What is an online degree transcript?
If you plan to study or work abroad, you will hear the word transcript a lot. It is not your marksheet by another name. The two are separate papers, and you order and pay for each one on its own.
At Pondicherry University's distance unit, a combined marksheet is ₹500. A transcript is ₹1,000 plus ₹500 a page, so its price grows with its length.
- Combined marksheetAll your marks in one sheet. ₹500 at Pondicherry University.
- TranscriptA record of your course. ₹1,000 plus ₹500 a page at Pondicherry University.
What a transcript shows, and what your degree shows
No part of the 2020 UGC rules covers transcripts. So what one shows, and how it looks, is up to each college.
Your degree is not like that. Regulation 16(2) sets what must be on the back of every degree, certificate and marksheet. Regulation 16(1) adds an ID number, your photo and your Aadhaar or other ID. So how you studied is on record, on the back of the degree. It is not hidden.
The front of the degree is not set either, and it varies between colleges. That is why some people think the mode is hidden. It is not. It is on the back.
- TranscriptWhat it shows and how it looks is up to each college. Ask for a sample.
- Degree and marksheetsThe back must show how you studied, the dates and where you sat exams.
When you will need a transcript
A degree check abroad asks for the most. WES tells Indian applicants to send the degree or provisional certificate with every year's marks, sealed and sent by the college, or sent online by it. Papers you send yourself do not count.
Employers in India mostly check the degree or the provisional certificate instead. A transcript is mainly for study or work abroad.
Some countries want your papers attested, not just evaluated. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention take an apostille. Others need normal attestation, then clearance by their embassy.
The Ministry of External Affairs handles this through agencies it appoints. It goes by the signature on the paper and does not check what the paper says. Ask the body abroad which papers it wants attested before you order, so you order the right number.
| Purpose | What is asked for |
|---|---|
| Evaluation abroad, such as WES | Degree or provisional certificate, and every year's marksheets, sent by the university |
| A master's evaluated by WES | Your bachelor's papers as well |
| Employer checks | The degree or provisional certificate, verified by the university |
Sources: WES, Anna University
If your degree has not arrived
Most universities hold convocation once a year, so the degree can take six to eighteen months. No UGC rule sets a deadline for it. You do not have to wait to start an evaluation.
WES accepts a provisional certificate in place of the degree, as long as every year's marks come with it.
- Start withYour provisional certificate and every year's marksheets, sent by the college.
- Add laterYour degree, if the evaluator asks for it once it comes.
Two universities, two sets
If you did your bachelor's at one university and your MBA at another, an evaluator will want papers from both. WES cannot assess a master's without your bachelor's papers.
So you order two sets, from two exam offices, each sealed and sent by its own university. Ask both offices about timing at the same time.
Your bachelor's university sets its own process and fees. Ask it for its fee list too.
- Bachelor's setFrom the college that gave your first degree.
- MBA setFrom the college that gave your online MBA.
What a transcript costs
Each college sets its own prices, and few show them on the fee page. Prices from other colleges show what to expect. Take them as examples, not a rule.
Some colleges will email a transcript straight to WES for a fee. That skips the courier and the seal, so ask if yours does.
Ask for the fee in writing, since prices differ by college and can change.
| Document | A published example |
|---|---|
| Consolidated marksheet | Pondicherry University: ₹500 |
| Official transcript | Pondicherry University: ₹1,000 plus ₹500 a page |
| Transcript emailed to WES | University of Delhi: ₹500 per email |
Sources: Pondicherry, Delhi University
Papers that are not transcripts
Other papers often get mixed up with the transcript. None of them replaces it, and each has its own use, so ask for each one by name.
A migration certificate is not a job paper. Order it only if you plan to join another university.
| Paper | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Combined marksheet | All your marks on one sheet. ₹500 at Pondicherry University |
| Provisional certificate | Proof that you finished, until the degree comes |
| Migration certificate | Joining a different university. ₹500 at Delhi within ten years, ₹1,000 after |
| Transference certificate | Moving between colleges of the same university |
Source: University of Delhi, migration
How to order transcripts
Timing does most of the work. Ask while you are still a student, when the office knows you and your record is easy to find.
Give the office the exact name and address of each body that will receive a set. Check the address on that body's own website before you pay.
WES does not use papers you send yourself. It wants them sealed and sent by the college, or sent online by it. The seal shows that nobody has touched the papers since the college packed them.
So a sealed set you open to check is spent. If you want to read your marks, use the open copy you keep for yourself. If the college can email the transcript straight to WES, there is no seal to worry about. Ask the office how it sends sets abroad, and whether you get a tracking number.
Timing saves more trouble than anything else. Before you join, ask for a sample transcript, so you know what it will show. In your last term, ask for the fee list and how to apply. After results, order every copy you need in one go.
- Ask for a sample and the feesBefore your last term, from the exam office.
- Count the copies you needOne sealed set for each body that asks.
- Ask about emailSome colleges email transcripts to WES for a fee.
- Keep one open copyFor your own use, so you never break a seal to read your marks.
What a transcript does not prove
A transcript records your marks. It does not prove that your course was recognised. For that, keep a dated copy of your course's row on the UGC-DEB list for your session.
Keep it with your transcripts and your admission letter. Together they answer the two questions an evaluator or employer is most likely to ask.
Recognition lasts five years and is recorded for each session, so the live list may have changed by the time you apply abroad.
Three mistakes slow people down most often, and each is easy to avoid. Asking the wrong office: transcripts come from the exam office, so start there, not with admissions. Ordering too few: a second order costs the full fee again. Forgetting your bachelor's papers: WES needs them to assess your MBA.
