How online degree convocation works
If you have just finished an online course, convocation is the step that turns your provisional into a degree. No UGC rule covers it, so each college runs it its own way. Most Indian universities hold it once a year, so a wait of six to eighteen months after results is normal.
It usually goes like this.
Keep the email address on your student record working. The notice goes there, and a missed notice can cost you a year.
- The college sends a noticeBy email, to the address on your student record.
- You sign upOn the college's page for it, such as IGNOU's.
- You pay the feePaying is what gets your degree issued.
- You go, or get it by postWhere your college gives the choice.
- You check the degreeAs soon as it reaches you.
Why convocation takes months
Your degree is not issued when your results come out. It is conferred at convocation, and most Indian universities hold one a year. So if you finish just after one, you wait for the next. A gap of six to eighteen months is normal.
No UGC rule sets a deadline for the degree. In fact, the 2020 rules for online and distance study do not cover convocation at all. Each college sets its own timetable. Ask yours for the expected date in writing, so you can plan around it.
The wait is not a sign that anything is wrong with your degree. It is how the calendar works at most colleges.
Do you have to attend convocation?
No. You do not have to go to get your degree. IGNOU puts the choice on its form: go in person, or get the degree by post. If you do not go, the local centre posts it to you later.
Some colleges give no choice at all. Pondicherry University's distance unit says its distance students cannot get the degree at the ceremony, and posts it instead. So ask your own college what it does.
Going is a choice about the day, not about the degree. The degree is the same whether it is handed to you or posted.
- IGNOUYou choose: go in person, or get the degree by post.
- Pondicherry University, distanceDistance students do not go. The degree is posted.
Online students and the ceremony
No rule says online graduates must be treated differently at convocation. No rule says they must be treated the same either. The 2020 rules simply do not cover it.
So ask your college how its online graduates take part. Some may invite you to the same ceremony as campus students. Others may post every online degree. Neither is wrong, and neither changes what the degree is worth.
If you want to attend, say so early. Travel and leave from work take planning, so ask for the date as soon as it is known.
What convocation costs
The fee is what matters, and it stays the same if you stay away. At IGNOU you pay the same whether you go or not.
Some colleges put it in the course fee. Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth does, inside its full cost of ₹1,89,400. Elsewhere, ask if it costs extra.
Check whether your course fee already covers it. If it does not, ask the college for the figure in writing before the notice comes, so it is not a surprise.
Pay only through the college's own page or office, and keep the receipt.
| University | Convocation fee |
|---|---|
| IGNOU, master's, bachelor's or diploma | ₹600 |
| IGNOU, certificate course | ₹200 |
| Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth | Included in the course fee |
Sources: IGNOU, and the course pages on Sidenotes
If you miss the sign-up
Because most universities hold convocation once a year, a missed sign-up can mean a long wait. Ask the college at once whether it allows late sign-up, and what it costs.
The wait does not stop you from moving on. Your provisional certificate covers most needs until the degree comes. See provisional certificate vs degree.
- Ask at onceIn writing, whether late sign-up is allowed and what it costs.
- Use the provisionalWES accepts it, and university offices check it for a job or a visa.
Make sure your degree reaches you
The college uses the details on its own record, not the ones you would give today. Two years of study, a new job or a move can change them. And no UGC rule covers how degrees are sent, so a lost envelope has no set fix.
Where the degree comes by post, the sender may be a local office, not the main exam office. Update your details when you sign up.
Keep the receipt for the convocation fee and a note of the date you signed up. If the degree does not come, they show that you did your part.
- Email on your recordThe notice goes there. One missed email can mean a year's wait.
- Postal addressUpdate it with the office that will post your degree, and do it in writing.
Who posts the degree
Where the degree comes by post, the sender is not always the main office. IGNOU, for example, posts degrees to those who do not attend through its regional centres, after the ceremony.
So find out which office will send yours, and make sure that office has your current address. A change of address given only to the head office may never reach the office that posts the degree.
If you move abroad before the degree is posted, ask whether the office posts overseas, or whether someone can collect it for you with your written consent.
Check your degree when it arrives
One part of the degree is set by the rules, and it is on the back. Check it all the day it comes, because a fix asked for at once is easier than one asked for years later.
If anything is wrong, write to the exam office at once with a scan of both sides. Ask for the fix in writing, and keep a copy of your letter.
- The backIt must show how you studied, when you joined and finished, and where you sat exams.
- The ID detailsAn ID number, your photo and your Aadhaar or other ID.
- Your name and courseSpelled just as on your admission papers.
Your degree in DigiLocker
Regulation 16(1) requires every online degree to be sent to NAD. Once your college has sent it, you can fetch it into DigiLocker for free. A degree the college puts there counts as the original in India, under Rule 9A of the 2016 rules.
Fetch it soon after the paper degree arrives, and check that the two match. See degree verification through DigiLocker.
After the degree arrives
A few steps on the day it comes will save you trouble for years. See documents to keep after graduating for the full list.
- Fetch it into DigiLockerIf your college has sent it to NAD. A degree it puts there counts as the original in India.
- Scan both sidesThe back carries the details the rules require.
- Store the original flat and dryWith your marksheets and your provisional certificate.
- Save your recognition recordA dated copy of your course's row on the UGC-DEB list for your session.
Questions to ask in your last term
Most convocation trouble comes from not knowing the plan. Ask these by email, so the answers are on record.
- When is the next convocation?And when the sign-up opens.
- Is the fee in my course fee?If not, what it is.
- Can I choose to go or get it by post?Some colleges give no choice.
- Which office posts the degree?So you can give that office your address.
- Will the degree go to NAD?So you know whether to look for it in DigiLocker.
