Students and alumni will never have to wait in line at Ohio State’s registrar’s office again – at least, not for transcripts.

On Oct. 16, the registrar’s office implemented a new service that allows both students and alumni to order a copy of their transcripts over the Internet.

Students will need to enter the OSU user name and password and they will automatically be authorized. Alumni must enter their name, social security number, date of birth and credit card information. As long as everything matches, the request will automatically be authorized. If for some reason the information does not match, alumni will have to print out the form and fax or mail it to the office.

The fee for online transcripts is $8.75, including postage. There is a $7 fee for anyone who orders his or her transcripts in person or through the mail.

Online transcript requests will be processed and mailed the next day. When ordered in person, transcripts take an average of three to five business days, in addition to the postage time.

An additional benefit to getting transcripts online is that the status of the request can be checked through the registrar’s Web site. A tracking number is given with each request and if there is a problem in the processing, an e-mail will be sent to notify the person immediately.

This service is expected to be extremely beneficial toward the end of the quarters.

“Near graduation, the amount of mail and faxes we receive is astonishing. At the end of this past summer, we were so backed up, the turnaround just for processing the requests was about 12 business days,” said Marcia Penrod, customer service supervisor.

In the short amount of time the service has been offered, the registrar’s office has received numerous compliments.

“We even have alumni from the 30’s calling in to tell us how much they love it, which even surprised us,” Penrod said.

The transcript service was started as an initiative of the registrar’s office; student groups, however, did have input on the process of setting up the service.

“The student groups wanted as many 24-7 services as possible,” Penrod said.

Students seem to like the idea of not having to leave the house in order to purchase transcripts.

“If I had known I could just go to the Web site and order these, I wouldn’t be standing in line,” said Patrick Stephens, a senior in electrical engineering, who was waiting in line to request a transcript.

Online transcript orders are processed through TranscriptsPlus System, which accepts all major credit cards.

“Everyone has been thrilled with the benefits, it has helped out a lot of people,” Penrod said.

Recent alumni, along with current students, find ordering transcripts over the Internet beneficial.

“I came in here to order my transcripts, but when I saw that you can actually get them faster by going through the Web, I decided to just go home and do it that way,” said Dave Bush, who graduated from OSU last spring. “It’s easier and faster.”