“Stranded credits” are credits that students have earned but can’t access because their former institution is holding their transcript as collateral for an unpaid balance to the institution. Ninety-five percent of institutions withhold transcripts when students have a balance, and Ithaka S+R estimates that 6.6 million students nationally have stranded credits. Like student loan debt, stranded credits are inequitably distributed: institutions with higher shares of students of color and Pell-eligible students are estimated to have more former students with stranded credits. Fortunately, there are many opportunities for organizations to work together to better serve students, including the Ithaka S+R-facilitated Ohio College Comeback Compact (Ohio Compact).

Join this session at the 2023 CAEL Conference on November 9 at 11:10am-12:00pm in Key Ballroom 4 to hear from Pooja Patel and Liz Looker on the project.