The college transcript shows the courses a student has taken each semester, the number of credit hours and the grades received. The transcript also notes the student's semester GPA and the cumulative GPA for all semesters. At most universities, transcripts document awards, such as Dean's List, Phi Beta Kappa and Latin honors, and they mention disciplinary actions, such as suspensions, honor code violations and probations. Students who take leaves of absence, receive AP or IB credit from high school or transfer credits from other colleges will find this information recorded on their transcripts.
Most scholarship, graduate school and professional school applications request official transcripts, and some job applications ask for them. Many graduate and professional schools consider undergraduate academic performance as the single best indicator of future academic success. Scholarship committees use transcripts to determine a candidate's commitment to her education. Employers request transcripts to determine what skills potential employees can bring to their companies.
In the past, some students who were applying for jobs or to graduate/professional schools altered their transcripts or created new ones. Hence, most transcripts have security features that prevent fraud. Usually, the university crest is watermarked or embossed on transcripts, the transcript is printed on official papers and universities only release transcripts enclosed in sealed envelopes. Universities stamp the envelope's seal with the school's crest and attach a note stating to disregard the transcript if the seal is broken.
Although transcripts illustrate academic performance, they do have limitations. Transcripts do not account for grade inflation, grade deflation, the difficulty of individual professors and soft skills, such as motivation, likability and perseverance. For this reason, employers and graduate/professional consider other sections of a candidate's application. For example, most graduate and professional schools look at standardized test scores, teacher recommendations and personal statements, while employers consider references, work history and interviews.
Like financial or medical records, educational records are sensitive information and federal law prohibits unauthorized release. The 1974 Family and Education Rights and Privacy Act ruled that colleges must obtain written consent from students before releasing academic information. For this reason, students must present photo IDs and sign release statements before universities can send transcripts to third parties.