the University of Iowa charging $8 for official transcripts.
“Everything just seems to be about money here at OSU. If it is not a tuition hike, it certainly will be something else that OSU will get you to pay for,” Shaw said.
