Terms and conditions

Graduation policies for Anglia Ruskin University

The following terms and conditions relate to Anglia Ruskin University graduation ceremonies in November 2024.

By submitting the booking online, you, the graduand, agree to the following.

Conditions for attending a ceremony

  • To confirm your attendance and book guest tickets within the advertised deadlines schedule. Graduands who have not adhered to the deadline dates will not be admitted on the day. If you have not confirmed your attendance and purchased guest tickets by 2pm on Monday 21 October, we assume you are not attending.
  • Your final award must have been conferred at an Anglia Ruskin University Awards Board between 1 August and 21 October 2024.
  • To pay any outstanding tuition fee debts to Anglia Ruskin University in full by Monday 9 September 2024.
  • You and your guests to be seated in the auditorium at least 30 minutes prior to the start time of the ceremony. You are advised to allow two hours and 30 minutes to register, collect your seat card (and guest tickets), collect your gown and have photographs taken. However, if you/and or your guests do arrive after this time staff will endeavour to accommodate you, but please be aware that this may not always be possible. Late arrivals will only be admitted at certain times and into certain areas to minimise the disruption to other graduands and guests.
  • The University cannot be held liable for the cost incurred of any travel arrangements made by graduates or guests.
  • The University cannot be held responsible for any guest arriving at a ceremony without having purchased a guest ticket.
  • As this is a formal event celebrating your academic success at Anglia Ruskin University, we find that the majority of our students, although not mandatory, seize the opportunity to hire and wear an academic robe. Please note that any robe that graduands wear must be of Anglia Ruskin University. You can hire/purchase an Anglia Ruskin University robe via our recommended supplier, Graduation Attire, at least 28 days before your ceremony. We cannot guarantee the finish, quality and consistency or the appearance of attire hired from any other gown provider. If you do choose to hire via an alternative supplier, please ensure that the gown is consistent with the colour and style of the official Anglia Ruskin University robes, provided by Graduation Attire.
  • Guest tickets are issued to the attending graduand on the day of the ceremony and are non-transferable.

Failure to comply with any of the above terms and conditions may result in your entry to the ceremony being denied.

Additional requirements

We ask that at the time of booking, any requirements for guests and graduands with additional needs, eg wheelchair access, sight or sound facilities, are requested on the online booking system. We will make every effort to meet your requirements, however, it may not always be possible for us to accommodate particular needs, especially without advance notice. Please note that we will seat your guests based on the requirements specified, this does not necessarily mean they will be seated on the front row.

Please note that by making an online booking, graduands and their guests consent to the University passing relevant details of an individual’s special requirements to the venue to enable any appropriate adjustments to be made. Personal data will be handled in compliance with Privacy law.

Eligibility and Deferrals

A student eligible for Graduation (a graduand) who has conferral of their award between 1 August and 21 October 2024 and, subject to meeting the full eligibility criteria, is entitled to attend the next round of graduation ceremonies in November 2024. Eligible graduands will be able to book a place to their allocated ceremony specifically scheduled for their faculty, department and course.

Where it has not been possible (for whatever reason) to confirm an award by the official date for the publication of results for those students who have completed the booking process, every effort will be made to include the graduand in their allocated ceremony.*

*Please note, the graduand may not be included in the printed graduation brochure for the ceremonies. In this case, a digital copy of the brochure, with the graduand's name added, can be sent to the graduate following the ceremonies. Alternatively, graduands can request to be added to the brochure for the next round of ceremonies in the summer (normally July). They must contact the Graduation Team at [email protected] within four weeks following their ceremony for their name to be added and a graduation brochure will then be sent to the graduate following the summer ceremonies.

A graduand is not permitted to attend an alternative ceremony to the one they have been allocated to.

If a graduand is unable to attend their allocated ceremony, they may submit a formal request to defer their attendance, in certain circumstances. A graduand is usually not permitted to defer their attendance. Graduands who wish to defer must declare this to the Graduation Team at [email protected]

Graduands can only defer once and may not defer multiple times. Graduands may ask to defer their graduation to the next set of ceremonies (ceremonies take place in July and November). A deferral will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances and each case will be considered individually by the Graduation Team. Situation which may allow for deferral include:

a). A death in the graduand's family

b). Critical illness in the graduand's family

c). Problems with obtaining a visa to attend the graduation

d). A pre-arranged event which cannot be easily cancelled, such as a wedding, booked work conference, or a consultant appointment

e). Birth of a child

All formal requests for deferrals should be made in writing to [email protected] including the reasons for deferral and any supporting evidence, if appropriate. In all of the above circumstances, a form of evidence pertaining to the deferral circumstances may be requested by the Graduation Team. A student must request a deferral before or immediately after (up to and including 10 working days) of the original graduation ceremony date. Any request after this period will not be considered as the graduand will be deemed to have graduated in absentia and will no longer have the status of graduand. Where a deferral is approved, this does not, in any circumstances, guarantee or secure tickets for the graduand and guests to the deferred ceremony. For all ceremonies, graduands cannot attend without pre-booking their place and purchasing any guest tickets required.

Cancelling your attendance/guest tickets

If you change your mind or are unable to attend please let us know by emailing [email protected] as soon as possible. Please include your Anglia Ruskin University SID.

Please note: guest tickets are non-transferable between students.

Additional Guest Ticket Ballot

All graduands have two guest tickets allocated to them which they can purchase in the initial booking period. Graduands are asked during this booking process if they would be interested in additional guest tickets. If the graduand selects "yes", they are entered into a ballot for any additional guest tickets that may become available after the initial booking period closes. Additional guest tickets are not guaranteed. If successful in the ballot, the graduand may not be allocated the full amount of tickets they may want. If purchased, additional guest tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

Applicants in the ballot will receive an email to notify them of the outcome. Successful applicants will have a limited period in which to make their purchase so graduands need to ensure that they check their email account regularly including spam and junk folders. Graduands will not be able to purchase any additional guest tickets after the booking period has closed. 

Graduands who do not register their interest in additional guest tickets during the initial booking process, will not be added to the ballot and will not be able to purchase any additional guest tickets if they become available for their ceremony.

Refund policy

If you require a refund on any (or all) of your guest tickets, please submit a request before 21 October 2024.

This does not include Additional Guest Tickets that are allocated and purchased from the ballot. Additional Guest Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

No refunds will be made after this date other than for students who do not achieve their award in time for the ceremony. For students who do not achieve their award in time for their Graduation ceremony refunds for guest tickets will be granted or tickets can be transferred to the next appropriate ceremony.

Requests for refunds must be made in writing and sent via email: [email protected]

Refunds will be made to the person who purchased the tickets and not to any third party. All eligible refund requests will be processed within 2 weeks of the date the request is received.

If you are purchasing tickets online, then the University's Online Terms and Conditions shall apply.

Admittance of children into the ceremony

We know that it is not always possible to make alternative childcare arrangements, but we do advise against bringing any young children to your Graduation ceremony as they are long and formal occasions where children are likely to become bored and restless.

Children over two years old who do attend must have their own seat and you will be required to pay full price for their tickets. All children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult guest and are your responsibility. It is not possible for children no matter their age to be seated with graduates, so please ensure they have a chaperone with them at all times. If they are not accompanied by a suitable adult guest, you will be asked to leave so that you can care for them and you will miss your Graduation ceremony.

Children/babies in arms under the age of 2 may enter free-of-charge but chaperones will need to collect a ticket for them on the day, and they are required to sit on the lap of an accompanying adult guest. Buggies and seat carriers are not permitted in the venues.

The University reserves the right to ask any child (or adult) to leave the venue during the ceremony if they are making unnecessary noise which is disruptive to the proceedings or to other guests.

Data protection, ceremony recording, online streaming and image capture statement

Please note that the graduation ceremonies of Anglia Ruskin University are regarded as public events.

This means that the names of graduands and subjects are published in the graduation programme and audio-visual images of the ceremony are publicly available, eg online streaming and ceremony recordings. Your degree classification will not be included nor will it be announced at the ceremony.

Additionally, the names of graduands may be provided to external companies for display on graduation products such as graduation t-shirts. The names and awards printed in the programme and supplied to external companies for the production of merchandise are correct at the time of going to print.

We are unable to discuss details of a student’s graduation ceremony with anyone else, unless we receive written permission from the student concerned.

During the day professional photographers will be taking photographs and these may be used in the University's future promotional literature.

We would like to inform you that the Anglia Ruskin University graduation ceremonies will be photographed, videoed, streamed live online and/or otherwise captured in image form. These images and video content may then be used by Anglia Ruskin University for publicity and promotional purposes such as film, prospectuses, advertising campaigns, websites, exhibition stands, posters, leaflets, national or local press articles, etc. It is important to note that if any images are published on the internet, they will be accessible to users from all over the world.

Due to the scale of these events we are unable to obtain written consent from each individual attending or working at the events. Therefore, we will assume that whilst participating in these events all persons agree to their image(s) being captured for the purposes stated above.

If you object to the publication of any of your personal data or your images being used as described above, you must inform [email protected] of your objection, in writing, by 21 October 2024. Measures to manage objections are likely to prevent your full participation in the event.

For more information about your data protection rights, please visit https://aru.ac.uk/privacy-and-cookies.

Disclaimer

If the graduation ceremonies cannot take place or are delayed due to circumstances beyond the University’s control, including (without limitation:) fire; explosion; terrorist act (or threat of terrorist act); act of God; pandemic; industrial action, national mourning (any member of the Royal Family) or dispute involving the University or the venue/s at which the ceremonies and other graduation services are due to be held, the University will not be liable for any losses direct or otherwise incurred by graduates or their guests by the said cancellations, rescheduling or postponement. The University will, where at all possible, make alternative arrangements for any graduands affected, but graduands and their guests should ensure that they have sufficient insurance protection to cover any losses they might suffer as a result of ceremonies being cancelled or delayed.

Accessibility

All venues where the ceremonies will be taking place comply with current legal requirements. A first aider will also be on duty. Should a student or guest need to use the lifts or require medical assistance, please speak to a member of staff from the venue or an Anglia Ruskin University usher.