Frequently Asked Questions www.bucks.ac.uk/graduation Venues, dates and times When are the ceremonies? Date Monday 7 September Tuesday 8 September Time Ceremony am No ceremony 2.30pm 1 11am 2 Department of Music & Event Management Department of Security, Resilience & Computing 2.30pm 3 School of Media Production & Performance 11am 4 Department of Business & Management 2.30pm 5 Department of Travel & Aviation Department of Sports Management Department of Law 11am 6 Department of Applied Education Department of Community Care & Public Health Department of Social Work & Integrated Care 2.30pm 7 Department of Psychology Department of Criminal Justice & Social Studies 11am 8 School of Advanced and Continuing Professional Development School of Pre-qualifying Nursing & Vocational Health Care (February 12 cohort only) 2.30pm 9 School of Pre-qualifying Nursing & Vocational Health Care Wednesday 9 September Thursday 10 September School/group of courses Friday 11 September School of Design, Craft & Visual Arts 1 Where are the ceremonies held? The Wycombe Swan theatre in High Wycombe - wycombeswan.co.uk. How long will the ceremony last? Approximately one and a half hours. Registration When should I expect to receive my invitation to graduation? You should have received your invitation during the Easter break and it will have been sent to your home address. For graduands whose home address is overseas but have a UK term time address, their invitations were sent to the UK registered address. If you are eligible to graduate this year and have not received your postcard, don’t panic. You can still register. How do I register my attendance and book my guest tickets? Go to https://store.bucks.ac.uk/graduation. When do I need to register by? Register your attendance or non attendance online by midnight 9 August 2015 Book your Guest tickets by midnight 9 August 2015 Additional tickets (if available from 10 August) by midnight 23 August 2015 I am not going to attend graduation so do I still need to register? Yes. You do need to register your non attendance as ‘in absentia’ so the University can arrange to send your certificate to you. Can I register but pay for my guest tickets later? Yes. You need to register immediately. You can always go back into your registration at a later time to purchase your guest tickets (subject to availability). I don’t have my results yet; should I wait until I receive them before I register and purchase my guest tickets? No. You are strongly advised to register and book your guest tickets as soon as possible. Do not wait for your results. Tickets and Guests How much are the tickets? Graduands do not pay for their tickets. Guest tickets cost £20 for adults and £10 for children. Tickets for children under two are free but require a lap seat ticket. The Swan Theatre will not allow anyone to enter the auditorium without a ticket, so it is important that you remember to book a lap seat ticket if required. 2 What does the price include? The price covers entrance to the ceremony in the Swan Theatre, the programme and post ceremony reception refreshments. How many guests am I allowed to bring? You are initially allowed to book up to three guest tickets (subject to availability). How do I book additional guest tickets? Additional tickets, if available, will be released for sale on 10 August 2015 and will be limited to another three guests per student. Can I reserve guest tickets and pay for them later? No. Tickets have to be paid for at the time of booking. How can I change my booking? You can go back into your registration at anytime to make amendments. How am I notified that my registration and purchases have been accepted? You will be sent a confirmation email including the date and time of your award ceremony. Are tickets refundable? In the majority of cases tickets are refundable if requested by Friday 28 August 2015. Refunds cannot be made after this date except in exceptional circumstances. Please email [email protected] with your full details. Should your award not be confirmed by the Board of Examiners, you will be refunded for any guest tickets purchased. When will I receive my tickets? Your tickets will be given to you when you register in the Green Room, the Gateway on the day of your ceremony. We do not send out tickets in advance. What if I or one of my guests has a special access requirement? At the time of booking you will be asked if you or your guests have any access requirements to enable us to provide appropriate seats. The University will make every effort to reasonably accommodate you or your guests. How do I get a visa letter for my guests or myself if coming from abroad? You will be able to download a visa letter request form from your confirmation email. For further details please see the overseas visitors and visa letters section of our website. Can children attend? Children are welcome to attend the ceremonies but please note due to the length and formal nature of the ceremonies very young children may become restless. We ask parents/carers to take any disruptive children out of the auditorium so not to disturb the audience. A live screening area will be made available in the downstairs foyer of the theatre for those who have come out of the auditorium. 3 Gown hire How do I order my FREE gown, hood and mortarboard? You will be directed to book your gown hire after you have registered or you can contact Ede & Ravenscroft directly at gownhire.co.uk. Alternatively call 01223 861 854. Please ensure you book your gown no less than three weeks before your ceremony. Where is the collection and drop off point for the gowns? You will be gowned in the Drama Studio, the Gateway and will return your gown to Studio 2, the Gateway. Please note gowns must be returned by 5.30pm on the day of your ceremony. What if I order the wrong gown? When placing your order the website automatically selects the correct gown, hood and mortarboard when you identify the award you have studied for. If you have any queries please contact Ede & Ravenscroft directly. What should I wear under my gown? It is expected that you will dress appropriately and smartly for the occasion. For comfort and practicality we recommend you wear a top or shirt with buttons as it makes it easier to attach the award ‘hood’. Strapless tops or dresses are not suitable. It is advisable to wear smart but comfortable footwear. Hair grips and safety pins are often required so if you think you will need them please bring them with you. The University retains the right to refuse Graduands entrance to the ceremony if it is considered they are inappropriately dressed. Professional Photography How do I pre-book the photography? You will be directed to pre-booking your photography when you have registered you can contact Ede & Ravenscroft directly at gownhire.co.uk. Alternatively call 01223 861 854. Where and when will the photos be taken? The Events Hall, the Gateway. The photographers will be there all day but we recommend that you arrive early and have your photographs taken before your ceremony. What if I haven’t pre-booked; can I still have an official photo taken? Yes, just go to the Events Hall, there may be queues so it is advisable to pre-order. Can I purchase an additional certificate? Yes. You will be able to order and pay for additional certificates when you register online. 4 Can I buy any Graduation merchandise? Yes, the Students’ Union offers a range of Graduation clothing and Bucks merchandise either online www.bucksstudentsunion.org/graduationclothing. or on the day in the Events Hall. Eligibility Am I eligible to graduate? If you are in your final year of study then you are generally eligible to graduate. If you are unsure please contact your school registrar. Can I attend if I have been referred? No. If you have not been made an award at a Board of Examiners you will not be able to graduate. In this event, a refund for guest tickets will be made. You will be invited to the next scheduled graduation event on successful completion of your course. Can I attend if I have an appeal in progress or am being investigated for academic misconduct? No. Until your appeal or investigation has been completed you cannot attend your ceremony to graduate. You can attend as the guest of someone else who is graduating. Debt If I have a debt to the University what do I need to do? It is your responsibility to ensure that you talk to the finance department about any outstanding payments. Please ring the Student Centre on 01494 603 020 or the Finance department on 01494 605 083 to find out more about your account and to seek advice. Alternatively you can email [email protected]. If you do have a debt you will alerted to it when you register for graduation. You are advised to clear any outstanding debts via https://epayment.bucks.ac.uk/ as soon as you can. If you have not cleared your debt to the University you can still attend graduation but your certificate will not be in the folder presented to you. Please note it takes several working days to process payments, so if you pay your debt in the run-up to the graduation ceremony, your certificate may not be in the folder at the ceremony. If this is the case, please follow instructions in the letter in the folder and in all cases visit the Student Centre. Travelling to Bucks, Car parking and Accommodation How do I get to the High Wycombe Campus? http://bucks.ac.uk/visiting_us/travel_information/ Is there any parking? There is no parking on campus but there are several public car parks nearby. http://www.wycombeparkandride.com/ 5 What hotel accommodation is there in High Wycombe? http://bucks.ac.uk/visiting_us/local_accommodation Hughenden Park Student Village If you and your family are attending your graduation and wish to stay in High Wycombe overnight, you can book accommodation at the Hughenden Park Student Village. For bookings, enquires and information call 01494 603063 or email [email protected] after 29 June 2015. Please see the Graduation website for more details. On the day How early must I arrive? We recommend you arrive two hours before your ceremony is due to start. If you are running late please phone the University switchboard on 01494 522141, the team will be able to advise you. What do I need to do when I arrive? You must go to the registration desk in the Green Room in the Gateway to check in and collect your tickets. The registration desk will open at 9.00am for the 11am ceremony and 12pm for the 2.30pm ceremony. You will then be directed to the gowning and photography areas. What happens if I don’t register or I arrive late? If you have not registered half an hour before the ceremony starts we will assume you are not coming and will remove you from the ceremony list. What happens if my guests arrive late? If you have arrived but your guests are late, you can leave their tickets with the Graduation help desk in the Wycombe Swan theatre. The University reserves the right to refuse entry to latecomers, students or guests. Where do my guests need to go? Guests will not be allowed in the registration or gowning areas but once you have registered and gowned they can accompany you to the Events Hall for the official photographs. Beats and Rusty Bucks will be open for guests to wait in and buy refreshments. Announcements will be made for guests to proceed to the Wycombe Swan theatre in time for the start of the ceremony. What time will the Wycombe Swan theatre open? The theatre opens at 9.30am and their café and bar are also open for refreshments at this time. The auditorium will open approximately 40 minutes before the ceremony for graduands. The theatre will announce when it is time for guests to take their seats. Will I be seated with my guests? No. All graduands are seated together in the stalls, in presentation order. Your guests will be seated elsewhere in the auditorium. 6 My guests don’t want to sit together; can this be arranged? Please let us know and we will try to arrange suitable seating. Can my guests use cameras and camcorders in the theatre? Yes, they may take photos as long as they do not disturb the other guests. What happens during the ceremony? For full details please refer to ‘the ceremony’ on the graduation pages of the website. University staff and dignitaries process on to the stage. The Vice Chancellor gives her opening address and then the graduands are presented to her. Your name is read out and you will walk across the stage to shake hands with the Vice Chancellor. At some ceremonies, an award will be made to an honorary graduate of the University. The guest speaker or the honorary awardee makes a speech. A closing speech is given by a representative from the Faculty. The ceremony closes with the staff and dignitaries processing off the stage. When do I receive my certificate? Once you have descended from the stage following your presentation to the Vice Chancellor, a member of your faculty will hand you your certificate in a presentation folder. If your certificate has been previously issued or you have an outstanding debt to the University, the folder will contain a letter. Please return to your seat before checking your certificate. Faculty staff will deal with any query you may have after the ceremony. Student Prizes I have been nominated for a prize. What do I need to do? A number of student prizes will be made to students during the ceremonies. If you are the recipient of an additional award at Graduation you would have been notified in writing approximately four weeks before the ceremony. The Faculty prizes will be announced at the same time as you are presented to the Vice Chancellor. If you are to receive a special prize at the ceremony, a member of staff will guide and advise you as to what will happen during the ceremony when you register in the Green Room, the Gateway. After the ceremony Where is the post ceremony reception? The post-ceremony reception will be held in the marquee on the High Wycombe Campus where drinks and canapés will be served. Ushers will be on campus to direct you and your guests. Are there any other celebrations? The Students’ Union also hosts graduation parties every evening during graduation week. For more information, please visit: www.bucksstudentsunion.org Is there a DVD of the Graduation ceremony available? NO. We will be filming the ceremonies to view at a later date on the Graduation website. 7 Who do I contact if I can’t find an answer to my query? Graduation enquiries Graduation team Gown hire and Pre-order Photography [email protected] Twitter:#bucksgraduation Graduation Team 01494 603091 Ede & Ravenscroft gownhire.co.uk 01223 861 854 For all enquiries relating specifically to your course or exam board please contact your school registrar. 8
© Copyright 2024