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Under the Degree Authorization Act, the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development must be satisfied that adequate arrangements are in place to provide students with access to their transcripts before consent can be granted. The minister will assess the institution's on-going process for storing student transcript information through:
Transcript Maintenance Plan
The transcript maintenance plan is to ensure the integrity, safekeeping and accessibility of student transcripts. The minister must approve the transcript maintenance plan and may require the institution to make changes before approval is granted.
Transcript Maintenance Plan Requirements
The institution must include the following in its transcript maintenance plan:
- Institutional policies and practices that ensure the confidentiality and security of student records.
- Institutional policies and practices regarding the certification of the authenticity and accuracy of student transcripts for both electronic records available to students and official transcripts forwarded to other institutions on the students' behalf.
- In addition to the institution's location, the name and location of an off-site storage facility where students' transcripts will be retained.
- Information ensuring that the transcript information will be updated weekly and a copy retained at the off-site storage facility.
- Information ensuring that the software program for maintaining and managing electronic student records is appropriate and will allow for future growth in the amount of data.
- Information on the fees students must pay to receive official transcripts. The fee amount must be published in the institution's calendar or other comparable publication.
- Information ensuring that transcripts will be secure and accessible to students for at least 55 years from the time students graduate or withdraw from the institution.
Student Transcript Requirements
The transcript maintenance plan will also require that an individual student's transcript include the following information:
- Student information:
- The student's name, contact information and student ID number.
- Basis of Admission:
- The qualifications that form the basis for the student's admission to the institution.
- Information about any credits transferred, entrance examinations and prior learning assessment used for admission or advanced placement.
- The name(s) of any other post-secondary institution(s) attended by the student, and the dates of attendance.
- The name and completion date of any degree, diploma or certificate earned by the student before registering at the institution.
- Academic History:
- The dates of the student's admission and completion or withdrawal from his/her program(s) of study.
- The date(s) of each academic semester or term during which the student studied at the institution.
- A list of all courses completed, in progress or withdrawn from at the institution.
- A list of credits and grades earned by the student.
- The student's grade point average per academic term and overall.
- A notation of academic suspension, dismissal or probation if any of these actions has been taken against the student.
- Academic awards or honours given to the student.
- The name of any degree earned by the student and the date the degree was granted by institution.
- Institutional Information:
- The institution's name, location and address.
- The institution's grading key.
- The name and authorized signature of the registrar or similar official.
- The institution's seal.
- The date on which new information was last added, and the date the transcript was issued to the student or other body.
Alternate Records-Keeper
The maintenance plan will also include the name and contact information of an alternate records keeper who is willing to maintain student transcripts in accordance with the approved transcript maintenance plan. An alternate records keeper would maintain the student transcripts only if the institution was unable to continue to do so.
Transcript Maintenance Agreement
Once a transcript maintenance plan has been approved, the minister, the institution, and the alternate records keeper will sign a transcript maintenance agreement. The transcript maintenance agreement outlines the process that will occur if the institution becomes unable to maintain student transcripts. The approved transcript maintenance plan forms part of the agreement.
The institution's responsibilities under the transcript maintenance agreement:
- Maintain transcripts in accordance with the transcript maintenance plan.
- Upon request by a student, provide electronic and/or paper copies of all transcript information it maintains on behalf of that student, to the student or official paper transcripts to another party named by the student with the school's official seal and signature of the registrar or appropriate official.
- Ensure that any student who studies at the institution while it is operational, will have timely access to his or her transcripts during his or her study period at the institution, and for at least 55 years from the time the student ceases to study at the institution.
- Regularly inform the alternate records keeper regarding growth of degree programs and student enrolments at the institution.
- Notify the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development and the alternate records keeper in writing within five business days if it becomes unable to maintain students' transcripts in accordance with the terms of the agreement and to take the necessary steps to transfer custody of the transcripts to the alternate records keeper.
- If, while it is still operational, the institution becomes aware that the alternate records keeper is unable to fulfill the terms of the agreement, the institution will notify the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development within five business days.
- Unless the institution has complied with the five-day notification time frame specified in the prior two points, the institution will be in breach of the agreement.
- If the alternate records keeper is unable to fulfill its obligations under the agreement, the institution must make arrangements with a new alternate records keeper that will be approved by the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, and must sign a new transcript maintenance plan.
The alternate record keeper's responsibilities under the transcript maintenance agreement:
The Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development's responsibilities under the transcript maintenance agreement:
- If the institution breaches the agreement, the minister may suspend or revoke consent with or without notice to the institution and/or alternate records keeper.
- If the institution ceases to be operational, the minister may review the transcript maintenance at the alternate record keeper's location to ensure that the students whose transcripts are being maintained are adequately served.
- Nothing in the agreement limits the minister's capacity to take legal action against a party that does not comply with any term of the agreement.
Under the Degree Authorization Act, the Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development must not give consent unless satisfied that an institution has given security to protect the interests of students in the event that the institution cannot complete the delivery of the degree program.
Private institutions must post financial security in accordance with the Degree Authorization Regulations and the Bonding Act. The amount of financial security cannot be less than $100,000 per institution. Institutions must maintain valid security continuously while they are operating, and if they should close, two years beyond the date of closure. The minister will not provide consent to offer a degree program until financial security is in place.
The financial security posted must be equal to 75 percent of the highest monthly amount of unearned revenue that the institution will hold during a 12 month period. Unearned revenue relates specifically to pre-paid fees for services to be delivered. The higher the payment the institution receives in advance from a student, the greater the amount of security that must be posted.
Once an institution declares its maximum unearned revenue during the application process and provides security, the level of security must be maintained. If the institution expects to exceed in actual unearned revenue the level of the security posted, the institution must immediately re-calculate and adjust the level of security and inform the minister of the change.
More information is available on financial security requirements.
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