12.1 Posthumous Degrees

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This online version is for convenience; the official version of this policy is housed in the University Secretariat. In case of discrepancy between the online version and the official version held by the Secretariat, the official version shall prevail.

Approved By: Senate

Original Approval Date: March 3, 1992

Date of Most Recent Review/Revision: March 3, 1992

Office of Accountability: Vice-President: Academic

Administrative Responsibility: Office of the Registrar

A posthumous degree may be awarded to an undergraduate student who dies before all degree requirements are fulfilled. As a general policy, to be eligible for consideration, the student must have successfully completed, at a minimum, all but the final year courses for the degree program the student was registered in at the time of death.

If the student was registered in an honours program and had completed the third year of the program, the student will be eligible for the honours degree. If the student was registered in an honours or general program and had completed the second year of the program, the student will be eligible for the general degree. Deceased graduate students should have completed all course requirements and submitted a suitable draft of the thesis, if such was part of their program.

The registrar will initiate a review of the deceased student's file and provide a written recommendation to the appropriate dean regarding the eligibility for the awarding of a posthumous degree. If the registrar does not recommend eligibility for the degree, the dean may strike a review committee to assess the case. The review committee would normally be comprised of the dean, registrar and appropriate department chairperson(s).

Following receipt of the recommendation from the registrar or, in the case of a review, from the review committee, the dean will make a recommendation to the vice-president: academic who, in turn, will make a recommendation to the president. The president, or designate, will contact the next of kin regarding the posthumous degree consideration.

If the next of kin agree, the student's name will be included in the list of graduands for approval by Senate. Posthumous degrees will be so indicated in the listing submitted to Senate and in the convocation program.