When ctcLink electronic transcripts are sent to another ctcLink college or one of our four-year partners, the process produces a data file that is used to import transcript data into the system. For ctcLink, this data populates the External Education page (External Courses).

An issue has been identified where in-progress classes import as a 0.0 (failing) grade. This issue affects both ctcLink colleges and the following four-year institutions that receive ctcLink electronic transcripts:

• University of Washington
• Eastern Washington University
• Washington State University
• Western Washington University
• Central Washington University

In-progress courses appear on transcripts in two situations:

• The “Obey Enrollment on Transcript Date” box is not checked on the Define Transcript Type page.
• The box is checked, but the date is before the term end date.

The data file includes both letter and decimal grading fields to accommodate different grading bases across colleges.

For classes that are still in progress, the data appears in the data file differently depending on the grading scheme:

• Decimal-grading colleges: The file shows a series of numbers. If the decimal grade isn't available yet, the line for the class will end in "00." This "00" is indistinguishable from a student who received a 0.0 grade, which will also end in "00."
• Letter-grade colleges: The file shows a series of numbers followed by a letter grade. If the letter grade isn't available yet, the line also ends in "00," which appears like a 0.0 decimal grade even though no grade has been assigned.

When ctcLink transcripts with in-progress courses are imported to the External Education page in our system, the Grade In and Official Grade columns will display 0.0, appearing as a 0.0 decimal grade.

In summary: if the grade field is blank in the data file, it is populated with zeroes, making it indistinguishable from a 0.0 failing grade. If unnoticed, this can affect student GPAs, transfer evaluations, and create additional manual work for college staff. Some specific feedback we have heard from our four-year partners includes:

• Additional time it takes for our staff to review in-progress courses in our internal systems because they look nearly identical to a completed course where the student received an actual zero. Now that we are aware of the issue, the admissions staff must refer to the PDF anytime they encounter a “0” grade resulting in additional time spent on articulation.
• Before we were made aware of this issue, if any of these in-progress courses made it through, they would appear on the student’s official record as a completed course with no credit given. This could result in questions and/or confusion from the student’s perspective until we receive their actual completed grade.

To remove in-progress classes from official transcripts, colleges must confirm the following settings:

• Define Transcript Type>Enrollment/Statistics (Update Access Restricted to SBCTC)
  • Navigation: Set Up SACR > Product Related > Student Records > Define Transcript Type > Enrollment/Statistics page
  • The following boxes are checked for all colleges:
    • Obey Enrllmnt on Transcript Dt
      • Controls whether in-progress classes appear on PDFs (regardless of Academic Calendar dates).
      • Currently, all colleges have this box checked for OFFCL & UNOFF transcripts, so PDF transcripts do not include in-progress courses.
      • Data files are unaffected.
    • Obey Fully Graded Date
      • Data files are unaffected if the Academic Calendar “Show Enrollment on Transcript” and "Obey Fully Graded" dates are equal.
• Academic Calendar
  • Navigation: Set Up SACR > Foundation Tables > Term Setup > Academic Calendar.
  • Ensure Show Enrollment on Transcript Date is equal to or greater than the Fully Graded Date to exclude in-progress courses from the data file. Both dates should be equal to or greater than the end of term date.
  • NOTE: If you update either of these dates, remember you must also refresh the term control dates (see QRG: Refresh Term Control Dates).

Additional Information:

• Unofficial Transcripts: In-Progress Classes will continue to display on unofficial transcripts, which are not sent electronically between ctcLink colleges and our four-year partners.
• Dynamic Classes: We understand some colleges use a Dynamic Session and some classes may be graded after the term end date. These classes will still appear as in-progress, even with the above configuration changes.

We have created a query to help monitor these configurations: QCS_SR_INPROG_CLASS_TRSCPT_CFG.

This query shows the term start date, term end date, show enrolled on transcript date, and the relationship between the term end date and the show end date.

Term Prompts:

• Institution
• From Term (Term greater than or equal to)
• To Term (Term less than or equal to)

Enter the term range for which you want to review the setup information. To review a single term, enter the same term number in both fields. If a term value is not defined in your Term/Session Table or Academic Calendar, no results will be returned for that term.

Query Results:

Use this query to identify whether in-progress classes will appear on official transcripts for the selected term(s).

Including in-progress classes can result in 0.00 (Failing) grades being imported into student records and should therefore be excluded from official transcripts.

This query displays each term’s start date, end date, show enrollment on transcript date, and the relationship between the term end date and the transcript enrollment display date.

Query Columns: