A degree may be conferred posthumously in the unfortunate event of a student’s death prior to completion of all degree requirements. Should a posthumous degree be conferred, a diploma is made available to the student’s family as a source of solace.
Conferral of posthumous degrees at IU Indianapolis
Indiana University degrees
An Indiana University degree can be awarded posthumously if the deceased student had completed 85 percent of the credit hour requirements for the degree and most of the course requirements for the major.
A request to confer a degree posthumously must come from the dean of the degree-granting school in which the student was enrolled and be approved by IU Indianapolis' chief academic officer and chancellor.
Read IU’s policy on awarding degrees posthumouslyCommendation for attendance
If requested by the family, in cases where a student does not reach the milestone to be awarded a posthumous degree approved by the Board of Trustee policies, a certificate of attendance may be produced.
The certificate should be written on IU Indianapolis letterhead or produced with official IU Indianapolis logo with the following language, signed by the dean of the student’s school and the IU Indianapolis chancellor:
Upon the recommendation of the dean of (enter student’s school here) and approval of the chancellor of IU Indianapolis, a posthumous commendation is hereby conferred on (enter student’s name here) based on his/her attendance at IU Indianapolis. This commendation is effective (enter date here).
The certificate will be provided by the registrar to the dean of the school for appropriate delivery to the family.
Approved by APPC and IFC Executive Committee 10/6/2014