Colleges Fight Attempts To Stop Them From Withholding Transcripts Over Unpaid Bills

Alex Harris is among the millions of students who can’t obtain their academic transcripts from colleges to which they still owe money — making it harder for them to get the jobs they need to pay it back. “It’s crazy,” Harris says. (Meredith Nierman/GBH News)

Alex Harris loves his job working with students on the autism spectrum — “my superheroes,” he calls them with a broad smile and a deep laugh — in Boston Public Schools.

But the academic transcript Harris needs for a promotion and a raise is being kept from him by the private college he attended because of a balance he owes for expenses he didn’t know weren’t covered by financial aid. The original debt has since doubled, to more than $3,000 with fees and interest from about $1,500.

“It’s crazy,” he said in Franklin Park at the end of a long school day. “We have families who are trying to survive. We’re trying to participate in society. But how can we when people are literally holding us back?”

The institution blocking Harris from receiving proof of the credits he earned, Springfield College, said it tries to work out repayment plans for students with outstanding bills and holds back their transcripts only as a last resort. “This aligns with our Springfield College mission of service to others,” Stephen Roulier, vice president for communications and external affairs, said in a written statement.

Read the rest of the story at GBH’s website.