Derek Slap

Senate Passes Bill Preventing Colleges from Holding Transcripts of Job-Seeking Alumni Due to Student Debt

Today, State Senator Derek Slap (D-West Hartford), Senate Chair of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, led the Senate’s passage of legislation ensuring colleges and universities cannot hold the transcripts of alumni applying for jobs due to the student debt held by those alumni.

When college alumni apply for jobs, they often need to submit their academic transcript to employers. Some colleges and universities have policies where students and alumni with student debt cannot access their transcripts; these policies can prevent alumni from attaining employment to pay down that debt, restricting career opportunities. With the high cost of tuition at many colleges and universities, these policies can lead to financial harm for students.

“Students and alumni who owe their schools money are best positioned to pay off their debts if they are employed,” said Sen. Slap. “This bill ensures they can have their transcripts sent to prospective employers. It ends the practice of so-called ‘transcript holds’ for job seekers.”

Senate Bill 17, “An Act Prohibiting An Institution Of Higher Education From Withholding Transcripts,” would prohibit Connecticut higher education institutions from refusing to provide transcripts to employers or prospective employers in the case of owed debt.

Groups including the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and Student Loan Fund Borrowers Collective testified in support of the legislation, pointing to the high cost of student loans for many current and past students and loans’ rippling effects on employment and finances. Restrictions on transcript access, they argued, also disproportionately impacts those with lower incomes.

The bill now moves to the House for further consideration. It was previously approved by the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee by a 20-3 vote.