Program Completion, Conferral and Ceremony

Are you ready for Program Completion (Conferral) then to attend a Ceremony (Event) ?

1. Program Completion

If you believe you are near program completion - there are some important details you (as the student) need to check and make sure your record is correct, or take the necessary action to have your record correct :

Are Your Program Details Correct? Check your student record for completeness - you can check this through your MySR - there is no register to graduate, you just need to check your details and take necessary action if not complete, it is your responsibility to ensure your program details are correct or you may not be processed for completion/coferral:

  • in the first instance if you are a student studying a double or integrated program you will need to register your early exit from each component of your program as you near completion - this is an option under the graduation selection, if you do not submit your early exit you may not be identified for completion
  • Program details: Please check that the details listed, which will appear on your Testamur and Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS), are correct - this includes checking your grades are correct and all finalised, check you have all majors/minors correct on your record, if they are not listed they will not appear, if you have one that you are not eligible for, this will block you moving through to completion.  If unsure contact your academic to confirm they are correct prior to deadlines (or contact graduations@westernsydney.edu.au prior to  deadlines to move to a future conferral round) if you leave it and details are incorrect, it cannot be changed once deadlines have passed.
  • If there are any outstanding fees or program requirements (including pending grades, outstanding credit) by the advertised timelines your student record will not be completed for the upcoming conferral round.  It is your responsibility to ensure all details are correct on your student record.  Anything outstanding needs to be finalised by the advertised timelines.
  • If you apply for a Review/Change of Grade you will be uncompleted and moved to a future round.  You must apply through the official channel, if you do not an we are not aware of the change of grade your documents will reflect the old grade and is unable to be changed.
  • Please make sure  you have all your eligible Majors/Minors/Concentrations selected, this is your responsiblity to ensure they appear on your record, if you have any that you are not eligible for this will block you from moving to completion. Information must be correct, seek school advise if you are unsure.
  • Please check your statement of account and emails to ensure there are no outstanding program fees or library fees or administation holds (library fees will be via email only) or any other holds on your student record.  If your contact details, name are incorrect or showing an active hold, please email studentcentral@westernsydney.edu.au to enquire how to make changes, the graduation team is unable to make these changes

    • If there are any outstanding fees or program requirements (including pending grades, outstanding credit) by the advertised timelines you will be declined for completion.

If your name is incorrect, you need to come on campus and advise the Student Services Hub (formerly Student Central) by showing your supporting documentation. Alternatively, you can Express Post the Change of Personal Details Form, including the certified copies of supporting documentation. These updates must be received and processed by advertised deadlines (when advertised) amendments after these date will incur a fee - so it is imporatant to update immediately. If you have questions relating to name changes please call the Student Services Hub on 1300 668 370 or email studentcentral@westernsydney.edu.au. Note that the Graduation team are unable to make changes to your name.

Please also ensure your contact details (personal email and mobile number) are up to date in My Student Records (MySR) so you can be contacted with further information about your ceremony.  If you have any ceremony questions please call the Student Services Hub on 1300 668 370 or email studentcentral@westernsydney.edu.au. Note that the Graduation team does not manage the ceremonies.

Pay for your Documents: To receive your official graduation documents (Testamur and AHEGS), you will need to place an order and make payment through OneStop. Please note that OneStop will require you to create an account with your personal email address to make payment.  Note: If you have previously graduated from a program and have not paid to have your graduation documents mailed out, any payment received will automatically be assigned to the earlier award documentation and those will be posted.  If you know you have documents in archives,  you can elect to make payment and email us advising you have some in archives and we can retrieve and send with your new award, this will be a 2-3 week wait or you can make 2 payments.  If we find documents in archives we will automatically send those.

Graduation documents are no longer handed out at our graduation ceremonies and will instead be mailed to your nominated address at time of payment through OneStop. Please ensure you pay for your documents. Documents will commence being posted out as per information provided in our email communication, you will receive an email with tracking details once sent.  Any questions please email graduations@westernsydney.edu.au

To be eligible for the next conferral rounds, your student record must be ready for completion as per the timelines below (not extensions permitted to these timelines):

Deadlines

29 March conferral  - record need to be ready for completion by official summer results release - 3 March 2023
14 June conferral - record needs to be ready for completion 14 May 2023 (you will be invited to a ceremony later this year)
There will be an August conferral - record needs to be finalised and ready for completion 14 July (as per Autumn results release)  (you will be invited to a ceremony later this year)
There will be an October conferral (timelines to come, will be invited to a ceremony 2024)

If your award is conferred during January 2023 or March 2023 you will be invited to the April ceremony round.  If you are conferred during June and August you will be invited to a future ceremony being held later this year by the events team (dates not known at this time).  If you are conferred in October, this will be aligned to a ceremony in 2024 - this is not managed by the graduation team you can check the https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/graduation

Early Exit, Diploma or one component of your double degree

Note: there is a separate process for the below situations:

  • If you wish to exit early from your enrolled award
  • If you are wanting to graduate with your Diploma in an Integrated Award
  • If you want to graduate from the first component of your Double Degree

You can apply for these three processes via the following steps:

  • Log in to MySR
  • Click on the Banner menu on the top left (three horizontal bars)
  • Click on Banner > Student > Graduation > Early Award and Exit Request
  • You can check your eligibility to receive an Early Award here and apply if you are eligible
  • You will get an outcome based on the Graduation team’s assessment of your request.

Please also ensure you have confirmed the following prior to making your application to graduate:

2. Eligibility Review

Your Register to Complete application is assessed by the University to confirm that you meet the program rules and have not outstanding administration details which include but not limited to outstanding fees, pending grades, transfer credit, prior learning credit, cross institutional credit not finalised (any of the items listed below will prevent you from being completed for these conferral rounds).

If you apply for a Review/Change of Grade you will be uncompleted and moved to a future round.  You must apply for the ROG through the online form, if you are going through the school directly you must email graduations@westernsydney.edu.au to advise you are doing a Review of Grade so we put a hold on your record, if you do not and the review is upheld if your record has been completed we are unable the change the details.  You must also inform us when the grade has been updated to have the hold removed

Finalise Holds (Encumbrances)

Please check your statement of account and emails for outstanding fees.  You must clear all outstanding debts with the University before you can be completed/conferred. This includes:

  • Tuition Fees
  • Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)
  • Loans
  • Library fines
  • Equipment fees

Potential Graduates with outstanding debts will not be permitted to graduate. If your debt is not cleared before the advertised completion/conferral dates, you will not be included on the graduation list until all debts are cleared. Please refer to Holds (Encumbrances) for information on how to pay, what will happen if you don't clear your debts, and how to get help and advice.

Once you've cleared any debts, please ensure you advise the Graduations Team by submitting emailing graduations@westernsydney.edu.au

Have all outstanding results resolved

Any activity that results in a delay to your final results leads to your completion and conferral being moved to a future month. Such activities include (but are not limited to):

  • Sitting a deferred exam
  • Sitting a supplementary exam
  • Submitting an additional assessment
  • Submitting documentation for special consideration
  • Misconduct hearings (regardless of final outcome)
  • Your results are not finalised by the advertised timelines
  • You are currently enrolled
  • You have outstanding grades
  • Professional placement / Industrial Experience processing/ Industry Based Learning / grades are not complete
  • Incomplete Contrary to program Rules application
  • You have not submitted an early exit application via MySR for double degree programs or integrated programs
  • You have advanced standing or program transfer details still pending
  • Cross Institutional details are not finalised
  • Your post census miscellaneous unit is not finalised and transferred by the advertised timelines
  • You were given an extension to submit work and results not finalised by advertised timelines
  • You have not met program requirements by the advertised timelines (regardless of cps achieved)
  • Cross Institutional study results are post our advertised timelines, unfortunately we are unable to extend our timelines
  • Delays in processing marks
  • You have not received an honours level for honours programs
  • You have not met program requirements by the advertised timelines (regardless of cps achieved)
  • Cross Institutional study results are post our advertised timelines, unfortunately we are unable to extend our timelines
  • Delays in processing marks
  • You have not received an honours level for honours programs
  • Change of Grade no processed by advertised timeline
  • Program variation not finalised on student record
  • Enrolment issues not finalised
  • You are doing the GPA neutral scheme (2021 only)
  • Submitted documentation for a review of grade

If you have outstanding details, please contact your Academic Program Advisor requesting them to finalise outstanding details to enable you to move forward in the graduation process.

Check Award & Completion details (Specialisations, Honours Class, Medal)

  • Please check that your specialisations are shown correctly (Majors, Minors etc.).  Please remove any that you will not complete as this will block you from completion if incorrect
  • Testamur Majors will be shown on your testamur (degree certificate) and the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS).
  • Non-Testamur Majors and Minors will be shown on your AHEGS only – please refer to the Handbook or your Academic Program Advisor if unsure.
  • If you have completed study allowing you to graduate with Honours, check that your level of Honours has been added to your record. If your level of Honours is not reflected on your record, contact your Honours Coordinator promptly to ensure the information is added by the advertised timeline.
  • If you believe you have met the requirements to be awarded Distinction or University Medal, check that this has been added to your record. If you are unsure whether you are eligible to graduate with Honours, Distinction or a University Medal, refer to the Graduation Policy / Document / Policy DDS

Check personal and contact details

You need to check your full legal name as held in your student record. You can view your legal name by checking Name on Testamur in MySR. Your full legal name is what appears on all of your official documents from the University including your Testamur (degree certificate) and the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS).

If you need to change your legal name, you will need to complete the following form.

Notify the Graduations Team via email graduations@westernsydney.edu.au immediately once you have completed the above steps to notify us that you have submitted correct documentation for your name to be changed or charges may be incurred for any changes.

Please note that No titles or brackets will be printed on the testamur.

You must also ensure that all your contact details are accurate in MySR to receive important graduation information and documents.

Submit Your Thesis Before Graduation

Are you a research student? If you are a Research graduate, you must follow communication and details as provided by the Graduate Research School (GRS) ensuring all documentation is submitted to them by the timelines.  If all details are not finalised and provided to GRS and any outstanding administration details may result in your conferral being delayed until the following round.

3. Conferral

Conferral is the official University process by which students degrees are awarded after final University approval. You are considered a graduate of Western Sydney University upon your conferral date.

4. Graduation Documents

You will receive communication with information on how to order and pay for your graduation documents online once you are deemed eligible for completion. Documents will be mailed to your nominated address by registered post as per information we will provide in our emails (usually 4 weeks post conferral). Graduation documents include your Testamur (degree certificate) and the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS).

Note: You will not receive your graduation documents at your graduation ceremony.

Note: If you have previously graduated from a program and have not paid to have your graduation documents mailed out, any payment received will automatically be assigned to the earlier award documentation and those will be posted.  If you know you have documents in archives,  you can elect to make payment and email us advising you have some in archives and we can retrieve and send with your new award, this will be a 2-3 week wait or you can make 2 payments.  If we find documents in archives we will automatically send those.

5. Graduation Ceremony

You will receive further communication about graduation ceremonies leading up to the event. Any questions please reach out to the Student Services Hub via our form.

You can decide to either:

Attend the ceremony;

If you choose to attend your graduation ceremony, you will receive emails from the University with details of your ceremony date and time. You will need to pay for your ceremony and regalia hire to attend your ceremony. You can bring a limited number of guests which will be confirmed in your ceremony allocation email.

Students are allocated to ceremonies according to their program, and therefore unable to choose the ceremony date and time. There are many factors involved in scheduling ceremonies for certain dates/times that makes catering for individual requests impossible – i.e. Officiating Party availability, mapping of certain programs to align with school ceremony allocations, venue availability and capacity.

The cost for attending a ceremony is $198 (including GST), which is paid to Silver Rose and includes regalia hire. You will receive information about this via email. Please note that the payment for Academic documents is separate to the ceremony fee.

All graduands must wear regalia provided by Western Sydney University. Due to the formal nature of regalia, we recommend you wear smart attire to your graduation ceremony. Students may also choose to wear a black cloth trencher (hat) as part of their regalia, as this is not a mandatory requirement.

Defer the ceremony; or

Deferring your ceremony means that you are nominating to attend the next round of graduation ceremonies. You can only defer your ceremony attendance once. If you choose to defer the ceremony, you will be invited to attend the first ceremony round falling after the one you deferred from.

If you choose to defer and don’t attend the next graduation ceremony, you are not able to attend any future rounds.

Graduate in absentia

This means you decide not to attend your ceremony.

Congratulations! Successful completion of all these steps makes you a Western Sydney University Graduate and you are now one of our Alumni. Find out everything our Alumni team can do for you at Alumni.