To honor a degree-seeking student who has met an untimely death and to help the student's family cope with the loss, a degree may be awarded posthumously. A Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Science, or Business Administration is awarded to a deceased student who has completed all degree requirements at the time of death.

The College may award a Degree in Memoriam to a student who had not completed all degree requirements at the time of death. For a deceased student who had declared a major, the Diploma will read: “The Trustees have conferred upon [Student's Name] the Degree of Bachelor of Arts/Science/Business Administration in Memoriam.”

For a student who had not yet declared a major, the Diploma will read: “The Trustees have conferred upon [Student's Name] the Degree ‘in Memoriam.’”

In Memoriam Degree Procedure

The College will maintain records of students who are deceased during their Roanoke College career and with which graduating class they are associated. The College will initiate the In Memoriam degree process no later than February, as the student’s class approaches May graduation. The process begins with a review of the student’s academic records by the Registrar, and conduct records by the Dean of Students. If there is no question about the appropriateness of awarding the In Memoriam degree, the process will go forward.

If there is some question about whether awarding the In Memoriam Degree is appropriate, a committee consisting of the Registrar, Dean of Students or Vice President of Student Success, and Assistant Vice President for Academic Operations or Vice President of Academic Affairs will consider the matter.

Once the degree has been approved, the Dean of the Chapel or the President’s Office will inform the family about the College’s desire to award the In Memoriam degree and inquire how they would prefer the diploma be conferred. The Diploma will be awarded to the family in May of the year the deceased student’s class graduates. The Diploma will be awarded as the family prefers: during the May Commencement ceremony, in a special private ceremony on campus, or by simply delivering the Diploma to the family without ceremony.

In each case, the printed diploma will be presented to the family and the deceased student’s name will appear in the Commencement Program.