What is academic transcript?

Now that you are aware of academic transcript meaning, let us also make you familiar with Transcript of Records or ToR. A ToR contains information about all the courses taken by a student, number of credits, and exams passed. The transcript of records also contains information on your grades, and the duration of the courses taken.

Now that we understand the transcript certificate meaning, let us see why a transcript of records is needed before discussing how to get a transcript certificate:

To have a better understanding of what is an academic transcript, let us see the features of a standard transcript of degree:

Now that we know what is an academic transcript, let us see what an academic transcript looks like and what information it consists of:

Know more about Academic Transcript Sample!

If you know well what is a transcript, and are familiar with academic transcript meaning; you need not stress about sending the right documents to universities for different courses. Because universities clearly specify what they require and it is usually transcripts from the most recent qualifications earned. Now that we have discussed why a transcript of records is needed, here’s which transcripts are needed for different courses:

Universities That Don’t Require LOR

After getting to know what is academic transcript, let us move on to know about how to get hold of an academic transcript.

Students often find themselves on crossroads in understanding the difference between transcript and marksheet. Discussed below is the difference between transcript and marksheet, certificate, diploma and degree:

A very common question among students applying for admission to universities outside India is, are transcripts and marksheets same? Now that we know what is academic transcript in India, we can differentiate between a transcript and other documents of academic records such as marksheet, certificate, diploma and degree.

Marksheets is the most common term used for transcripts in India. The difference between transcript and consolidated marksheet is that you may have several marksheets for different years of education but all the information in these marksheets are represented in a transcript with information of the grading scale. To complete a transcript of records, you need marksheets as well as a final degree transcript.

University transcript are not different from certificates. Certificates are a part of the transcript as it contains compiled information of your previous degree. In India, a certificate is awarded to a student who completes a degree program. There is a difference between transcript of degree and certificate and a degree certificate is not equivalent to a transcript.

Backlogs and Visa Acceptance

While discussing what is an academic transcript, it was made clear that a transcript is an official document with complete academic information regarding the courses completed by a student. Compared to this, a diploma in itself is an educational qualification and is included as a part of the transcript with details of the subjects studied, grades obtained, course duration, etc. This is the difference between transcript and diploma.

The difference between transcript and degree is that a degree certifies completion of an academic program while a transcript of degree is a proof of education that provides complete information regarding the degree including subjects studied, exams taken, grades, institution, etc.

As mentioned earlier, transcripts consist of complete information on your education including marks or grades received in your final exams. Therefore, it is among the last documents issued by institutions. Let us take a look at how final year students can get their degree transcript.

Spring Intake in USA

Before concluding the discussion on what are transcripts from college, let us explore documents required for admission along with the result transcript of degree:

Another important document required to support academic transcripts is a backlog certificate. You will need one to show records of subjects with backlogs both cleared and uncleared. There is a long list of documents that you must keep handy while applying to different universities and a transcript is only one of them. Students who have cleared the exam for all subjects will not receive a backlog certificate. However, some institutions may ask you to get a zero backlog certificate.

Having learned about what is an academic transcript and how to get transcript certificate, let us take a look at other documents required in the application process:

All about the Fall Intake in USA

We hope this blog helps you understand what is an academic transcript, how it is different from other academic documents, how to get transcript certificate and a lot more. The education system abroad varies a lot from India which is why it may seem burdensome to apply to universities abroad. Universities across the world are looking for the same information and the only thing you need to be bothered about is sending accurate information to the university in a timely manner. One of the best ways to meet university deadlines is to organise all your documents beforehand and be aware of any missing information so that you can make necessary arrangements.

For further information, reach out to our Yocket Counsellors!

Ques. How do I get my academic transcripts?

Ans. You can get your academic transcripts only from the institution where you have completed the program. You will be informed when the transcripts are ready following which you will have to make arrangements to collect it either physically or by requesting it through mail.

Ques. Are transcripts and marksheets same in India?

Ans. Transcripts and marksheets are more or less similar. A consolidated mark sheet in India containing details of the subjects studied, grades obtained, course duration, etc. is similar to a transcript.

Ques. How to send official transcripts to universities?

Ans. There is no particular way to send official transcripts since universities across the world follow different processes. You can either submit the transcripts online through the university’s application portal or by using a centralized document sending process such as UCAS for sending transcripts to the UK, Parchment or Common Application for USA, Uni-assist for Germany and so on.

Ques. What other documents are required to support the academic transcript?

In education, a transcript is a certified record (inventory) of a student throughout a course of study having full enrollment history including all courses (or subjects) attempted, grades earned and degrees and awards conferred.

A transcript is sometimes referred to as a marksheet, marklist or report card.

In the United States, a transcript is also called Cumulative Record File (CRF), permanent record, or simply record.

In the European ECTS system, transcripts are called Transcript of Records (ToR).

In United States education, a transcript is a copy of a student's permanent academic record, which usually means all courses taken, all grades received, all honors received and degrees conferred to a student from the first day of school to the current school year.[1] A transcript may also contain the student’s rank in class and the accreditation of the institution issuing the transcript.

An official transcript is prepared and sent by the issuing school usually by the registrar with an original signature of a school official on the school letterhead and is sealed by the school. When students change schools, or seek admission to a college or university, the official transcript is usually mailed from school to school. Transcripts usually consist of grades 9-12 when applying to college.

Colleges and universities that are owed money by a former student may "hold" the transcript until they are paid. This may mean that former student cannot resume their education elsewhere.[2] Many colleges and universities will not allow a prospective student until receiving communication (in the form of a physical stamp or seal) that the prior school is satisfied with its debt collection.[3] If the college or university discovers that an applicant lied on their college application, the college can rescind the offer of admission, can revoke the student's degree, if completed, and refuse the release of that student's transcripts.[4]

In the United States, release of information from an official transcript without consent to a third party is prohibited by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Alteration of a transcript is considered a felony in most states.

In the European ECTS system, a Transcript of Records (ToR) is used to document the performance of a student over a certain period of time by listing the course units or modules taken, the credits gained, and the grades awarded. The Transcript of Records provides a standard format for recording all study activities carried out by students. It is an essential tool for academic recognition.[5]

Transcript of Records and Diploma Supplements are a fairly recent development in most European countries. Students who obtained academic degrees in Europe prior to the Bologna Process of 1999 typically will not have received transcripts or diploma supplements and they cannot be produced retroactively for these students. Even today there are still European universities that are not ready to issue Transcripts or Diploma Supplements. Unlike in the US, there does not typically exist in Europe a system of schools directly mailing transcripts to other schools, something that also would be problematic in view of European privacy laws.

The ECTS Transcript of Records, created as part of the Bologna Process, preferably includes, along with the local grades, the ECTS grades of the student. It is used for mobile students at two separate moments. First, it must be issued and sent to the host institution by the home institution for all outgoing students before their departure in order to provide information about the course units/modules that they already have completed and the results obtained. Secondly it must be issued and sent by the host institution to the home institution for all incoming students at the end of their period of study.[5][6]

Transcript fraud is the alteration of a transcript issued by a legitimate school or university or the forgery of completely fake transcripts and is considered a felony. Transcript fraud is a growing problem for both educational institutions and employers.[citation needed] This is related to diploma fraud, which is the forgery of school or university diplomas.

You should upload a degree certificate and an academic transcript for each degree you hold. If you haven’t yet graduated, you may be asked to upload an interim transcript for any degrees that you are currently studying.

An academic transcript states your name, the institution you studied at, and a list of all courses taken, all grades received and degrees conferred. It should provide full details of the degree class and grades you received in each unit or module.

An interim transcript provides similar information for degrees you are yet to complete (it may also show the expected grade or level of award if you are near the end of the programme of study).

The Diploma Supplement provided by a large number of European institutions is not equivalent to an academic transcript.

An academic transcript is usually issued by your institution's academic registrar or registry department (or equivalent). We do not accept personal electronic copies of your student record.

If your original degree certificate, academic transcript or other relevant documents are not in English you must provide an officially certified translation.

Your certified translations must be provided either by:

Find a list of Fellows and Members of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting:

Institute of Translation and Interpreting

If the translation is not provided by the awarding institution we will also ask you to provide:

You should upload a degree certificate and an academic transcript for each degree you hold. If you haven’t yet graduated, you may be asked to upload an interim transcript for any degrees that you are currently studying.

An academic transcript states your name, the institution you studied at, and a list of all courses taken, all grades received and degrees conferred. It should provide full details of the degree class and grades you received in each unit or module.

An interim transcript provides similar information for degrees you are yet to complete (it may also show the expected grade or level of award if you are near the end of the programme of study).

The Diploma Supplement provided by a large number of European institutions is not equivalent to an academic transcript.

An academic transcript is usually issued by your institution's academic registrar or registry department (or equivalent). We do not accept personal electronic copies of your student record.

If your original degree certificate, academic transcript or other relevant documents are not in English you must provide an officially certified translation.

Your certified translations must be provided either by:

Find a list of Fellows and Members of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting:

Institute of Translation and Interpreting

If the translation is not provided by the awarding institution we will also ask you to provide:

An Official Academic Transcript is a document produced and certified by the University that provides a complete list of all the studies you have completed.

Information common to official academic transcripts includes:

Only certified digital transcripts are provided at the University of Auckland, hard copies are no longer available. For more information, see Hard copy official transcript or official letter.

Certified Digital Transcript

A certified digital transcript is an electronic copy of a student's academic transcript which can be shared with third parties such as other institutions or employers online.

Certified digital transcripts are accepted as part of the University of Auckland’s Apply to Study process in partnership with My eQuals, an online credentials service used by universities in Australia and New Zealand, or CSSD higher-education qualification verification institution in China to issue certified electronic transcripts and graduation documents.