Understanding certified letters and enrollment verifications
- Ashley deRoche (Unlicensed)
- Denise Kidd
pre-review
On this page
Explanation of Various Letters and Forms
Requests for documentation other than transcripts or diplomas may be necessary for alumni to provide various proofs.
Certified letters are written to provide evidence that an alumni or student:
Has completed a degree. Often used when the diploma or transcript is being held, or is not yet ready.
Has an application for the upcoming graduation. While we cannot speak to the student’s completion of requirements, we can say if they have applied to complete their program in the same term.
Has completed their program in person or in English. The modality of a program is often in question when the student is an international student or is applying overseas.
Uses a chosen name, and needs to provide evidence that the chosen name on certain documents and the legal name on other documents refer to the same student.
Completed a course during COVID/Spring 2020 and needs to provide information about the grade mode that was used for their course(s).
Submitted their transcript to AMCAS without the most recent grades, and needs a letter confirming that the new transcript is accurate.
Has withdrawn from all coursework and is no longer registered.
Has never actually been a student. A non-attendance letter must be confirmed by the lack of a transcript for that record.
Enrollment Certificates / Enrollment Verifications are used by current and former students:
To verify the dates of enrollment for past or current semesters.
To verify that a degree has been awarded, when the transcript or diploma cannot be released.
To provide documentation with their legal name and address in association with the Tulane University Seal and Signature of the Registrar.
State Board and Licensing, and other organizations will request documentation be completed:
Social Work Licensure
Certified Public Accounting Licensure
State Bar Associations for Law Practice
Residency and Medical Education
Letters
A student will request a letter by phone or email; all requests should be funneled to Diplomas@tulane.edu.
Verify that the parameters of the letter are accurate. For example:
A non-attendance letter can only be written for a student who truly does not have a transcript. If any transcript generates, even only one term with all Ws, the student cannot have this letter.
The degree has been completed for a “completed degree” letter.
The student has applied for graduation for an “upcoming graduation” letter.
Open the folder Registrar > Verifications > Templates https://tulane.box.com/s/3ml8y2nx2lqy3rqhrwjrgpj1mgepwckr
Select the corresponding letter from the templates which you are going to prepare.
Updated the CAPITALIZED portions of the letter to match the information regarding the student.
Now that you have your letter text prepared, there are two options for completing the process.
You may wish to print the letter on Registrar Letterhead.
Save the document as the name of the student and the type of letter (I.E. John Smith, Completed Degree) in the folder Registrar > Verifications > 202x (whichever year you are in). DO NOT overwrite the template - be sure to “save as.”
Print the document on Registrar Letterhead and prepare for mailing or handing to the student in person by sealing in a Registrar envelope.
If this document is going to be sent digitally, you may now scan the document back to yourself via email, and send the document to the recipient as requested; however, you may want to consider the next option if this is an email request.
You may wish to create a “signature on letterhead” document to use for recurring letter requests.
Create a document by printing an empty sheet with nothing but your name and title under a signature line on Registrar Letterhead.
Sign the blank document, then scan it to yourself and save it as “signature on letterhead XX” using your initials to replace the XX.
Using the template you previously updated to match the details of the student request, copy the text from the Word document.
Open your signature on letterhead PDF and add the text to the document, adjusting so that the formatting and placement appears authentic.
Certify the document with an invisible signature - this will force you to save the document as a new PDF; use the name of the student and the type of letter as the file name, and save it in the folder Registrar > Verifications > 202x (whichever year you are in). DO NOT overwrite the blank letterhead - be sure to “save as.”
Email the document to the recipient as requested.
Letter of Non Attendance
The student is likely in our system, otherwise they would not need a letter, because something somewhere is reading them as having attended. Try to locate them by DOB in GUIALTI.
Search for the transcript by the ID, if you are able to find one; search for the name if the student truly is not in Banner.
Update the template with the student’s information.
Copy the text until you reach your name line.
Open your signature on letterhead.
On the right hand column, click Edit PDF.
On the top row, click Add Text.
Paste the content of the letter underneath the Letterhead; update the text so that it is not italicized and has proper spacing, etc.
On the right hand column, click Certificates.
On the top row, click Certify with Invisible Signature.
Choose the digital ID you want to sign with, or create a new digital ID if you don’t have one yet.
Click Review and enter your signature password (if you chose one) and sign.
You will be prompted to save - be sure to return to the 202x Letters folder and save as student name and letter type.
The letter is now certified, cannot be altered, and is ready to be emailed to a recipient.
Regardless of which option you selected for completing the letter, you will exit the template once you are finished, and choose “don’t save” so as to not overwrite the blank template.
Enrollment Verifications
Current students may request an enrollment verification by visiting their Gibson Portal and using the link on the left hand side.
Instructions for: Providing an enrollment verification when requested online
The document may be submitted to a healthcare organization, a potential landlord, a scholarship program, or another organization who may be wishing to confirm that the student is enrolled currently or upcoming.
This document is the “official” paperwork for students who are wishing to verify their current enrollment; we do not typically write certified letters for enrollment purposes only for current students.
Students may come to the office and ask to obtain this document in person.
See the Providing an enrollment verification when requested in person instructions for more information on how to generate an E-Cert.
Alumni may request an enrollment verification by contacting us at Diplomas@tulane.edu. See the instructions on “in-person” requests to generate an E-Cert for responding to an email request.
They may need to provide evidence that they were enrolled at a certain point in time, for personal or professional reasons.
We may also want to generate this document to accompany a certified letter, especially a ‘Completed Degree’ letter.
The E-Cert lists the degree(s) awarded and the date.
Some students may not be able to obtain a transcript stating this information due to a hold.
There is no charge for this service for the alumni.
You may print the document for an alumni in person, or email the document, possibly in addition to a certified letter. This document is not confidential unless the student’s record is marked as such.
State Boards and Other Organizations
We may receive requests directly from Alumni and Current Students to complete forms for verifying their enrollment or education. These forms may request a transcript be attached; you can also provide the enrollment verification certificate, should the student not wish to send a transcript.
We do not charge the students or alumni for verifying their education with State Boards and other organizations at their requests.
We can complete forms at no charge at any time; we can send the form with a paper printed transcript from the office for free as well.
We cannot send an electronic transcript for free, but we can complete the form for the student and they may attach it to an order at Parchment.com to complete the request electronically.
Some common boards we can send these documents for include (but may not be limited to):
Social Work Licensure Boards
Certified Public Accountancy Boards
State Bar Associations:
We can send proof of UNDERGRADUATE education to bar associations without involving the Law School; any documentation regarding Law Education, whether it be academic, conduct, or otherwise, must be completed with the assistance of the Law School.
We can send transcripts directly to bar associations at the request of the Law School without charge. These should be printed and mailed.
ROTC Offices - usually at Tulane, but could possibly be connected to a consortium school.
WE DO NOT VERIFY MD EDUCATION OR SEND MD TRANSCRIPTS. Any requests for residency, fellows, MD degrees, etc. should all be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Medical Education. Credentialing & Fees | Medicine
WE DO NOT SPEAK TO ACADEMIC STANDING OR CONDUCT REQUESTS. Requests for information about conduct, disciplinary action, academic standing, etc. should be directed to the students' advisors, NTC Student Conduct, or the students' graduate school.
We may receive a request to verify education from Loan Servicers, Healthcare Providers, Scholarship Awarding Services, etc.
If the student brings you a form to complete, unless extenuating circumstances apply, you should complete the form for the student.
Any form completed in person should be stamped with the Tulane Seal, found near the front desk.
ID numbers should never be released via ticket, phone, or email. Students can access their ID numbers via Gibson. Students needing ID numbers for transcript orders can enter their SSN or 9 0's in the ID number field.