Incoming UCLA students may have to pay a one-time fee for lifetime access to transcripts starting this fall, according to the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Currently, students pay $15 per transcript, $5 per incomplete grade removal, and a separate $10 fee to have a diploma mailed.
Changes to the policy were approved by Academic Planning and Budget last month and are now awaiting review from the Student Fee Advisory Committee, a student-majority committee that advises the chancellor on campus fees for students.
If the changes are approved, undergraduate students would pay a $165 flat fee for unlimited lifetime access to official transcripts. Students pursuing a master’s degree would pay an $80 fee, doctoral students would pay $100 and summer-only students would pay $50 for unlimited transcripts, said Frank Wada, the university registrar.
Current students would no longer have to pay $15 per transcript beginning in the fall. The lifetime fee would include unlimited access to transcripts, verification of grades, incomplete grade removal and copies of their diploma, according to Wada.
The fee is about $10 less than what most undergraduate students already pay to use the different functions of the registrar, Wada said.
The UCLA School of Law, David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA School of Dentistry would not be a part of the change because they maintain separate records, he added.
The current $15 transcript fee covers postage cost, ink, paper and staff’s time required to pull up individual records, said Cathy Lindstrom, associate registrar.
Wada, who proposed the change, said his office determined the fee based on the breakdown of an average student’s use of the registrar, which includes ordering nine transcripts, two verifications of grades and one mailed diploma.
The office decided to pursue the change this past fall as a new mechanism to address escalating costs of transcripts in the future and student concerns, Wada said.
Students at universities such as UC Berkeley, Stanford and the University of Oregon already pay a one-time fee for lifetime transcripts, Wada said.
Students would be able to pay for their transcripts along with their tuition through their BruinBill with financial aid, Wada said.
Evelyn Tran, a second-year microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics student, said she has had to pay $60 to order transcripts for scholarships. She said she would benefit from the new system, since she plans to apply for more in the future.
She said, however, she thinks some students who do not order transcripts might disagree with the change.
Wada said he acknowledges that some students might not be in favor of the new fee, but he thinks students can’t be certain of how many transcripts they will need in the future, so they should not dismiss the proposed changes
John Joanino, an undergraduate representative in the Student Fee Advisory Committee, said the initiative is currently being reviewed by the committee, though it has not discussed the initiative in depth so far.
Wada said he expects the change to be finalized once it is cleared by the Student Fee Advisory Committee.