Pearson Completes National Transcript Center Acquisition

• By David Nagel
• 04/15/09

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Pearson this week completed the acquisition of the National Transcript Center, the developer of an electronic transcript exchange system for K-12 and post-secondary institutions.

NTC's transcript exchange is a Web-based system for transferring records and transcripts securely. Transfers of these documents within a given state are provided with no cost to the institution, though there is a fee for out of state transfers. NTC's systems include support for sending, managing, tracking, and importing student records in an institution's preferred data format (PESC High School Transcript XML, PESC College Transcript XML, SPEEDE EDI, SIF Student Record Exchange, and others). Records can be transferred from a school district to another school district; from a school to a college or university; from a college to another college; from a college to a school; and from a school or college to a non-academic institution.

Under Pearson, NTC will become a part of Edustructures, a unit of Pearson that provides SIF integration tools for education. The company said that NTC's solution will be integrated more deeply into Edustructures' solutions, which include SIFWorks Vertical Reporting Framework, Student Locator Framework, and eTranscript Framework.

"The student record and transcript is the holy grail of longitudinal education data," said Steve Curtis, president of Edustructures, in a statement released Tuesday. "Electronic transcripts are the link between PK-12 and Postsecondary data systems. Transcripts are the set of data that everyone already knows must be accurate, complete, and safeguarded. Edustructures and NTC have a shared vision for the important role of record/transcript exchange in a statewide data system. This acquisition will allow us to more effectively meet the growing challenges states and districts face as they seek to improve systems, better utilize existing resources, and ultimately satisfy the demands of all their constituents."

Pearson said NTC's solutions will "continue to be available in a variety of national data standards or client-specific data models, including statewide record/transcript contracts with California, Texas, West Virginia, and Colorado."