Colleges Come Under Closer Scrutiny For Holding Transcripts Hostage Over Unpaid Bills
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is seen in a file photo. One student who missed his final housing bill here offered to pay it, but after collection fees and other charges were added, he gave up. The university blocked him from obtaining his academic transcript.
Kate Flock/The Hechinger Report
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James Smith missed his final housing payment to the University of Massachusetts Amherst when he spent a year there as an exchange student on his way to a degree from the University of Minnesota.
Strapped and with his family struggling financially at the time, he promised to pay off the $2,000 balance as soon as he could. But then collection fees were added and, because of a clerical mistake, he was charged an additional amount owed by another student with the same name.
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Academic transcripts, which students need to get jobs, transfer or go on to graduate school, are almost universally withheld over unpaid bills, sometimes for very small amounts. A few colleges and universities are now changing that practice. Credit: Emily Kaplan for The Hechinger Report
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James Smith missed his final housing payment to the University of Massachusetts Amherst when he spent a year there in an exchange program on his way to a degree at the University of Minnesota.