REG - 10.01.8 Awarding Posthumous Degrees Regulation
1. Purpose
The purpose of this regulation is to describe the awarding of posthumous degrees and the procedures associated with its implementation.
2. Scope
2.1 North Carolina Central University (NCCU) prides itself on being student centered, student-driven and student focused. Therefore, the untimely death of a student matriculating at the University is a tremendous loss to the NCCU Community.
2.2 When appropriate, the University may recognize and honor the achievements of the deceased student in an effort to celebrate the life and academic accomplishments of the student and bring healing to family of the deceased and University community. Therefore, the University reserves the right and authority to award undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees to recently deceased students who meet certain criteria.
3. Definition
3.1 An actively enrolled student is defined as a student who registers for courses for the following spring or fall semester on or before the last day to register for courses for that semester.
4. Requirements for a Posthumous Undergraduate Degree
In order for an undergraduate degree to be awarded posthumously, the following conditions must be met:
4.1 The deceased student must have senior standing, earning 90 or more credit hours.
4.2 The deceased student must have been actively enrolled in the program at NCCU and in good standing (cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above) at the time of death.
4.3 The dean of the deceased student’s academic discipline, along with the Office of the Registrar, must verify that the deceased student would have met the requirements, as outlined in sections 4.1 and 4.2, for degree conferral and make a recommendation to the Provost to award the student a posthumous degree.
4.4 The Provost must approve the recommendation pursuant to Section 6 below.
5. Requirements for a Posthumous Graduate, Professional or Doctoral Degree
In order for a graduate degree, doctoral degree or professional degree to be awarded posthumously, the following conditions must be met:
5.1 The deceased graduate or professional student must have substantially completed the requirements for the degree, including capstone or research projects such as a thesis or dissertation.
5.2 To award a posthumous doctoral degree, the deceased student must have been admitted to candidacy and made tangible progress toward completion of approved research. For example, the nominee should have produced a dissertation in at least draft form or some other product that was acceptable to the student's advisory committee as indicating the expected mastery of material and independent capability in research.
5.3 For the award of a posthumous master's degree, the deceased student must have completed or been in the final semester of all course work, including thesis or other capstone experience hours.
5.4 The deceased student must have been actively enrolled in the program at NCCU and in good standing (cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above) at the time of death.
5.5 The dean of the deceased student’s academic discipline, along with the Office of the Registrar, must verify that the deceased student would have met the requirements for degree conferral, as described in sections 5.1 through 5.4, and make a recommendation to the Provost regarding the award of a posthumous degree to a deceased student.
5.5 The Provost must approve the recommendation pursuant to Section 6 below.
6. Award of the Degree
6.1 Upon receipt of the recommendation from the dean and the Office of the Registrar, the Provost shall determine whether or not a posthumous degree should be awarded to the deceased student and make a recommendation to the Chancellor regarding whether or not the degree should be posthumously awarded.
6.2 If the Chancellor approves the recommendation to award a posthumous degree, the Provost shall notify the Office of the Registrar that it is proper to award the degree. Once approved, the Provost shall notify the family the degree will be awarded. If the Chancellor does not approve of the recommendation to award a posthumous degree, the Provost shall notify the family that the degree will not be awarded.
6.3 If a decision is made to award a posthumous degree to a deceased student, the deceased student’s transcript will be notated that the degree was awarded posthumously by special action of the University administration.
6.4 The University commencement list for the first commencement exercise that occurs following the date the decision is made to award a posthumous degree will include the name of the student. In addition, the University will acknowledge the deceased student during the commencement ceremony. A member of the deceased student’s family may be present to receive the student’s degree at commencement. If the family member is not present, the degree will be mailed to the family.