Delta College has updated its Verification of Enrollment request process to digital since March 17, following an initial announcement during early Spring Break.
In the new process, requesting for the Verification of Enrollment letter will require an account for Parchment, an academic credential management platform.
Through Parchment, individuals can order a recipient the letter through a process of filling out personal information, completing and attaching any necessary forms, signing consent electronically and processing payments. An order receipt is sent immediately upon signing.
According to Director of Admissions and Records Shawna Cortner, individuals previously had to send an Authorization to Release Information Form and a Verification of Enrollment Form, along with a valid photo ID to the Delta Connect Center through email or a physical paper form. Order receipts wouldn’t be provided until the final letter was sent.
The old process for obtaining the Verification of Enrollment presented greater potential for errors, as the forms relied on multiple documents requiring multiple questions where information could fall through.
Tracking the progress of requests was also difficult as requests had to be processed through multiple systems within the Admissions and Records Department.
According to Cortner, Admissions and Records under the old process encountered missing signatures, requests with the wrong type of consent, requests for the wrong semester and requests with only one of the two required forms signed. This often led to setbacks in the communication process between the department and the recipient, with the recipient not knowing whether their request had been received without waiting for the final letter.
The switch to a digital program is designed to simplify the Verification of Enrollment request, reducing the stages of the process and maintaining a tighter flow of information. This is intended to protect the security of recipient information, as well as facilitate easier tracking of requests for better communication between the recipient and the Admissions and Records Department.
Verification of Enrollment may be required to apply for housing, cross-enrollment, employment opportunities, medical and dental insurance, child care services, Veterans Affairs benefits, scholarships, unemployment claims, loan deferment, background checks, health care, and documentation for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Since Delta’s switch of digital registration systems to PeopleSoft in 2019, an unofficial Verification of Enrollment has been offered on MyDelta, containing student information on GPA and all active majors whereas the official letter specifies the primary major.
Still, many external agencies require an official Verification of Enrollment provided by the colleges themselves to verify academic information.
According to Cortner, the Admissions and Records Department is working with PeopleSoft to integrate automation of the Verification of Enrollment process into the manual template for requests used by the department.
