This report is the third in a three-part series examining how institutions of higher education have responded to state and federal policies limiting the use of transcript holds for unpaid balances. Ithaka S+R partnered with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) to field the 2024 Transcript Hold…

Nationally, Ithaka S+R estimates that over six million students have completed credits at postsecondary institutions that they cannot document due to a past due balance. These overdue balances contribute to a national problem of stranded credits--credits that students have completed but cannot document because they were unable to fulfill their…

Racial and ethnic demographics continue to shift in the United States, and more students of color, first-generation students, and students from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds pursue higher education. Student debt has risen to the top of the national agenda as one of America's most pressing equity issues in higher education. Usually when student…