Another disappointment.

I was under the impression one’s level of pass at The Lancaster Award would appear on one’s degree transcript.  What actually happens is that a description of it appears on the diploma supplement and without the grade.

But let us define terms first.

• Degree certificate – the posh piece of paper one puts in a frame.
• Degree transcript – the piece of paper provided by the university that says what modules you did and what you got in them, plus anything else the university wants to add.  The thing some employers may ask for if they want to know the details of one’s degree.
• Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) – the six page long European standard Diploma Supplement which describes the degree in detail and is intended for showing to overseas universities.
• The Lancaster Award – a university-assessed award for extracurricular activity and can be awarded as Bronze, Silver or Gold.
• The Digital Skills Certificate – an award the university gives for completing five (or more) e-learning courses.  It goes toward the Lancaster Award.

The Lancaster university web site says the Digital Skills Certificate is mentioned on “the HEAR transcript“.  Between that and what people told me, I thought the Lancaster Award pass level would appear on my degree transcript.  So I worked hard for it and got a Gold Lancaster Award.  But it is not mentioned on the degree transcript.  Instead it got a one line entry on the diploma supplement.  I queried this and got a replacement diploma supplement with a description of the Lancaster Award, but still nothing to say the pass level.  So I queried that and was told they do not put it on the degree transcript and that they do not have the means to put the level of pass on the diploma supplement.

Likewise, the Digital Skills Certificate gets a mention in the diploma supplement but no reference on the degree transcript.

What goes on a degree transcript is up to the university.  They could choose to put the Lancaster Award and Digital Skills Certificate on there.  Putting it on the HEAR diploma supplement is worthless as employers never look at that an academic bodies would not be interested in the extracurricular activity.

It seems such a shame the Lancaster Award does not appear on the transcript, and the level of award does not appear anywhere.