DSST increasing cost of transcript 4/5/10

[peace123]

DSST - GetCollegeCredit.com

[wb.john]

I'm not sure how a $30 fee for a transcript can be justified.

[soupbone]

DSST - GetCollegeCredit.com

That is absolutely ridiculous. I love DSST/DANTES and have enjoyed using their products but I hope this causes a backlash, especially in this current economy. This is hardly justifiable. :mad: :puke:

[MISin08]

I suppose the majority of DSST test-takers have their score sent to a designated school when they take the exam. I draw this conclusion based on the experiences described here (being the only one at the test center doing a Big 3 degree, students who post here for help testing out of one or two classes at their traditional college) and the mere fact that the Big 3 by themselves couldn't keep the College Board and DSST programs afloat. This means that sending transcripts is an exception process, and DSST doubtless wants to recover not only the cost of the individual transcript, but also the capital outlay to make sending transcripts possible, and bring in some revenue. Prometric and ETS are for-profit companies, after all.

So if most test-takers send their scores at time of exam, who doesn't? People like us who saved gobs of money by testing out of a significant portion of our credits, and grad school applicants who are planning to spend a bundle getting a masters. Maybe a few undergrads who change schools mid-stream. What's $30 really, in that context?

All of which isn't to say I think it's good for students

Phillip

[soupbone]

I suppose the majority of DSST test-takers have their score sent to a designated school when they take the exam. I draw this conclusion based on the experiences described here (being the only one at the test center doing a Big 3 degree, students who post here for help testing out of one or two classes at their traditional college) and the mere fact that the Big 3 by themselves couldn't keep the College Board and DSST programs afloat. This means that sending transcripts is an exception process, and DSST doubtless wants to recover not only the cost of the individual transcript, but also the capital outlay to make sending transcripts possible, and bring in some revenue. Prometric and ETS are for-profit companies, after all.

So if most test-takers send their scores at time of exam, who doesn't? People like us who saved gobs of money by testing out of a significant portion of our credits, and grad school applicants who are planning to spend a bundle getting a masters. Maybe a few undergrads who change schools mid-stream. [SIZE="5"]What's $30 really, in that context?[/SIZE]

All of which isn't to say I think it's good for students

Phillip

Well, I have applied for law school and the LSAC requires all original transcripts from schools which includes DSST/DANTES. I've applied for two different masters programs which also require original transcripts including DSST/DANTES. Lastly, I always had my scores sent to TESC upon completion but they (of course) managed to lose one. I had to pay to have it resent. So that's 4 instances in which I would need to pay (separately) for scores to be sent. I don't exactly have $120 to throw away like that. DSST charges a fee which should cover this and somehow I doubt that they can justify even the $20 charge for postage and paper. After all how long has it been since you've seen a thread showing that DSST made some major change to their courses? They might be able to justify $5 or $10, but $30 is simply unreasonable.

[creationstory]

Well, I have applied for law school and the LSAC requires all original transcripts from schools which includes DSST/DANTES. I've applied for two different masters programs which also require original transcripts including DSST/DANTES. Lastly, I always had my scores sent to TESC upon completion but they (of course) managed to lose one. I had to pay to have it resent. So that's 4 instances in which I would need to pay (separately) for scores to be sent. I don't exactly have $120 to throw away like that. DSST charges a fee which should cover this and somehow I doubt that they can justify even the $20 charge for postage and paper. After all how long has it been since you've seen a thread showing that DSST made some major change to their courses? They might be able to justify $5 or $10, but $30 is simply unreasonable.

here is a solution. send all of ur transcripts to TESC. and have TESC send em out..

TESC transcripts only costs 5 bucks!!

[soupbone]

here is a solution. send all of ur transcripts to TESC. and have TESC send em out..

TESC transcripts only costs 5 bucks!!

That's called credit washing and schools won't accept them that way. They require [SIZE="3"]original[/SIZE] transcripts and they are pretty clear about it. I've called and asked this question to an advisor from each school so far. Also, TESC is charging what a reasonable fee would be at $5. DSST/DANTES cannot possibly provide justification for a $30 fee.

[15%Luck]

Well, I have applied for law school and the LSAC requires all original transcripts from schools which includes DSST/DANTES.

So let me get this straight. When I apply to Law school I am going to have to pay AGAIN to send all my CLEP and DSST transcripts to the school?
I'm testing out of my degree completely. That's a lot of transcripts and even more $$.

[soupbone]

So let me get this straight. When I apply to Law school I am going to have to pay AGAIN to send all my CLEP and DSST transcripts to the school?
I'm testing out of my degree completely. That's a lot of transcripts and even more $$.

I spoke with the LSAC in detail about this and the answer is yes. They require original transcripts from every single institution you received credit from.

[BGSU_Alum_86]

You do realize that whatever the transcript fee, you can put ALL of your DSST scores onto one transcript going to one institution, correct? There seems to be some confusion that each individual exam score must appear on a separate transcript and this is not the case!

Also, it is not a simple matter of postage and envelope/transcript letterhead. Heavy printing (ink, machine maintenance), maintenance of mainframe, plus the manpower to log in transcript requests, print requests, mail requests.

If you designate a transcript to be sent to an institution at the time of taking your exam, check with the institution within a month's time. If they have not received your transcript, Prometric will resend at no additional cost, though they will want you to double-check the code/address you indicated. If you did not indicate to send a transcript at the time of taking the exam, you will need to pay the transcript fee.