Graduation FAQ Guide

How we will communicate with you about Graduation

We will communicate with all potentially eligible students at Easter.  This communication will ask you to save the date for graduation, if you are intending to attend the ceremony, and explain how we will communicate with you over the coming months about graduation. 

Easter communication:

• An email will be sent to your student email account explaining the communications process. If you intend to progress/continue with your studies next year, then you should ignore this email.
• The email will give the graduation date and you are asked to save this in your diary.
• Usually a text will be sent to your mobile number asking you to check your student email account for this email and referring you to the website for full graduation details and T&Cs. However, whether or not a text is sent will vary from year to year, depending on circumstances.
• This email will also ask you to ensure your UHI Record (Student Journey) is up-to-date for future communications with you across the summer.

Summer communication:

If you are eligible to graduate, our next communication with you will be in the summer months, as follows:

• An email will be sent to your personal email address to tell you when registration for graduation opens, it will invite you to register and explain how to register to attend the ceremony.
• After you receive the email you will then be sent at least one reminder to register, by text to your mobile, over the summer months.

Changes, or updates, to graduation information or arrangements

All details about graduation will be communicated on the graduation website, including any updates or changes to information or arrangements. 

If there are any changes to the graduation arrangements, these will be updated on the graduation website and we will then:

• email your personal email address (if we have it) and/or send a text to your mobile, to advise you to check the website for these changes.
• Your current (personal) email address and mobile phone number.
• A postal address where we can contact you between July and October (where we can send your final graduation pack and guest tickets). 

Your responsibilities

You will see from the above that it is very important that you ensure your UHI Record (Student Journey) is up-to-date with:

• Your current (personal) email address and mobile phone number.
• A postal address where we can contact you between July and October (where we can send your final graduation pack and guest tickets).

Please note:  We download your contact details from ‘Student Journey’ at the end of July.  If your contact details change after that, please email the Graduation Co-ordinator.

Please remember, it is your responsibility to:

• Ensure your contact information is kept up-to-date on your record.
• Register for graduation by the deadline date.

How much does it cost to graduate?

The cost of attending our Graduation Ceremony is £30, which covers attendance for yourself and 2 guests (you do not need a ticket).

Your academic robe and hood will cost approximately £25 (£40 for PhD) to hire from Ede and Ravenscroft, who are the College’s contracted suppliers.

Grant to Support Care Experience Students

The University of the Highlands and Islands has introduced a grant to support Care Experienced students to participate in graduation ceremonies. The bursary will provide assistance for costs such as gown hire, photography, travel and accommodation. 

If you are a Care Experienced, or Estranged, student planning to attend our Graduation Ceremony, please speak to Apryll Cunningham, in our Student Services team, to find out more about this grant.

Apryll Cunningham
Apryll.cunningham.perth@uhi.ac.uk
01738 877305
07385 029889 

If you wish to view more information about the awards and graduation process as well as the privacy notice relating to certification, you can find out more about it here.

How do I Register for graduation?

Once the exam boards confirm who is eligible to graduate, the UHI Student Records Office (SRO) then advise Perth of the names of the eligible students. As soon as we receive this notification, that you are eligible to graduate, we will create an online registration account to allow you to register. We will then text you to let you know that registration is open as well  as send you an email, with the link to the online registration portal, inviting you to register. 

Please note: 

• Names of eligible students are advised to the graduation office at various times across the summer, so please be aware that you may not receive an email from us until later on in the summer.
• Please be aware that there is a seating capacity limit at the venue for the Ceremony (Perth Concert Hall). This means that the availability of tickets for students is on a first come, first served, basis.  Once we have reached our seating limit there will not be any further opportunity for students to register. We would, therefore, advise students to register as soon as they receive our email inviting them to do so, in order to prevent disappointment.

Please see the Graduation web pages for the details of when the online registration portal will open. Remember, however, that if you have not received a text or email from us, you will not be able to register at this time, as your online account will not yet be set up. 

To register and pay your fee for graduating you will need to go to Perth College's website and go to the Graduation Registration page. Please take note of the deadline for registering as no further registrations will be accepted after the date stated. 

What happens if I don’t receive an email or text invitation?

Depending on when your exam board sits, you should receive an email and text from us inviting you to register for graduation.  If you have not received either of these by 31 August, please contact us to let us know.

What happens if I forget to register by the deadline?

The College aims to accommodate all students who wish to graduate, but only in exceptional circumstances will applications be considered after the invitation closes.  If you are late, but still wish to graduate, please contact the Graduation Co-ordinator immediately.

Guaranteed tickets

Normally, each student is guaranteed 2 guest tickets (you do not need one for yourself). 

Please note:  The College reserves the right to change the ticketing allocation, due to unforeseen circumstances, for example, COVID rules require social distancing, or other unforeseen circumstances, which would mean guest numbers per student would need to be limited.  Students will be advised of any change to allocation when the Registration links are sent out.

Selecting the Correct Number of Guest Tickets

You must select how many of the guaranteed tickets you want. If you want all of your guaranteed guest tickets, then you need to make sure you select the correct number of tickets and all those tickets will be added to your basket. If you don’t select the correct number of tickets that you require, then you won’t receive them. If you don’t want any guest tickets, then you should select ‘0’ against your allocation.

How do I get additional guest tickets?

While we cannot guarantee the availability of extra tickets, if any additional tickets become available, they will be distributed on a ‘first come-first served’ basis. 

Please see our Extra Tickets webpage which will give the details on the date/time of release of any extra tickets.  Please take note of the deadline by which you will have to pay for your extra tickets.  The online portal will then close and any extra tickets remaining, or not paid for, will be re-allocated to those on the Waiting List.

The maximum number of extra tickets you will be able to purchase is two tickets per student.

Extra tickets cost £10 each.

Communication regarding availability of extra tickets

A text will be sent to student mobiles to confirm whether or not extra tickets are available. Please note, a text will only be sent if there are extra tickets available – you should receive this text no later than 3 days after the date the registration portal closes.

If extra tickets are available, then the text will remind students that the tickets will be sold on a ‘first come-first served’ basis and will confirm the dates between which the tickets can be purchased.

What if I am unsuccessful in being able to order any extra tickets and will there be a Waiting List?

We regret that it is not always possible for us to accommodate all requests for additional tickets, due to the seating capacity in the Concert Hall Auditorium. 

1. If you are not successful in gaining extra tickets you can email the Graduation Co-ordinator, advising how many extra tickets you are looking for (up to a maximum of 2 tickets). Your name will then be added to a Waiting List for extra tickets, should they be available. 
2. If you are successful in gaining extra tickets, but would like more, then please email the Graduation Co-ordinator, advising how many further tickets you are looking for (up to a maximum of 2 tickets). Your name will then be added to a waiting list for any further extra tickets, should they be available.
3. You will be given a deadline to order and pay for your extra tickets and this will be communicated to you when the Graduation Co-ordinator contacts you to offer you extra tickets.

Please read the Terms and Conditions and Graduation Waiting List Protocol  for information on this process.

How will I pay for the extra tickets?

When the online portal opens for extra tickets, you will need to log back into your online graduation account.  Then select the number of extra tickets you want (up to a maximum of 2 tickets), and follow the process for payment of your tickets - your extra tickets will then be sitting in your basket waiting for you to make your payment.

Please Note: The venue for the Graduation Ceremony is Perth Concert Hall, which is the largest venue in Perth.  The Concert Hall has a set seating capacity and this means that it may not be possible to offer extra tickets.  The College priority is to ensure that as many students have the opportunity of graduating as wish to and depending on that number, and the uptake of the 2 guaranteed guest tickets, means that the venue could be at capacity.  We appreciate that students will want as many family and friends to attend this event as possible, but due to the constraints of the seating capacity, this may not be possible.  For this reason we do advise that you do not make any arrangements, be they accommodation, travel, photography or otherwise, for your guests until you have purchased their tickets.

Please remember, the extra ticketing process is a lottery, so there is no guarantee that your application will be successful.

What happens if I do not pay for the extra tickets by the deadline?

The portal will remain open for 3 days (see exact dates here) to allow students to order and complete payment of the extra tickets.  After that, it will be closed and those who have not paid for their extra tickets will have them removed.  These tickets will then be released to those who are on the waiting list.  Once that happens, there will be no further opportunity for you to receive extra tickets.

Do I have to hire academic robes?

 Yes. To receive your award on stage you must be wearing the appropriate gown and hood, which you can hire from our official suppliers, Ede and Ravenscroft. The gown hire can be ordered through the online registration portal at the same time as you register. 

The deadline for hiring your robes is the same date by which you have to register to attend the ceremony (see web page for Academic dress and robe hire). 

 If you haven’t hired your gown at the same time as you registered, you will need to return to your online registration account to place your order.  All ordering for graduation is done through the same online registration portal.

• Academic gowns are to be hired – you are not required to purchase academic gowns.
• A hat (mortarboard) is not part of the academic dress. If you wear a hat to the ceremony, you will not be allowed to wear it onto stage and will be asked to remove it before you go on stage.  If you book portrait photography, you will also not be allowed to wear the hat for your photograph. 

 The academic dress, which shows what you will be wearing on the day, is available to view, or download, in the Academic hood guide

Academic Robe collection

You will collect your academic robes from Perth Concert Hall on the day of the Ceremony.  The final Graduation Information Pack, sent to you approximately 7 days before the Ceremony, will advise you when to collect your robes.

What if I wish to cancel my registration for graduation?

If you have registered and paid your fee and then find you are not able to graduate, we may be able to refund your fee, but reserve the right to make deductions for any costs we incur in processing your refund.  Please contact us to advise if you wish to do this.

If you have paid to hire your academic robes, then you will need to contact Ede and Ravenscroft to discuss whether or not they will be able to refund your money.

Deadlines from external suppliers mean that we are normally unable to make refunds for claims made after 16 September.

What do I do if I don’t want to attend the ceremony?

If you do not wish to attend Graduation, please complete the 'In Absentia' form on our website.

When will I receive my tickets and final information?

Once you have responded to us we will contact you, with your final Graduation information, normally 7 daysbefore the Ceremony.  We will email you a letter giving you an allocated appointment time to arrive at the Concert Hall to collect your robes.  This email will also contain a briefing guide giving you full details about the Ceremony. 

Your guest tickets (you don’t need one) will be available for collection, on the day of the Ceremony, when you register, at Perth Concert Hall. 

What happens if I do not receive my final information?

If you haven’t received an email with your final Graduation information by 30 September, please contact the Graduation Co-ordinator.

What do I wear to the ceremony?

Our Graduation Ceremony is a formal event, so please be smartly dressed (no jeans).  This could be, for example, national dress, suit and tie, skirt or dress, white shirt or blouse. 

Please note:  Academic hoods are designed to hook onto the top buttons of shirts or blouses, so please remember that when choosing your outfit.

Formal Photographs

Ede and Ravenscroft, our official photographer, will be at the Concert Hall on the day of Graduation to take formal portraits.  However, you can pre-order your packs online.  Please go to our photography page.  Your portrait photographs can still be ordered on the day.  If you decide to pre-order your portrait photography after you have registered, all you need to do is go back to the online registration portal to place your order.  All ordering for graduation is done through the same online registration portal. 

Are there any child care facilities at the Concert Hall?

There are no crèche facilities at the Concert Hall.

Graduation ceremonies are formal occasions and can last for two hours, or more.  They are, therefore, not really suitable for babies or young children under school age and so we do advise that you make alternative arrangements for small children and recommend that you do not bring them into the hall.

If you are bringing younger guests to our ceremony, please remember this is a formal, academic event, so other guests would appreciate the chance to enjoy it.  You may be asked to sit at the end of an aisle, or near an exit, so that your child can be taken outside should they become restless.  We would appreciate your co-operation in this matter.

I am a graduand and have additional support needs, how do I advise the College of this?

We are happy to make appropriate arrangements for any Graduand with additional support needs.  Please answer the question in the registration portal and the Graduation Co-ordinator will contact you direct to discuss your requirements.  Please make sure you answer this question in the registration portal so that the Graduation Co-ordinator will know to contact you to discuss your requirements.

My guest/s has additional support needs, how do I advise the College of this?

Where possible, we will also make appropriate arrangements for guests with additional support needs.  If your guest/s has mobility difficulties and wishes to have appropriate seating in the auditorium, please indicate this in answer to the question at registration and you will be sent tickets to allow your guest/s to sit in an appropriate area of the Auditorium.  Where possible, we will try to keep all your party together so they will be seated next to each other.

What is the schedule for the day? (times are approximate and subject to change)

Please find below an example of the usual schedule of the day.  You will be notified of the exact timings for the day in your final pack.

Alumni Association

When you graduate from Perth College UHI you automatically become a member of our Alumni Association.  Membership is free and the growing range of benefits makes it really worthwhile.  Please see the Alumni Association page for more information.

Data Protection: Publication of graduation list, filming and photography – use of images

Perth College UHI’s graduation ceremony is a significant event for our graduates, their guests and our staff. This ceremony is a public event and therefore there is no expectation of privacy under data protection legislation for any attendees. Our Graduation and celebration of success and achievement privacy notice explains how personal data will be processed for, and during, the event and provides guidance should you not wish your personal data to be processed in this way.  This applies to all students who are intending to graduate or may be eligible for an award, whether they attend the ceremony or not.  Please read this important information and ensure your invited guests are also aware of the information relevant to them.

Your name will appear in the graduation programme and other print media.  If you object to the publication of your personal data in this way please contact us no later than 3 weeks prior to the date of the ceremony.

All graduands and guests should be aware that the graduation ceremony and Reception are public events.  Audio/visual images of the ceremony and Reception are publicly available and will often be used in College webpages and publications.

Notices are posted around the Concert Hall on the day to remind you and your guests of this.

Award Ceremonies Office - Contact Details

graduationcoordinator.perth@uhi.ac.uk

01738 877227 

Perth College UHI
Crieff Road
Perth
PH1 2NX