Mid-Ohio Valley Foundations – Education: Oklahoma Christian says Ohio Valley University transcript process going smoothly
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PARKERSBURG -- Oklahoma Christian University (OC) began processing transcripts for alumni of Ohio Valley University in October 2023 and OC Provost Dr. Brian Starr said things are going smoothly.
"For which we are grateful," Starr said. "We're able to process those requests and get them copies of their transcripts sent out as if they were ordering them from OVU itself. And we're pleased to provide that service to OVU's former students."
OVU served as a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Churches of Christ from 1958 to 2021. Over the years, the school grew from a junior college operating from temporary facilities into a four-year university offering a multitude of baccalaureate degrees.
After numerous financial troubles, which included not being able to make payroll, the school announced it was closing its doors in December 2021 and then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy a few months later.
A receivership was set up to help reimburse the holders of nearly $16 million in bonds for which the closed school was in default. Charges for transcripts were a potential source of revenue. After numerous server issues, power outages on the OVU campus and a possible security breach, students and alumni were no longer able to get their transcripts.
After almost a year in court, it was announced OC would begin processing transcripts for students again in October 2023.
Sydnee Shipley, a former student of OVU and an administrator for the OVU Advocacy Group on Facebook, said former students at OVU were not taken care of the way they should have been after the closing of the university but it was great to see a sister school step up.
"It is great to know that at the end of the day, we were taken care of by another institution, our voices heard, and our lives are now no longer on hold," Shipley said in October. "While this whole situation has been extremely messy this seems to be a nice bookend to this nightmare we've been living the past year; a fellow Christian school coming to our aid to help us out when we were at our lowest."
Starr said they have processed requests for a couple hundred transcripts since then and that the number of requests has leveled off to where they now receive two to four a day. He said it could be argued more requests might have been expected but he believes now that former students and alumni know they have access to them, there's less of a demand.
"There were those who needed them to apply for graduate schools or apply for jobs, so there was some pent-up demand, but there were also some demand where if it was now or never (they) might need to get it," Starr said. "Now that they know it's not now or never, we think that's kept down the demand a little bit."
John deSteiguer, OC chancellor, said Karen Driskill, OC registrar, was one of the people who wanted to take on the transcripts and help the former students of OVU.
"She is so good at what she does, and she leads her team very well," desSteiguer said in an October interview. "I'm really proud of Karen."
Starr echoed those remarks and said everyone in the registrar's office has been working hard.
"We're just happy to serve and glad that they can continue on in their careers and their academic journey," Starr said. "We wish that student body nothing but the best."
Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com