PDF Transcripts at

Furman University

Brad Barron

Associate Dean and University Registrar

About Furman

• Highly selective, primarily residential, liberal arts institution located in Greenville, South Carolina

• Total enrollment around 3,000 including 2,650 traditionally-aged undergraduates and roughly 350 adults via undergraduate evening studies and graduate programs in chemistry and education

Resource Environment

• Datatel ERP (now Ellucian Colleague) implemented to

avoid Y2K disaster

• 7 IT staff members dedicated to support nearly 70

administrative systems used on campus

• 5 full-time staff members in the Registrar’s operation

Previous Transcript Process

• Requests – Paper via traditional mail, fax, email attachment

or office visit

– No fee

– All requests processed manually

• Areas for Improvement– Paper delivery only

– Requests were time consuming and error-prone

– Orders took up to three business days to fulfill

– No ability to track document delivery

– Lack of easily obtainable data

Benefits of Electronic Transcripts

• Cost savings

• Operating efficiency gains

• Improved service

• Improved security

• Ability to shift staff to higher priority roles

• Supports “going green” practicesElectronic Transcript Exchange, Eduventures, Inc. 2012

Parchment Send Benefits

• Secure electronic transcript option

• Fully-customized ordering process that

provides branded emails to students

• Eliminated paper requests

• Automated fee collection

• Requests typically filled in less than one

business day

• Creation of revenue stream

Furman Integration

Sign into FU

portal

XMLrequest

to FU

Order Processing

at FU

Branded Ordering through

Parchment

requestor notified of

initial action

three options

HOLDSEND PAPER

SEND PDF

notify requestor

print and stuff envelope

automated file transfer

Integration Benefits

• Paper transcript requests received quickly

and can be fulfilled as often as needed

• Requestors notified throughout ordering

and delivery

• Reduction in total processing time and

fulfillment time from half-a-day to

half-an-hour (87.5% savings)

• Ability to collect replacement diploma and

Apostille orders

Implementation Timing

• Signed contract with Avow Systems (now Parchment Send) on March 22, 2010

• Production environment launched July 12, 2010

Processing Volume

• During the most recent fiscal year,

Parchment Send and Furman partnered to

process over 5,500 transcript orders

generating nearly 6,900 separate

documents

Paper vs. PDF

• Less expensive than security paper

• Save on postage and returned mail

• Less handling

70.15 %

29.85 %

FY2013 Transcripts

Paper

PDF

Analytics @ Furman

• Top destinations

• Total Volume

• Paper v PDF

• Top Paper Destinations

• Document Tracker

And more …

Run and Analyze Reports

Benefits of Sending PDF Transcripts with Parchment

Streamline administrative process to send eTranscripts to any institution in the format they prefer

Flexible implementation options

Completely secure and FERPA compliant

Self-service, tracking portals, and

notifications provide dramatic

improvement for students, parents, and

alumni

Want to Know More?

Brad Barron

Furman University

(864) 294-2030brad.barron@furman.edu