[based on the UPOU Academic Policies and Procedures Manual, March 2021]
Policy on Commencement Exercises
Attendance in the general commencement exercises shall be optional. Graduating students who choose not to participate in the general commencement exercises must inform their respective Deans at least ten (10) days before the commencement exercises. Graduating students who absent themselves from the general commencement exercises shall obtain their diplomas or certificates and transcripts of records from the Office of the University Registrar provided that they comply with the above provision and upon presentation of the receipt of payment of the graduation fee and student’s clearance. Candidates for graduation with degrees or titles shall wear the prescribed academic costume during the commencement exercises in accordance with the rules and regulations of the University [approved during the 1st University Council Meeting of the University of the Philippines Open University; amended during the 35th University Council Meeting of the UP Open University].
Graduation with Honors
Graduation with Honors Students who complete their courses with the following averages, computed on the basis of units, shall be graduated with honors
Summa cum laude 1.00 to 1.20
Magna cum laude 1.21 to 1.45
Cum laude 1.46 to 1.75
Provided, that all the grades in all subjects prescribed in the curriculum, as well as subjects that qualify as electives, shall be included in the computation of the weighted average grade; provided further, that in cases where the electives taken are more than those required in the program, the following procedure will be used in selecting the electives to be included in the computation of the weighted average grade:
1. For students who did not shift programs, consider the electives in chronological order
2. For students who shifted from one program to another, the electives to be considered shall be selected according to the following order of priority:
a. electives taken in the program where the student is graduating will be selected in chronological order;
b. electives taken in the previous program and acceptable as electives in the second program will be selected in chronological order; and
c. prescribed courses taken in the previous program but qualify as electives in the second program will be selected in chronological order.
[adopted from Art. 410 of the University of the Philippines System Code; as amended at the 958th BOR Meeting on 24 February 1983]
In case of students graduating with honors in courses the prescribed length of which is less than four years, the English equivalents, namely, “with Honors,” “with high honors,” and “with highest honors,” shall be used instead [adopted from Art. 410 of the University of the Philippines System Code]
Students who are candidates for graduation with honors must have completed in the University at least 75% of the total number of academic units or hours for graduation and must have been in residence therein for at least two years immediately prior to the graduation [adopted from Art. 412 of the University of the Philippines System Code]. In the computation of the final average of students who are candidates for graduation with honors, only resident credits shall be included [adopted from Art. 413 of the University of the Philippines System Code].
Students who are candidates for graduation with honors must have taken during each semester/trimester/quarter not less than 15 units of credit or the normal load prescribed in the curriculum in cases where such normal load is less than 15 units (in UPOU, the normal load is 12 units for undergraduate students), unless the lighter load was due to justifiable causes, such as health reasons, the unavailability of courses needed in the curriculum to complete the full load, or the fact that the candidate is a working student [adopted from Art. 414 of the University of the Philippines System Code; as amended at the 884th BOR meeting on 31 March 1987]
The pertinent documents required from students to support “justifiable causes” for a lighter academic load are:
1. For health reasons –medical certification to be confirmed by the University Health Service;
2. For unavailability of a course – certification by program adviser and copy of schedule of classes; and
3. For employment – copy of payroll or appointment papers indicating duration of employment. It is the responsibility of the student to establish beyond reasonable doubt the veracity of his/her claim as to the cause/s of the lighter academic load [from the draft UPOU OUR Operations Manual 2014].