New Diplomas When Schools Change Names

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by bing, Oct 21, 2005.

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  1. bing

    bing New Member

    I was putting together an archive of my credentials the other day. I made scans of all my documents, to include diplomas, transcripts, DD214, military training, etc. Looking at my USNY diploma, I wondered if they had offered to update the diploma with an Excelsior diploma. Not that I want an Excelsior diploma, though. I always hated the name they chose, as it reminds me of a mill or packing material. Anyone know anything about that?

    Do legit schools do this type of thing as they change name, or get sold? I am a BYU grad and we had a school in the system named Ricks College. It later became BYU-Idaho. I wondered if they did that there.
     
  2. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    My best guess is this:
    The school that issued your diploma had a name. That name is on the diploma. If at some later date the school changes names, you retain your original diploma as that is the school from which you graduated, not the newly named school. You could not have graduated from the University of XYZ in 1990 because in 1990 the University of XYZ did not exist.
    Jack
    (now you should ask, "If my original diploma was destroyed in a fire/flood/etc. where can I obtain a legitimate replacement if the university has changed names?
     
  3. bing

    bing New Member

    OK. Where can I get a copy of my USNY diploma if the original is destroyed? I wonder if there are any USNY grads down in N.O.?

     
  4. bing

    bing New Member

  5. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    After my name change in 1968, I was able to get new diplomas from the University of California at Berkeley and Michigan State. But Berkeley explained that the new diplomas would have the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees, not the one when I graduated. So I traded in Earl Warren for Ronald Reagan. Such is life. Michigan State did supply the new one with officers from the time I got the original.

    I will be interested to learn about the policy of Excelsior, and other major schools that changed names (such as Charter Oak, Kings College, the College of New Jersey, and many others).
     
  6. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Jack's explanation about how the diploma should reflect the name of the institution as it existed at the time said diploma was issued has the most integrity... but could also be the most confusing.

    If I owned a school that changed its name, my policy would be that any student with a diploma from said school under its old name who requested a replacement would get one bearing the old name of the school, but beneath said old name would be the words:
    • (Subsequently changed to [new name] University)

      -- or --

      (Changed in [year] to [new name] University)
    so it would be less confusing to those gazing upon said diploma. To explain the fact that the diploma was originally issued during a year prior to the name change, I would put in small letters at the very bottom of the diploma that it was a replacement, and I would specify the year in which said replacement was produced and issued.

    For transcripts, however, it would be a different situation. After all, it would be the entity with the new name from which transcripts would be requested; so at the very top of each transcript, printed in parenthesis immediately below the new name, would be the words:
    • (Formerly [old name] University)

      -- or --

      (Changed in [year] from [old name] University)
    Then, down in the body of the transcript (but only for the transcripts of those who got their degree under the old school name), just above the first course description, in the "Course Description" column, I'd put in all capital letters:
    • THE FOLLOWING IS AN ACCURATE ACCOUNTING OF CREDITS ATTEMPTED AND/OR EARNED BACK WHEN OUR INSTITUTION WAS NAMED [old name].
    Or so it is my opinion of how it should be done. There's no substitute for just blurting-out the truth... especially when doing so helps make everything crystal clear.
     
  7. Locally, when Beaver College changed its name to Arcadia University, current students had the option of receiving a Beaver College diploma or an Arcadia diploma at graduation.

    Replacements are Arcadia diplomas with a "Beaver College of Undergraduate Studies" notation.

    No laughing.
     

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