Graduation Information

• Apply for graduation as soon as you register for your final courses for your degree, whether they are TESU or external courses.
• The application for graduation is the start of the process. You need to submit the graduation application and pay the graduation audit fee in accordance with one of the four graduation application deadlines.
• It is not necessary to have all degree requirements completed by the time you submit the graduation application, but it is necessary to have them all completed and grades and transcripts in our office at least one month before the date of graduation for which you applied.
• If your final courses are being taken at TESU, we will know when grades are due and will schedule your graduation audit after that date.
• If your final courses are being taken outside of TESU, please ensure that Academic Advising has officially approved your remaining coursework. In addition, indicate on the Request for Supplemental Information Form when you expect Thomas Edison State University to receive the final transcript from where you took the course(s).
• Review your My Progress degree program to determine that you have or will complete all your degree requirements at least a month before the actual degree conferral date. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Academic Advising by sending an email to academicadvising@tesu.edu, or call our “Advising Expressline” at (609) 777-5680 (Mon-Fri 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET). In addition, you can schedule an appointment by accessing the “Advising Appointment” link located in the “Tools” box when you login to your myEdison^®.

• All students, with the exception of those with the program requirements listed below, file their graduation application through myEdison, through your Student Self Service portal.
• You should first determine whether your current program requires one of these special forms:
  • Graduate or Undergraduate Certificate (for example, the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Trials Management or the Undergraduate Certificate in Accounting)
    • For students applying for a degree and certificate in the same graduation cycle, please use this Certificate application.
  • Second Degree Program or Second Area of Study, for example: Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Arts in Music and Art (file first application through online student services, and the second here). You can apply for graduation for an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree for the same graduation date. Both degrees must be complete to be eligible. There is no fee for the addition of the second degree as long as both degrees are complete and certified for the same graduation date. If you are certified for graduation for the first degree but you are not certified for the second degree you will need to reapply for graduation and pay another graduation audit fee for the second degree.
• After applying for graduation, you’ll be prompted to pay the graduation audit fee. The current graduation audit fee is $298. The graduation audit fee is non-refundable. The application will not be submitted until the graduation audit fee is paid!
• Make sure you submit your application by the instructed deadline.

• We will review requests to be included in a graduation date for which you missed the application deadline but we cannot guarantee it will be approved. Requests will only be reviewed for one month after the graduation deadline. The first step is to apply for graduation for the date that is open on the application and then submit the Late Graduation Application Petition to our office. If we notify you that we will be able to include your application in an earlier graduation date, we will send you information to pay the $163 late graduation audit fee and adjust your graduation application date once payment is made. If your request is not approved, there is no fee for the request. If approved, the fee is nonrefundable and is required regardless of the outcome so students should be sure that they meet all the criteria for consideration.
• Before you submit the Late Graduation Application Petition, consider your situation to determine if it is really necessary since there is a fee if approved. All graduates, when certified for graduation, receive a degree certification email and can request a letter of official degree certification. This letter, along with a Thomas Edison State University transcript showing the credits required for your degree, usually satisfies the needs of employers and graduate schools. They will often use this certification letter and transcript for their records in anticipation of receiving the official transcript with degree conferral. If this is the case, you may not need to petition to be reviewed early.
• A Late Graduation Application Petition only serves to ask that you be included in the graduation date earlier than the one for which you officially applied. It does not provide an earlier conferral date or an earlier audit of your file. The petitions will only be reviewed for one month after the graduation deadline.
• A Late Graduation Application Petition does not guarantee that you will graduate. You will still be audited for graduation and must have completed all degree requirements before being awarded your degree.

• You will receive an acknowledgement email from the Graduation office confirming that your form has been received and the degree for which you are applying. If you do not receive an acknowledgement email within two days from the date you submitted your form, please contact the Registrar’s Office.
• A Graduation Auditor will then review your file to determine if you are qualified to graduate. Files are reviewed in the order in which they are received.

After a student has applied for graduation and paid the graduation audit fee, a graduation audit will occur. The graduation audit ensures that a student has met all the requirements necessary for graduation. A graduation auditor will review all transcripts that a student has submitted. Each transcript is reviewed to verify that the transcript belongs to the student and that each course has been entered correctly into the student’s record. This includes looking at the course number, the course name, term the course was taken, and the credits awarded. The graduation auditor also reviews the degree program to make sure that all degree requirements have been met and that courses/exams are being used accurately to meet the correct requirements. Finally, the auditor will verify that the student is in compliance with all academic and nonacademic policies associated with their degree program Undergraduate Policies that Affect Degree Progress and in the University Catalog.

• If a Graduation Auditor has determined that you have met all of the requirements for your degree program, you will receive a certification email. The certification email will indicate the degree for which you have been certified and your anticipated graduation date. These emails are only sent after a student has been certified for graduation. It is important to review your email and verify that the information is correct.
• Your name and degree will be presented to the Board of Trustees on the date of your graduation. While degrees are conferred to students after approval from the University’s Board of Trustees, the annual Commencement ceremony for graduates and their guests to attend occurs in the Fall.
• Diploma packages will be mailed within ten business days from the date of graduation, unless you currently have an outstanding balance and/or a financial hold on your account. Your diploma will not be released until your balance is resolved. Please contact the Office of Student Financial Accounts at (609)984-4099 or studentaccts@tesu.edu for all balance related concerns and inquiries.
• Students can request a duplicate diploma for a fee.
• Although a student is certified for graduation before the actual graduation date, the degree will not appear as conferred on the Thomas Edison State University transcript until the next business day after graduation.

• Your diploma will state your degree, but will not indicate your area of study/option. For example if you graduate with a BA degree in Liberal Studies your diploma will say Bachelor of Arts not Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.

• You may receive an email indicating that we need additional documents and that your official transcripts/grades must be submitted by a specified date. This only occurs if the official transcripts/grades are expected to arrive shortly and time will permit another review of your file.
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• In the event that you have not met your degree requirements, you will receive an email indicating that you have not met your degree requirements. In this event, your file will be audited for the next available graduation. You will not be required to submit another graduation form or fee unless you change degree programs.

You have not met all of your degree requirements.

Carefully review your degree plan in MyProgress. Check that your program says “0 S.H.” remaining. Your evaluation must say “0 S.H.” remaining before you can graduate.
All official transcripts and/or grades must be received before the deadline for graduation. If you have completed course work that is not appearing on MyProgress, you should request that your official transcript(s) be sent to the Registrar’s Office as soon as possible. Transcript and/or grades received after the graduation deadline could delay your graduation or even prevent it.

You are not actively enrolled with the University.

We encourage you to maintain your enrollment with the University until the time your degree requirements have been completed and you apply for graduation. If your enrollment status is inactive, you will need to meet criteria to apply for graduation as an inactive student. More information can be found on the Inactive students to apply for graduation.

You have not met the residency requirement for your program.

Certain special enrollment programs (ex. MDCP and the Per Credit Tuition Plan) require students to earn a specific amount of credit through Thomas Edison State University. A note will be included on in MyProgress if you have a residency requirement. If you have not met the residency for your enrollment plan, you can pay the Credit Hour Residency Waiver Fee to remove this requirement. The Credit Hour Residency Waiver Fee is to be paid by students if they do not intend to meet the academic residency requirements of the University; this fee does not apply to students enrolled in the Joint Degree Program with Rutgers School of Health Related Professions. Meeting the residency - by taking the appropriate number of TESU courses or paying the Credit Hour Residency Waiver Fee is a requirement for graduation, and students will not be certified if this requirement is not met.

You have a financial balance on your account.

Students can be certified for graduation while having a financial balance, with the exception of balances of the credit hour residency waiver fee and graduation fee, which must be paid before a degree will be conferred. We strongly encourage you to resolve any outstanding financial balances prior to graduation. Your diploma will not be released until your balance is zero. Please contact the Office of Student Financial Accounts at (609)984-4099 or studentaccts@tesu.edu to verify that you do not have a balance.

Your overall TESU GPA, the GPA in English Composition and/or the GPA in your area of study/option do not meet the minimum requirement.

Undergraduate students must have an overall TESU GPA, an English Composition GPA and an area of study/option GPA of 2.0 or higher.

Graduate students must have an overall TESU GPA of 3.0 or higher.