This fall, Interfolio is focused on making the application process easier for applicants, and you can see the improvements already. We started by improving the process of requesting and attaching letters to your application, but we’re not stopping there. We’ve just released our next major improvement to the submission of transcripts.
Here’s how it used to work: if a search committee added the document requirement of “Transcript (Official)” to an application, you would have to contact your registrar and have them send an official copy of your transcript directly to Interfolio. Sounds simple enough, but when you factor in the cost of ordering an official transcript, the time it takes to be sent, and the time it takes to upload, it becomes pretty cumbersome. And, what’s more, technically every transcript we handled became “unofficial” as soon as it arrived in our office and the seal was broken on the envelope. “Official” had simply become a way to say a transcript came from a university, rather than being uploaded by an applicant.
We weren’t happy about applicants having to spend more money to apply for jobs through Interfolio, and we certainly didn’t want anyone to miss a deadline because of a delay or complication with a transcript, so we’ve removed the document requirement of “Transcript (Official).” For any future application you start on Interfolio, you’ll always be able to upload a copy of your transcript yourself.
Of course we didn’t make this change without consulting the search committees and the institutions that request official transcripts. We found, though, that this document requirement is often a formality, and is typically not needed until the final rounds of selection, when your academic credentials need to be verified. In the first rounds of review, a copy of your transcript that you upload yourself is all that’s needed!
If you do need an official transcript for an application, you can always call your registrar and have them send one to your application destination.
As always, please get in touch with our Scholar Support team at help@interfolio.com if you have any questions about the change to transcripts. We’re happy to help.