Does Anyone Know What The Excelsior Diploma Looks Like

I read this thread and then spun my chair around to look at my credentials to see if they measured up.

Then I asked myself what on earth am I looking for? Each of my parchments are housed in a very simple wood frame. The diploma from a community college is the most visually attractive or at least in my opinion. I have often been asked for a transcript from a school but I have never been asked for a copy of the parchment.

I hope this thread is about something substantive rather than a question about what looks good on the wall.

 

That was my point to an extent; employers care about the transcript. As far as the thread being "substantitive", there's nothing wrong with wanting to know what will be hanging on the wall. It's a personal affirmation, and something to be justifiably proud of.

Dave

 

Hi Turtle:

I have experienced the opposite. Having worked for private and public entities, they have asked for a copy of the "parchment" or "buckskin" if you will. There is nothing wrong with asking what a degree looks like. Even if a student only displays it in his or her home office, he/she wants the family, friends or neighbors to look at with credibility.

Another example. I am Martial Arts Instructor. As a Sensei/Sifu, pupils often wonder what their Black Belt certificate will look like. After I subject them to seven or eight years of grueling training, the few that make it deserve a beautiful, handcrafted certificate/degree with ornate Asian calligraphy. A cheesy looking diploma would be denegrating!

Just my two cents!

Respectfully,

Abner

 

I can understand the question. I wished I had seen Baker College's diploma's before enrolling. My bachelor's diploma from Baker College doesn't look as "academic" or "standard" as Florida International University (for example). They used what looked like a cheap cardstock and there are lots of bright colors on it. I put it on the wall in my office but I still would have liked the standard that we all have come to know. Just my 2 cents.

 

I know this is a very old thread but I would like to reply it because, like vonbatten and alarmingidea, I am one of those who would like to see what the diploma would look like before I actually consider enrolling in an accredited dl program.

It's just plain commonsense. The diploma is the ultimate symbol of your successful completion of your degree. To merit its receipt you have invested blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of money. Why wouldn't you want to see and examine it first? Did they (the college) put a lot of effort into its creation given its importance to you (not so much about your employer, they don't really care about the aesthetics of your diploma) and your family? Does it appropriately represent your efforts and the knowledge/skill you have gained in that particular program? If yes then the desire for the diploma (obtainable only if you pass the program) becomes an added motivating factor in the pursuit of the degree. During olden times, they spend a lot of time perfecting the diploma design because they understand its importance.

I once considered enrolling at California Coast University but was completely turned-off by the ugly diploma that didn't even have their logo (their logo is beautiful by the way, but is completely absent from the diploma). It is the worst looking diploma I have ever seen. I wouldn't pay even a dollar for a program that would award that kind of diploma. Columbia Southern University is one of the few that features a self-raised gold seal in their diplomas (no foil but a stand alone print that is raised), others either use foil seals embossed using a dry seal clamp or shiny multi-colored stickers of the logo.

Let's not be paranoid about each other's motives. If someone owns a printing press and is engaged in the business of marketing knock-off diplomas then that person would most likely have connections already and will not be seeking images in a discussion board such as this one.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I found a clear sample of the Excelsior degree. Here it is:

​

 

Here is a link to a 1938 Doctor of Medicine diploma.

 

HA HA HA I find this very funny, I put my diplomas in a box, and I do not even care how they look, much less choosing a program for the piece of paper you'll receive at the end.

 

Same with me. I have never been asked for a transcript or the parchment. Employers are aware that such can easily be bought over the Internet.

 

If a university diploma is nothing but a piece of paper to you then there is something wrong with how you see things. Certain papers have more value than others. A one hundred dollar bill and a one dollar bill are both pieces of paper, but the one hundred dollar bill is more valuable. It is just plain idiotic to ask why and rationalize that they are both just pieces of paper anyway. Your passport is made-up of pieces of paper. If you travel to a foreign country and somehow come to a point where they ask you for your passport, will you tell them "What for? It's just paper!" It is not the paper itself, it is what it represents. If you don't proudly display your degree diploma then you are an oddity. I bet that there are more who frame their diplomas than those who keep them in a box. If you are doubtful of this then let us have a poll here. It is actually you who is funny, it's just like buying a Rolex and not wearing it ever. It's moronic.

 

What matters to me is the education received.

Obviously the credentials are important, but I cannot care less how they look, thy are just the documentation that proves that you have obtained your degree.

To follow your example I can pay with paper bills, with coins, with checks or with cards, the important thing is not the bill itself but what it represents, or you may have a classic passport or a passport card to go to border countries, they look different but they serve the same purpose.

The Rolex example is really moronic, beauty is part of the item, a watch is designed to be in your wrist. A university diploma is just a certificate, what you "wear" is the education you have received.

I do not say anything if you like a beautiful diploma to frame, but do not give it more importance than it has.

 

Sometimes, having a good education is better than having a beautiful diploma. As Dr. Bear notes in his guides, many diploma mills have very beautiful diplomas (but the education offered is not so good) whereas the University of London offers one of the ugliest diplomas John Bear has ever seen (but the education they offer is one of the best in the world, or so I'm told).

 

Two times that I can quickly think of that require these are applying for government jobs or positions in higher education.

 

That is wrong. The diploma is made to be beautiful for the purpose of display. That is the reason why it uses a special kind of paper, has artistic borders, calligraphies, and embossed (sometimes multi-colored) seals. That is also the reason why gorgeous made to order frames are available, oftentimes from the college itself. You cannot refute it, the diploma is made to be beautiful for the purpose of display. Your personal choice of not displaying your diploma is of course respected but goes against the norm.

I don't know how you missed my saying that the diploma is important because of what it represents. It is obvious that you missed it because you felt the need to say it again, not noticing that it goes against your personal philosophy that it is just a piece of paper. My point is that it is a lot more than a piece of paper because it represents your hard-earned education.

You do not "wear" your education, that is an overkill. There are people who do not have degrees but appears to be very educated if you will just base it on personal observation. The fact is you cannot always tell between an academically-educated professional and an experienced professional who does not have a degree. A degree diploma is a legal document certifying that someone really holds a degree, and if you're in doubt you can always double-check with the school.

Your repeated rationalization supporting your disregard of the diploma as just a piece of paper shows how hard-headed you are. Keeping your diplomas in a box instead of proudly displaying them is right for you because it is your own personal choice, and no one has the authority to dictate you to do otherwise, but your belief that a degree diploma (and a I am not talking about fraudulent diplomas but authentic blood, sweat, tears, time and money diplomas) is just a piece of paper is one hundred percent wrong.

 

Having a good education is always better than having a beautiful diploma. There is no question of "sometimes" because, as is obvious, such is always the case. But having a good education and a beautiful diploma to represent that education is even better.

Also, we are not speaking about diplomas issued by diploma mills here but authentic diplomas. The original poster was asking to see a sample diploma from an accredited college, and the context of the latter discussion that resulted from that is whether a degree diploma is important or just a piece of paper. Nobody has proposed that the aesthetics of the degree diploma is more important than the education it represents, that is just a strawman or hallucinated argument (perhaps due to lack of comprehension or being too lazy to read everything that has been said before replying).

 

Here is how I see it. Essentially, a degree is just a piece of paper. The social world in which you are part of gives your accomplishment ( program completion ) value and the utility of your accomplishment is based in part on what you do with your earned credential and title that is widely socially accepted. In my opinion, a certified transcript is more valuable than a degree. It is a document that provides proof of university attendance, graduation, and course completion. In my opinion, the awarding and possession of a college degree from an accredited school is a process that has ceremonial, familial, and psychological value.

 

In the immortal words of Steve Martin, "WELL, EXCUUUUUSE MEEEEE!!!"

 

If that is the case then it is clear, at least to me, that it isn't just a piece of paper.

The transcript of records, though very important (i.e. not just a piece of paper), isn't part of the discussion.

 

As it was noted before some diplomas are beautiful, some are not.

And usually overpriced!!

That is true.

I don't know about that, have you done a survey among degree holders?

I wasn't clear enough, it is a piece of paper that certifies you have completed a course of studies, no more, no less.

it is fine if you want to display it, what I found funny is the fact that we view the diploma in such a different way.