Graduation

The diploma is a commemoration of your achievement. Official certification of your degree is made only through the official transcript or through the certification service of the National Student Clearinghouse.

Graduation Application

Applications are being accepted for undergraduate and graduate students eligible to be a December, May, or August graduate. The application deadline is October 14th and applications received after this date will incur a late fee of $25.00 to the student's account.

Students are submitting the application through a secure webform.

Degree Audits

The University offers an online degree audit system for all enrolled or recently enrolled, undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking students. DegreeWorks offers students 24-hour access to review their progress toward declared degree requirements. DegreeWorks also offers the student the ability to temporarily change the intended major, minor or concentration to review progress should the student contemplate changing their intended major, minor or concentration. The Registrar will review the DegreeWorks summary of a student’s academic standing and remaining requirements when the student applies to graduate (late September) to identify challenges that have not been addressed by the student.

Diploma Distribution Policy

The diploma is a commemoration of your achievement. Official certification of your degree is made only through the official transcript or through the certification service of the National Student Clearinghouse. 

Heidelberg University awards and distributes diplomas three times per year, and there is one commencement ceremony in May. Completion deadlines for in-progress work are Aug. 20, Dec. 20 and the Wednesday prior to commencement in May. Diplomas are mailed within two business weeks of the documentation deadline if there is no hold on the diploma. The mailing address in the database will be used. The address on file is available to any active student on his/her OASIS account and should be corrected by the student if necessary prior to diploma distribution. With advance written request, alternate diploma distribution may be possible. 

To qualify for a given deadline, all coursework including assignments and exams must be completed by these deadlines either at Heidelberg University or with special permission as a transient student. CLEP exams must be taken by these dates as well. Documentation of transient work or CLEP scores must arrive by Sept. 1, Jan. 5 and May 25 respectively. If a deadline falls on a weekend, the deadline will be extended to the following Monday.

Transient documentation consists of an official, final transcript sent by U.S. mail or electronically from the credit-granting institution directly to the Office of the Registrar at Heidelberg University. CLEP documentation consists of final score reports sent by the College Board by U.S. mail to the Office of the Registrar. Letters, faxes, student grade cards, transcripts brought by students, etc. do not constitute official documentation. Between the deadline for completing work and the deadline for documentation, no verification of degree completion will be made until all documentation is complete. Students who are unable to meet these deadlines will be considered in the next diploma distribution cycle. Diplomas will be available on the next distribution date if documentation is available by that deadline. 

Commencement Participation Policy

Assuming all financial obligations to the University have been met, the following students are eligible to participate (walk) once in a commencement ceremony:

December Graduates

• Those who received diplomas for completion of all work by the Dec. 20 deadline may participate the following May.

May Graduates

• Those who completed and documented all work by Wednesday prior to Commencement in May may walk (are eligible for honors medals and diplomas).
• Those who completed all work by the Wednesday prior to Commencement in May, but who will take until May 25 to document work, may walk (are not eligible for honors medals or diploma until work is documented).

Summer Graduates

• Those who have outstanding requirements may walk during the commencement ceremony provided they are registered at Heidelberg for the outstanding work or have a completed Transient Student Permission form on file in the Office of the Registrar by April 13 (summer graduates are not eligible for honors medals or diploma until work is completed). Heidelberg registration and/or transient work must cover all outstanding credits and be reasonably able to be completed (as determined by the Registrar and/or Provost) by the summer completion deadline.

Transcript Information

Registrar staff members attempt to review all students on the graduation list as final grades come in, regardless if the term end date has not occurred. Once the degree requirements are confirmed completed, the transcript will carry a notation that the degree requirements are met with the conferral date. Most employers or graduate schools will accept this statement as proof of degree. In some cases, a final transcript is needed once the degree is conferred; students are encouraged to investigate employer policies. If you want a transcript issued with this notation, mark the transcript request "hold for degree" to ensure the transcript is after the degree is conferred.

For third party recipients requesting the official transcript before the conferral date, nor will they accept the transcript notation, a letter will be published by the Registrar. A request must be made in writing from the student’s Heidelberg email account. The request must include where the letter is to be sent and an address; email is acceptable.

CeDiploma®

Beginning with the December 2019 graduates, Heidelberg alumni have access to their Certified Electronic Diploma at no extra cost.  This is a secure electronic image of your diploma that can only be authenticated by Heidelberg. The CeDiploma® is not only a service to alumni but also to employers and certifying agencies. It is an official, portable and verifiable electronic version that can be shared for a lifetime. After your degree information is submitted, you will receive an email letting you know how to gain access to your CeDiploma®. You can find more information about this service here.