Galena Park ISD: 'Electronic error' led to incomplete transcripts for students

HARRIS COUNTY (KTRK) -- Galena Park ISD says over three dozen students may be affected by an "electronic error" which resulted in incomplete transcripts being sent to universities where they have applied.

The issue was discovered only after one student's application was denied. Her parents tell Eyewitness News she is in the top ten percent of her class at North Shore Senior High School and is supposed to be guaranteed admission at Texas State University. Only after the parents called the university did they find out the problem was the student's transcripts. They were apparently sent over by the high school without a class ranking or GPA.

A letter sent home from North Shore Principal Joe Coleman calls the omissions an "electronic error."

"I would be mad," said North Shore senior Kenya Wright.

Seniors we spoke with had not heard about the mistakes when we began asking.

"They need to know your GPA," said Wright.

Parents are just learning of the errors, too. They worry about any child who might be denied admittance because of this.

"Well that's heartbreaking, yeah. Because after all their hard work," said North Shore parent Brenda Lee.

Galena Park ISD says the issue potentially affects applications of 39 students and that it stems from the Texas Records Exchange system which they use to send transcripts electronically to universities where students apply. The district is researching the issue and working to rectify it.

In a letter sent home to parents of those potentially affected, Principal Coleman wrote in part: "We truly regret any inconvenience this may have caused and we are working diligently to correct the error as quickly as possible. We do not want this unfortunate mishap to negatively impact our students in any way."

"They can fix it, right?" asked North Shore senior Alexander Aguilar.

Everyone hopes it can be fixed before it's too late.

GPISD says this only affects applications at Texas universities. It's sending out letters of explanation to colleges and universities where its students applied. They're also sending new transcripts, which are supposed to include GPA and class rank.

We'll let you know if we hear of any applications still being denied as a result of this issue.