Posthumous Degree

The University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu extends sympathy and compassion to families of deceased students near the completion of their degrees and/or certificates, recognizing the academic achievement of these students who would have fulfilled the requirements of the degree/certificate. The awarding of this degree and/or certificate is also balanced with attention to academic and institutional integrity.

“Posthumous degrees” are those degrees and/or certificates that recognize the academic achievement(s) of deceased students.

1. To award the Posthumous Baccalaureate Degree and/or Certificate, it must be the case that the deceased student in question:
   1. Was a senior in the final semester of coursework;
   2. Was enrolled in courses that would have resulted in completion of the degree/certificate requirements at the time of death;
   3. Would have passed the courses with acceptable grades;
   4. Would have fulfilled a substantial portion of requirements for the degree/certificate; and
   5. Was in good academic standing at the time of death.
2. The procedures for awarding of the degree are:
   1. A formal request may be initiated by a family member, the student’s faculty advisor, concentration, or division chair. If the request is not made by a family member, the family should be contacted to determine their receptivity to the possible award.
   2. The student’s academic concentration, division and appropriate student affairs office determines whether the student would have satisfied all the criteria required for the award.
   3. The appropriate division chair forwards the recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA), who reviews and then forwards the recommendation to the Chancellor.
   4. The Chancellor will have final approval in awarding the posthumous degree and/or certificate.
   5. Upon approval, the VCAA will contact the Registrar to notate the award of the degree/certificate in memoriam in the student’s record. The diploma fee will be waived and the Registrar will arrange for the ordering of the diploma and arranging for the student’s name to be listed in the next succeeding commencement ceremony program.
   6. The VCAA may invite the family to send a representative to participate in the commencement ceremony on behalf of the student. In these instances, the VCAA should contact the Commencement Committee so that the appropriate arrangements can be made, which may include arranging for special recognition of the student and their family at the ceremony.
   7. Alternatively, the VCAA may wish to invite the family of the student to come to the University for a private meeting, at which the family will be presented with the diploma. The VCAA may also elect to mail the diploma with a letter to the family.
3. Decisions on awarding of posthumous degrees and/or certificates will be made on a case-by-case basis using the aforementioned criteria.

The UH West O‘ahu Chancellor delegates to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs the responsibility of faithfully executing this policy in collaboration with the Office of Enrollment Services.

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, 689-2300.

M 5.209, POSTHUMOUS DEGREES, UHM
UHWO Faculty Senate Resolution 2015-3

None.