5.50 – Award of Posthumous Honorary Degree

PART 1: PURPOSE

When circumstances merit, upon the death of a student, an academic department may nominate a student for a posthumous award of an Honorary Degree.

PART 2: CRITERIA

The student must have completed at least 85% of the credit hours required by the student’s academic program or have demonstrated compelling effort(s) to complete their degree, as determined by the faculty of the academic program.

PART 3: PROCEDURES

1. A faculty member or department head in the student’s major department, or equivalent at the community colleges, may initiate a departmental review of the facts supporting the nomination.
2. The major department faculty or equivalent at the community colleges, following usual departmental protocols, (e.g. consensus or majority vote of the faculty), determines the percentage of the degree requirements completed by the student, considers other relevant information, and votes whether to recommend nomination to the student’s major dean or associate vice president of academic affairs at the community colleges.
3. If the recommendation for nomination is approved by the student’s major dean or associate vice president for academic affairs at the community colleges, the nomination will be submitted to the provost and chief academic officer for approval.
4. If approved by the provost and chief academic officer, the nomination for the award of Posthumous Honorary Degree will be submitted to the Board of Regents for consideration.
5. Upon approval of the Board of Regents, the Honorary Degree may be awarded, either during the commencement ceremony, at a special ceremony or at another appropriate time approved by the provost and chief academic officer. Any certificate or documentation of the award should clearly indicate the honorary nature of the degree.