University of Illinois System universities have ended the practice of restricting access to transcripts for students with past-due balances.
U of I System President Tim Killeen on June 9 directed university administrators to immediately end the practice.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on May 27 had signed a new state law barring the practice in Illinois’ public universities and colleges, beginning with the 2022-23 academic year.
The old policy, Killeen said, was a barrier for students as they sought transcripts to get jobs, transfer to other educational institutions or pursue advanced degrees. Withholding transcripts, he said, also disproportionately affected students from lower-income backgrounds.
“Students come to the University of Illinois in search of the keys to opportunity and to the better life that higher education promises. Blocking access to those keys, often over minor debts, runs counter to our mission,” Killeen said. “This change in policy is in keeping with our commitment to equity and to maintaining access to the life-changing education available at our universities.
“We also thank the governor and our other elected leaders for their decision to lower this barrier for students across all of public higher education in Illinois,” Killeen added.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Chicago and University of Illinois Springfield previously withheld transcripts if a student had unpaid university debts of $25 or more.
The policy change provided immediate access to transcripts for 2,357 current students with delinquent balances and 8,128 former students with past-due balances.
Withholding transcripts over unpaid debts is a common practice at U.S. colleges and universities – 98 percent used some form of holds in 2016, according to a survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
The U of I System is among a number of institutions that are leading the way in ending the practice. System leaders were already in the process of ending these transcript holds when legislation was passed by the General Assembly this spring and signed into law by the governor.
