Taking all your PD classes through NDSU saves you time and money in renewing your license and applying for lane changes or salary advancements.

One Transcript

You order one transcript from one school, meaning less time and less hassle figuring out each school’s transcript ordering system. It also means less money. Most schools charge for printing and mailing of transcripts, so you may as well keep all your classes on one transcript and only pay one transcript ordering fee.

Some schools market their classes by offering a “FREE transcript.” A “FREE Transcript” is simply a marketing tactic to make you think you are getting something for free. (That “FREE” image made you look, didn’t it?) Review the cost of each class before you register. The truth is, nothing is really free. Many schools roll the transcript fee into the cost of the class (whether they tell you or not), which means you pay the transcript fee when you register rather than when you order your transcript.

At NDSU, our transcript fees are transparent. You only pay for the transcripts you order. If you take multiple classes, you only pay for one transcript at a time when you choose to order one. When the transcript fee is rolled into the cost of your class, you pay the transcript fee for each class you take, and that doesn’t seem right.

All Your Classes in One Place

Taking all your classes through NDSU offers simplicity. You will take a lot of PD classes throughout your teaching career.

Now consider that one day your district may decide to change how your pay scale works, and you need to collect all your professional development records. Or maybe you are applying for a new credential and need a list of applicable classes.

Taking classes from a variety of different schools means you will have to request a transcript from school A, school B, and school C. Then, you must take the time to add up the credits across all those transcripts and hope you have enough credits. But, wait… you forgot about that one class you took and now you have to remember where you took that class.

But, wait… you forgot about that one class you took and now you have to remember where you took that class.

Was it school A, B, or C who forgot to put it on your transcript or was it another school and, if so, what school would it have been? When you call any of the schools, they are going to ask what the name of the class was or who the instructor was or what the start date of the course was. Who remembers any of these things or even keeps all the records for these kinds of things? So now you run the risk of not having that credit to get to the next lane change or obtain that credential. You may even have to pay to take another class to replace it.

This scenario seems unreasonable, right?

Sadly, it is not. We see this situation often. We empathize with teachers who are going through this, but often our only solution is to offer a course they can take to replace the missing class.

Let me offer you a proactive solution to the problem stated above.

Take all your PD classes from one university.

If you have taken all your classes through NDSU, easy peasy. Just request one transcript and boom – all of your classes, credit amounts, and grades are in one place. If you are an instructor or know an instructor of professional development classes you should consider reading the reasons why you should open your school’s PD classes to teachers from outside your district. It offers more great insight into the benefits of taking your PD classes through NDSU.

About the Author

Connie Jadrny, is the marketing and public relations coordinator for NDSU Distance and Continuing Education, a program of the Office of Teaching and Learning.

In more than 16 years at NDSU, Jadrny has learned a lot about the professional development needs of K-12 teachers.

In this series of posts, she intends to pass along bits of wisdom from the professional development industry.

Let’s learn together!