Situation
15,000 physical transcripts a year can really bog down a team. United Independent School District (UISD) graduates 3,000+ students each year in South Texas. For years, a massive manual workload stood between these students and their next steps. Staff spent hours printing and organizing the transcripts every year (only to see many sit uncollected in boxes). Students and alumni faced two-week wait times for the records required to unlock college admissions and financial aid.
Joe Almazan, UISD’s Director of Admissions, saw these delays as a direct threat to student opportunity. As a former at-risk migrant student, Almazan understood that a transcript is an essential bridge to a student’s next steps. Stalling a student’s momentum wasn’t an option, and Almazan recognized that the district’s manual processes weren’t keeping pace with students’ ambitions.
The college’s online program provides students the chance to continue, or start, their learning journey remotely while earning full credentials that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Challenges
- UISD was printing 15,000+ transcripts annually, many of which were never picked up, contributing to high paper and ink costs.
- The two-week wait time for manual records threatened students’ ability to meet strict financial aid and scholarship deadlines.
- Students had no way to track their orders, leading to high call volumes for staff and increased anxiety for applicants trying to meet strict university deadlines.
Insights
As Almazan audited the district’s workflow, he found a fundamental disconnect: the data was digital, but the delivery was stuck in a manual, office-bound cycle. High-volume windows like December break and graduation season created roadblocks, and Almazan realized that transcripts should be accessible from anywhere—and that the district needed to remove the barriers stalling progress. “The simple transaction of a significant document to higher institutions should be done as quickly as possible to get the student on their path to success,” Almazan noted.
Solution
To bridge the gap between student records and college admissions, UISD implemented Parchment by Instructure. The goal was simple: move from a manual, paper-heavy workflow to a secure, electronic ecosystem capable of handling the district’s massive volume of records. Almazan prioritized a smooth rollout, so staff could quickly adapt to the digital transition without disrupting how they supported students daily. And with Parchment, students and alumni could order certified transcripts online, anywhere in the world, in just a few clicks.
The simple transaction of a significant document to higher institutions should be done as quickly as possible to get the student on their path to success. Parchment services do just that.
The simple transaction of a significant document to higher institutions should be done as quickly as possible to get the student on their path to success. Parchment services do just that.
Joe Almazan
Director for Office of Admissions
Outcomes
Paperwork roadblocks are a thing of the past at UISD. Turnaround times dropped from two weeks to two minutes. For Almazan, the value of the transition is best captured in the moments when a student’s future hangs in the balance. “An alumnus needed his transcript that night to meet a midnight deadline for a college application,” Almazan explained. “I went into the office, and it took just two minutes to send the document.”
High-volume periods that once bogged down staff are now managed with ease, allowing the team to focus on advocacy rather than paperwork. For a district that refuses to rest on its laurels, the results are clear: a secure, reliable path for every student to reach their destination. As Almazan puts it, “This one document, the transcript, means a lot to this community. We can’t delay enrollment because of delays in transcripts being sent to colleges.”
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