High Schools across the US Engage Parchment to Improve College Access
Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) January 22, 2016 -- High school students across the nation are busily filling out forms, writing essays and organizing the information they need to include to submit their college applications. Once submitted, these students will sit back and anxiously await an admissions decision. Students applying online, requesting transcripts and other documentation electronically may have quicker decisions from an admissions office than those who are printing and mailing their applications.
Parchment, an academic credentials management company, works with high schools and colleges across the United States to aid in the application process, making credentials, like high school transcripts, digital, often resulting in more timely admissions decisions. Schools in Florida have already begun to improve efficiencies, provide transparency to learners and reduce overall costs by partnering with Parchment, following the success many other states have long used to their advantage.
“Parchment is so nice and easy to use. I love how you can verify that the transcript went over to the college within a day or two,” said Wendy Morell, mother of a senior at Palm Beach Central High School in Palm Beach, FL. “It’s a lot easier than having my student go into the busy guidance counseling office in between classes, filling out a paper request form and waiting for guidance to send it out.”
Digitizing academic credentials has proven to streamline operations for both the sending and receiving institutions, and enables receiving colleges and universities to use the data to optimize course placement, transfer articulation and reverse transfer. From the beginning, it took Parchment seven years to deliver one million academic credentials, and now the organization delivers one million every two months. In July 2015, Parchment facilitated its 20 millionth credential request.
At Palm Beach Central High School, Records Clerk Brandi Harris processes transcript requests for more than 800 students. “By using Parchment, our students can request their transcripts whenever or wherever they are, just by logging on to Parchment on their phones. Once they place their order, they have access to where their request is in the process. For example, have I approved it yet? Has the college or university downloaded it yet? Parchment provides real-time insights for our students into their requests.”
Today, more than 22 percent of high schools enrollments and 15 percent of postsecondary enrollments in the United States attend institutions that are members of Parchment’s network, enabling simple and secure access to send digital credentials. Thirteen states, including Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina have state projects identifying Parchment as the selected eTranscript delivery service of choice. In Florida alone, more than 44% of the state’s high schools have access to Parchment despite the state offering a free, antiquated option.
“At West Boca, we were skeptical about charging students for every transcript, but we soon discovered they valued the convenience of online ordering and immediate fulfillment and have chosen to use Parchment,” said Jennifer Nullman, lead counselor at West Boca Raton Community High School. “Parchment’s enrollment and transcript request process is easy and puts students in the driver’s seat. The students and parents are ordering from Parchment more and more. They deserve to know when the college receives and downloads the transcripts. The transparency is empowering.”
Parchment is committed to operating in an environment of open standards where learners’ electronic credentials can be securely exchanged worldwide. Today, Parchment is the only organization recognized with the P20W Electronic Standards Council (PESC) Seal of Approval, for Parchment’s implementation of PESC Approved Standards. In addition, Parchment integrates with the Standardization of Postsecondary Education Data Exchange (SPEEDE) and is a signatory to G.R.E.E.N, the Global Registrar EduRecord Exchange Network™ for higher education. In May 2015, Parchment became a signatory to the Groningen Declaration, a set of principles focused on improving student data mobility.
About Parchment
Parchment is the most advanced academic credential management system available, allowing learners, academic institutions, and employers to request, verify, and share credentials in simple and secure ways. The platform has helped millions of people and thousands of schools and universities exchange more than 20 million transcripts and other credentials globally. Founded in 2003, Parchment Inc. is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, with offices in Roseville, CA, Denver, CO, Grand Rapids, MI, Toronto, ON and Washington, DC. Follow Parchment on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Tami Nealy, Parchment, http://www.parchment.com, +1 480-719-1646 Ext: 1014, [email protected]
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