Temple University Goes Digital with Parchment

The Registrar’s Office at Temple University made a commitment to taking student’s academic credentials to the next level – the digital level. Effective Spring 2015, Temple Owls can now request their hard-earned academic credentials be sent digitally to any destination in the world, through Parchment.

In collaboration with Parchment and Banner by Ellucian, a leader in student information systems, Temple students and alumni will have the option of requesting a secure digital transcript as well as a traditional paper transcript.

“Annually, we were processing nearly 50,000 paper transcript orders that could take from 1-15 days to complete,” said Temple Registrar, Bhavesh Bambhrolia. “Working with Parchment to make our credentials digital provides two immediate benefits for our students: near real-time processing & delivery and enhanced communication to the student. They now know when the transcript arrived at its destination and when it was opened. This level of transparency provides additional peace of mind that we couldn’t offer before.”

Because academic credentials are a commodity in the marketplace, their security and authenticity is paramount. Temple digital credentials will include many of the same security measures of their paper counterparts as well as additional security measures to protect their electronic form. Appearing distinctly different from the paper design, the Temple digital credential will come with passcode protection with an embedded Blue Ribbon certified electronic signature. Additionally, only the intended recipient can open the digital version to view the electronic signature.

Temple admits that there is more to come as they continue to extend their credentials. “In the coming year, we will be exploring an enhanced degree verification system, certified electronic diplomas and a digital credentials library for every Temple student,” said Bambhrolia.

To learn more about how Temple University is innovating credentials, follow the Temple Registrar blog.

There’s always more to learn.