FAQs
Closed School Transcripts
To receive a copy of a transcript from a postsecondary institution that is closed, please click the following link:
https://www.accs.edu/about-accs/private-school-licensure/closed-school-transcript/ .
For information about closed high schools, please refer to the information posted on the Alabama State Department of Education website: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/knowledge-base/homeschool-faqs/
Establishing Alabama Residency - Tuition
This site outlines the qualifications for designation as a resident student in Alabama. Please see Title 16, Chapter 64.
Student Loan Inquiries
NOTICE
Pre-1995 Student Loan Inquiries Citing the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) or the Alabama Guaranteed Student Loan Program (AGSLP) as the Lender.
In 1995, the United States Department of Education (USDE) designated another entity to be the official guarantee agency for Alabama institutions participating in the Federal Family Educational Loan Program. If you need information about a loan from that era and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) / Alabama Guaranteed Student Loan Program (AGSLP) is identified as the lender, you need to contact a company named NELNET concerning the status of your loan. You can reach their call center at 1-888-486-4722. The call center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You may also visit their website at: http://www.nelnet.com/welcome.
Please do not contact ACHE concerning these student loans. ACHE has no legal standing to take any actions concerning these loans. Also, we will be unable to assist you with any inquiries. Since ACHE is no longer designated as a lender by the USDE, we have been denied access to the electronic federal student loan databases.
Post 1995 Student Loan Recipients
All borrowers may access their student loan information through the internet or by telephone. The Alabama Commission on Higher Education cannot access your loan records. To access your records, please follow the directions below.
Internet
The web address for students to obtain their loan information from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is: https://nsldsfap.ed.gov/login.
The site will ask for personal data including a Department of Education Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. If you don’t have this number, or don’t remember it, you should go to: https://studentaid.gov.
Telephone
For telephone numbers for various types of loan transactions, including loan repayment and forgiveness, go to: https://studentaid.gov.
To get help with a response you received about a student financial aid dispute call the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group at: 1-877-557-2575
Transferring
Alabama Transfers | Articulation and General Studies Committee
The Alabama Articulation and General Studies Committee (AGSC) was created through Act 94-202 (Code of Alabama §16-5-8[e]), passed by the Alabama Legislature in March 1994, to ensure the smooth transfer of academic credits between Alabama’s public postsecondary institutions. The AGSC was tasked with developing a statewide freshman and sophomore level general studies curriculum and crafting a comprehensive statewide articulation agreement for all public colleges and universities. The legislation also designated Troy University to maintain a computerized advising database—originally known as the Statewide Transfer and Articulation Reporting System (STARS)—and to manage the activities of the AGSC.
In November 2022, the STARS program was rebranded and relaunched as Alabama Transfers, complete with a modern, user-friendly website. The enhanced platform now delivers AGSC-approved transfer guides, course equivalency information, and other vital resources to support seamless transfer. Over the years, more than 1.8 million transfer guides have been accessed, helping countless students preserve their earned credits, avoid unnecessary repetition of coursework, and reduce both time and costs in pursuing their degrees.
Alabama Transfers operates under the guidance of an Executive Director and dedicated professional staff based at Troy University. For more details about Alabama Transfers, including transfer guides and resources, visit the Alabama Transfers website.
Useful Links
Education
Alabama Links
- Alabama Articulation and General Studies Committee (AGSC) / Statewide Transfer and Articulation Reporting System (STARS)
- Alabama Community College System (ACCS)
- Alabama College Counts 529 Fund
- Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
- Alabama Higher Education Partnership
- Alabama Independent Colleges (AAICU)
- Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)
- Alabama Virtual Library (AVL)
- Complete College Alabama
National Links
- Academic Common Market (ACM)
- American College Testing Program (ACT)
- Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
- American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
- American Council on Education (ACE)
- College Board (Scholastic Assessment Test or SAT)
- Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
- General Educational Development Testing Service (GED)
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
- Doctoral Scholars Program – Southern Regional Education Board
Career / Workforce
Policy
Alabama Policy
- Alabama Administrative Code
- Alabama Council of Graduate Deans
- Alabama Legislative Information System Online (ALISON)
- Code of Alabama
- Executive Budget Office (EBO) – State of Alabama
- Legislative Services Agency (LSA) – State of Alabama
National Policy
- Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
- Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities (AGB)
- Association for Institutional Research (AIR)
- Commission on Colleges (COC) – Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Education Commission of the States (ECS)
- National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)
- National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)
- National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES)
- National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
- National Postsecondary Education Cooperative
- Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR)
- Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
- State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)
- United States Department of Education (USDE)