Across the country, many institutions of higher education withhold transcripts for students who have any amount of unpaid balance. 100% of Connecticut institutions of higher education explicitly use this practice in 2022.
This punitive approach to debt collections, even for low dollar amounts, unfairly prevents students from being able to claim the credits they have already earned on the way to a degree—impeding their ability to get jobs or transfer to other academic programs. The practice also disproportionately harms low-income students and perpetuates a cycle of poverty.
It’s time to end the Transcript Trap in Connecticut.