I am an alumnus of Imperial Valley College. I have recently attempted to order my transcripts from IVC to apply to a graduate program. The problem is that there is a new system in place in which a third-party vendor is in charge of processing the requests. I went through the steps to get registered, but when the time came to pay, the charge was $10. I am outraged that IVC has abdicated its responsibility to its students and alumni in favor of enriching a third-party vendor. Just to be clear: I do not mind paying IVC a reasonable fee, but blatant enrichment is infuriating. I hope that you take this issue up. — Mad Grad, Imperial
Imperial Valley College spokesman Bill Gay was aware of the situation, recognizing the former student through the letter. He said the letter writer apparently had some issues with the computer in trying to get his transcripts, adding he understands how daunting that can be.
That said, the switch to an online, electronic system was not out of trying to enrich anyone, but trying to enhance the transfer experience for students, Gay said.
In more forthright verbiage, Imperial Valley College was one of the last community colleges in California still doing transcripts by hand and sending them out through snail mail, or through traditional mail.
Gay said the decision to go electronic through Docufide, at www.docufide.com, was as much about helping students hit pretty strict application deadlines with, for example, the California State University system.
Through electronic means, a transcript can be sent to a school in 24 hours. There is still IVC staff hours involved, because a person has to physically upload the transcript to Docufide. But the mail is taken out of the equation.
As for cost, before the change, IVC was charging $4. Now, Docufide charges $8 for an electronic transcript, with Docufide keeping $3 and IVC keeping $5. For an actual hard copy of the transcript, it’s $10, with $4 split between IVC and Docufide.
Gay says it is not a moneymaker for IVC, but it has to pay for itself.
Imperial Valley College spokesman Bill Gay was aware of the situation, recognizing the former student through the letter. He said the letter writer apparently had some issues with the computer in trying to get his transcripts, adding he understands how daunting that can be.
That said, the switch to an online, electronic system was not out of trying to enrich anyone, but trying to enhance the transfer experience for students, Gay said.
In more forthright verbiage, Imperial Valley College was one of the last community colleges in California still doing transcripts by hand and sending them out through snail mail, or through traditional mail.
Gay said the decision to go electronic through Docufide, at www.docufide.com, was as much about helping students hit pretty strict application deadlines with, for example, the California State University system.
Through electronic means, a transcript can be sent to a school in 24 hours. There is still IVC staff hours involved, because a person has to physically upload the transcript to Docufide. But the mail is taken out of the equation.
As for cost, before the change, IVC was charging $4. Now, Docufide charges $8 for an electronic transcript, with Docufide keeping $3 and IVC keeping $5. For an actual hard copy of the transcript, it’s $10, with $4 split between IVC and Docufide.
Gay says it is not a moneymaker for IVC, but it has to pay for itself.
