IMPORTANT: Please note, if you have received an invitation this does NOT automatically mean you have successfully completed your course; we invite all students who may successfully complete in time so they can make arrangements as far in advance as possible.

All ceremonies are by invitation only. If you have not received an email or letter confirming your ceremony by the end of March and think you should have done, please contact the Congregations Office and we will investigate the matter.

If you are a postgraduate student your official invitation will be posted to your home address on the Student Data System after we have emailed you confirmation of your ceremony to your Kent (if this is still live) and personal email address. Please allow time for this to be delivered before contacting us. If you are an undergraduate student your invitation will be sent to your Kent email address only.

Home Address

It is extremely important that your home address is kept up to date as all correspondence from the University (including transcripts and certificates) will be sent to that address once you have graduated. If you are a current student you can update your address on the student portal. If you are a postgraduate student or if you are an undergraduate (who has deferred from past congregations) you may contact the Congregations Office.

Registering

Registration must be completed or you may be unable to graduate in July.

Once you receive your invitation you will need to register for your ceremony. Undergraduate students can do this via the Student Data System at www.kent.ac.uk/student. Postgraduate students can do this via the Student Data System if you still have access, or via the link provided in your invitation email and letter if you longer have access.

If you have not registered by Friday 3rd May 2013, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to attend and you will lose the rights to your two automatic guest tickets.

If you do not want to attend the ceremony allocated to you, you must still register this online as directed in your invitation stating that you do not wish to attend.  The Congregations Office will then prepare your certificate to be posted to you following the conferment of your degree or award at the end of July.  If you graduate in absentia you cannot attend a ceremony at a later date.

Please note: should for some reason you do not complete your course and have to resit you will be invited again to the next available congregation following successful completion of your course.

Deferrals

Students who wish to defer to the next available ceremony will not receive their certificate until it has been legally conferred in the next ceremony. Students cannot receive their certificate any earlier.

There are strict rules governing your legal name which should appear in full on your certificate as on other legal documents (i.e. passport or driving licence). Please ensure you check the full legal name on your student record as this is how the name will appear on your certificate. This will be the final opportunity that you will have to amend your name - the University will be unable to make any further changes once you have graduated.

If your name is incorrect, please inform the Student Records and Examinations Office (student_records@kent.ac.uk) of your correct full legal name (including any middle names) no later than Wednesday 19th June 2013 at 5pm. In order to update your record, you will need to provide them with a copy of a legal document containing your full name e.g. a passport or a driving licence.

If you have a debt to the University you may still be formally invited to a congregations ceremony but it is important that you take note of the deadline set for clearing debts. Please make sure all outstanding University debts are cleared no later than Friday 7th June 2013.

As stated in the regulations governing the conferment of degrees all outstanding debts with the University must be cleared before you can be admitted to your degree - that is, before you have your degree conferred at a congregation and receive your degree certificate.

Please make payment online at https://epay.kent.ac.uk/epay/ . You can check the balance of your account by calling the Income Office on 01227 824242.

Please note that if you still have an outstanding balance (debt) with the University after the deadline stipulated you will not be permitted to attend your ceremony.

Each student is guaranteed two guest tickets providing you register that you would like these by Friday 3rd May 2013. If you have not registered by Friday 3rd May 2013, we cannot guarantee your two guest tickets will be available.

The cost for bringing guests is £40 (this is a flat graduation fee if you are bringing either one or two guests).  This can be paid at the University's Online Store ; Select Product Catalogue > Congregations > Graduation Tickets. Students do not need a ticket for themselves.Online payments close on Friday 5th July 2013 for Medway students and Wednesday 10th July 2013 for Canterbury students.

Terms and Conditions for the Online Store:

Please note, graduation fee payments are not refundable. Before making any payments, please ensure that you and your guests are able and eligible to attend. If you have received an invitation this does NOT automatically mean you have successfully completed your course; we invite all students who may successfully complete in time so they can make arrangements as far in advance as possible.  These terms and conditions are specific to this product and override the Store’s Standard Terms and Conditions.

If for some reason you do not complete your course and have to resit and you have already paid for your tickets, the Congregations Office will carry this payment over to the next available congregation following successful completion of your course.

If you are not bringing any guests, there is no fee to graduate. Entry to the ceremony will not be permitted without a ticket.

IMPORTANT: Canterbury Cathedral dates back to the 10th Century. Therefore there are large pillars incorporated within its construction. This in some cases restricts full viewing. Please be aware that the Congregations Office cannot be held responsible if you are seated in one of these areas. All guests are seated on a first come first serve basis. It is advisable to arrive as soon as comfortably possible for your guests bearing in mind there is no shelter and very little seating in the grounds of the Cathedral.

Children aged 3 or under do not require their own ticket. Children aged 4 or over require their own ticket to gain entry. This is due to the Health and Safety Regulations of our venues.

You can apply for a maximum of two extra guest tickets and the price for these extra tickets is £20.00 per ticket (payment is non-refundable). You can apply for extra tickets from 9am on Tuesday 7th May 2013 until Sunday 19th May 2013. Please follow the link below in order to apply for extra tickets:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NY2VJF7

If you have been successful, you will be notified by email after this date.

The extra ticket holders will be seated with the guaranteed ticket holders. All guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis.

If you are successful in obtaining extra tickets, they will be available to collect along with your guaranteed guest tickets.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION VERY CAREFULLY

Anyone who purchases extra tickets without a successful email confirmation may not be refunded.

If you do not need extra tickets anymore please reply to the successful email stating you no longer want them.  This way they are distributed to the next person who was not originally successful and therefore every student is treated fairly.

The Congregations Office will be aware of how many tickets students have asked for and therefore any student who has more than the designated tickets on the day will have the remaining tickets confiscated with guests unable to attend and will not be refunded.

Please Note: Canterbury Cathedral dates back to the 10th Century. Therefore there are large pillars incorporated within its construction. This in some cases restricts full viewing. Please be aware that the Congregations Office cannot be held responsible if you are seated in one of these areas. All guests are seated on a first come first serve basis. It is advisable to arrive as soon as comfortably possible for your guests bearing in mind there is no shelter and very little seating in the grounds of the Cathedral.

The University of Kent is unable to offer refunds for guest tickets or additional tickets. However we are happy to carry over your payment to the next available congregations should you fail to complete your course or defer due to reasons beyond your control.

If in the unfortunate situation you are unable to attend but have collected your tickets you must return them to the Congregations Office where they will be noted against your account in preparation for the next available ceremony you can attend.

If you would like to cancel/defer your graduation to the next available ceremony you must contact the Congregations Office at congregations@kent.ac.uk as soon as possible after receiving your official invitation. We can then defer you to the next available congregation.

Canterbury

Tickets will be available to collect from the Congregations Office on Monday 3rd June 2013. These will be available until Friday 28th June 2013.

Alternatively, if you have not purchased your tickets before the 28th June, you can instead collect them from Shirley Hall on the day of your ceremony. However if you decide to collect your tickets on the day, please be aware that you may need to queue.

Medway

Tickets will be available to collect from the Campus Reception at the Medway Building on Monday 3rd June 2013. These will be available until Friday 28th June 2013.

Alternatively, if you have not purchased your tickets before the 28th June, you can instead collect them from the Corn Exchange on the day of your ceremony. However if you decide to collect your tickets on the day, please be aware that you may need to queue.

If you have received tickets but no longer require them, please return them to the Congregations Office so they may be re-allocated. It is very disappointing to find on the day that there are empty seats in the Cathedral. Once again all tickets are non-refundable.

Please note that under no circumstances is it acceptable to the University for you to advertise spare tickets on notice boards or computer screens.

PLEASE NOTE: You cannot obtain a visa letter until you have been officially invited to the degree congregations. Please do not approach the Congregations Office for a visa application until you have your invitation.

In order to attend the ceremony some students may require confirmation of their (or their guests) invitation to a congregation and award ceremony to obtain either:

• Exit clearance from their home country or
• Entry clearance to the UK

This visa letter will be produced by the Congregations Office and will only confirm the invite of a student to a congregation ceremony; this should not be confused with tier 4 visa letters that Student Records and Admissions issue to students to secure long-term student visas.

To attend a congregation ceremony students/guests would enter the UK on a visitor visa.

Please Note:

• No requests for a congregations visa letter can be accepted until students are allocated to ceremonies
• Students will be required to complete a request form
• Visa letters will be issued to students at the University's discretion.

If you wish to apply for a visa letter you can download an application form and return this to us via email (congregations@kent.ac.uk) or alternatively you can collect a form from the Congregations Office, Room G30, The Registry.

In no circumstances can visa letters be sent in a PDF format to students. They must either be collected from the Congregations Office by the student in person or sent to the address provided on the application form.

Important Information:

The Congregations Office are advised by the embassies that Visa applications can take up to 6-8 weeks for processing so please make sure you apply in good time. The Congregations Office will NOT process any Visa applications after date Friday 31st May 2013.

Academic dress is supplied by a private company called Ede & Ravenscroft.

All students receiving awards and degrees must wear academic dress (robes). You can place your order online at Ede & Ravenscroft Ltd or by contacting Ede & Ravenscroft's call centre on 01223 861854. There is a small discount if you book online. Payment can be taken by credit or debit card by Ede & Ravenscroft.

All the relevant information explaining how to order your academic dress is on the Ede & Ravenscroft website.

Before ordering your gown please make sure that you know your height, head size, faculty (Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences) and level of award that you are due to receive. This will make the process of ordering your gown much easier. If you are unsure of any of these details ask a fellow student to measure for you or look on your student portal for details of your course.

Please note: The deadline for ordering your gowns is 21 days before your ceremony. After this date Ede & Ravenscroft cannot guarantee that they can accommodate your order. If you do not have a gown on the day you will not be able to graduate.

Ede and Ravenscroft can be contacted at:

Ede & Ravenscroft
Unit A
Denny Industrial Centre
Waterbeach
Cambridge
CB5 9QD
T: 01223 861854
W: www.gownhire.co.uk

All graduands/awardees should dress smartly for the formal occasion of their graduation. Suits are usually worn by men and women are permitted to wear trousers if smart. Students are very welcome to wear national dress. All graduands must also wear the appropriate academic dress which has to be hired from Ede & Ravenscroft as outlined in the Ordering Academic Dress section..

Please note: students must not wear jeans or trainers.

H Tempest are professional photographers and will be available on your graduation day. For timings and venues of photography please look at our ‘On the Day’ page

H Tempest Photography
St Ives Cornwall
TR26 3HU
T: 01736 752411

If either you or your guests have any special requirements e.g. wheelchair access, please inform the Congregations Office as soon as possible after receiving your official invitation by emailing us (congregations@kent.ac.uk) stating your full name, ceremony details and the requirements of your guests. This email must come from the student personally.

Closer to the ceremony, we will email and post you further details of where you will need to go on the day and other relevant information.

Please note, due to space constraints within our Special Requirements seating area, we can only seat the guest with the special requirement and one other within this area. If you have been allocated extra tickets, these ticket holders must join the queue at the main entrance and be seated as normal.

Important Information:

The Congregations Office do need to take into consideration all guests who do need special requirements so please only email us if it is absolutely necessary to ask us for help on the day. We need to know about any special requirements before Friday 28th June 2013 to guarantee that we can assist you or your guests.

The University of Kent uses a professional filming company to record your graduation day.  Each ceremony is recorded individually and will be available online to view approximately three weeks after the congregations ceremonies.

The Congregations Office also offer the opportunity to purchase a the official DVD of your ceremony.  Following the viewing online of your ceremony, you may feel you would like to own your own copy of your special day.

PLEASE NOTE: The DVD's have to be specially edited and made and so may take up to 6-8 weeks after your ceremony for delivery.

All queries relating to the purchase of DVDs for graduation ceremonies should be directed towards the Congregations Office by emailing them at congregations@kent.ac.uk

Please allow at least three weeks after your graduation ceremony for the DVDs to be edited and made.

Payment can be made via the University's Online Store when the DVDs are available.

On the day of your ceremony, a programme is distributed to each guest which contains the name and course title of each graduate (NOT your result).

If you do not wish for your name to be published in this, please contact the Congregations Office no later than Friday 7th June 2013. Failure to do so will mean your name and course title will be publsihed.

Please note, if your details are included they will also appear on the Commemorative clothing and as such, would also be removed from this if you are removed from the programme.

Graduation ceremonies bring together families and friends from all over the world to celebrate your special day.

Canterbury

Visitor information can be obtained from:

http://www.canterbury.co.uk/accommodation/

Medway

Visitor information can be obtained from:

http://www.visitmedway.org/places-to-stay

There is no parking in the grounds of the Cathedrals.

You can find information on surrounding car parks at the following websites:

• Rochester Cathedral parking
• Canterbury Cathedral parking

If you are currently appealing your result, you can still attend your degree ceremony where your degree will be conferred at the grade it presently stands. If appeal is subsequently successful, you would be required to return your degree certificate to us at the office and a replacement will be issued.

Alternatively, you can choose to defer your attendance to the next available ceremony until the outcome of your appeal has been determined. Please note, if you choose to do this you would not be able to receive your degree certificate until it has then been conferred at the next ceremony.

Eva London provide the official University of Kent graduation rings and personalised jewellery as a lasting gift to commemorate graduation and your time at the University. To pre-order your graduation ring please visit www.evalondon.com/kent or call + 44 (0)20 7148 7060.

Each graduation ring is custom-made for you to your size and your choice of metal and can feature your year, degree initials and an inside engraving of your choice. To collect your ring from the Eva London stand on the day of your ceremony, please order 10 weeks in advance and select ‘collect at graduation’ as your delivery method. Prices start at £59 including personalisation. There is also a range of cufflinks, charm bracelets and charms from £30.

If you are looking for a keepsake in celebration of your great achievement, a wide range of official University of Kent merchandise is available at www.campusclothing.com. Products range from personalised graduation clothing to glassware and more, many of which can be personalised to add that extra special touch. Campus Clothing will also be selling some items from the range at a stand on the day of your graduation.