In this post we offer advice on how offer-holders can send their secure electronic degree transcript to us for verification.
For a successful MSc applicant to receive an unconditional offer, all credentials must be verified, so an original or certified hard copy of the final degree transcript must be sent by post to Cass Business School, Specialist Masters Programme Office, 106 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8TZ, UK or a secure electronic transcript received by the MSc Admissions Team directly from the issuing institution.
Electronic transcript (e-transcript) is an official University/Institution document delivered to the nominated recipient over a secure network/platform, upon the student giving appropriate permission or consent (e.g. providing their nominated recipient’s email address when placing the order). E-transcript is certified by a digital signature (i.e. Academic Registrar) and contains special security features. The nominated recipient, for example Admissions Officer or Employer, receives instructions on how to authenticate the electronic transcript, including the necessary steps to acquire an access code/token to view and print the official e-transcript.
Recent trends in the Higher Education sector in the UK and overseas indicate increasing number of institutions incorporating or completely switching from paper to e-transcripts, mainly due to efficiency, quicker turnaround time, better data security, improved student/customer satisfaction, as well as cost effectiveness.
In the UK, e-transcript is referred to as Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) and contains information about the student’s performance (i.e. module grades and final degree award once graduated) as well as achievements. HEAR is now offered by a large number of UK institutions. Depending on which entity the institution has partnered with, HEAR is generally offered via ‘Gradintel’, ‘Digitary CORE’ or ‘VerifyAward’ platform accessible/linked through the institution’s website. Students and alumni can normally access their HEAR during and after studies.
Many institutions in Australia, USA and Canada also offer e-transcripts, either via their own system or a platform that the institution has partnered with such as ‘eScrip-Safe’, ‘National Student Clearinghouse’, ‘Parchment Inc.’, or ‘Digitary My eQuals’.
Upon the student’s request, some institutions may offer electronic delivery of the transcript directly from the Registry to the nominated recipient or allow a third party to verify the degree award online (e.g. China, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Italy).
It is therefore worth checking with your institution to find out if they offer any of the above services, as by receiving your official e-transcript/HEAR or being able to verify your degree results online, the MSc Admissions Team can process your application and/or issue your unconditional offer more quickly. Please note, we are unable to accept e-transcript/HEAR received by email directly from students; only documents received/verified via the institution’s official portal will be accepted.
If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us at cass-masters@city.ac.uk.