Terms and Conditions

In these terms and conditions (“Terms”),

Acceptance of terms

1 - Please read these terms carefully as your registration, and/or purchase of tickets, for your awards ceremony constitutes your acceptance of these terms.

2 - Where there is any conflict or inconsistency between these terms and any of our other terms and conditions governing your use of the Website, these terms shall prevail (solely to the extent necessary to resolve such conflict or inconsistency).

Registration and purchase of tickets

3 - If you wish to attend your award's ceremony you are required to register and purchase any guest and party tickets you require through UDo and your Student Centre in advance. The deadline for registration and ticket purchase will be on your invitation. Any registration requests made after the ticket purchase deadline will be deferred to our next graduation ceremony instead. Your attendance at the award's ceremony is free of charge, although you will need to pay us for any guest tickets. Student and guest tickets are not transferable to another student.

4 - If your award is not confirmed on UDo by the deadline on your invitation you will not be eligible to attend the ceremonies and your invitation to the ceremonies will be withdrawn. You will be invited to a later ceremony. If you have purchased any guest tickets these will be refunded after the ceremonies have taken place. You will need to re-purchase tickets for a later ceremony if you wish to attend. The University does not accept any liability for any other direct or indirect expenses incurred regarding travel, accommodation etc. without limitation.

5 - If you do not achieve the award you registered for and you exit your programme of study with a Certificate of Higher Education or a Diploma of Higher Education you will not be eligible to attend the ceremonies. Any guest tickets you have purchased will be refunded after the ceremonies have taken place. The University does not accept any liability for any other direct or indirect expenses incurred (travel, accommodation etc. without limitation). Your certificate will be posted to you after the ceremonies.

6 - Tuition fee debts must be settled by the deadline on your invitation. If tuition fee debts are not settled by this date you will not be able to attend the ceremonies. Any tickets you have purchased will be refunded after the ceremonies have taken place. The University does not accept any liability for any other direct or indirect expenses incurred (travel, accommodation etc. without limitation). Your certificate will also be withheld until all tuition fee debts have been settled.

7 - Most graduates will choose to wear academic dress, although this is not a requirement. The award's ceremony is a formal occasion and you are expected to dress appropriately. You will need to book and pay for the academic dress and any photographs you require separately with Ede and Ravenscroft (alternative third-party gown providers are not permitted). We strongly advise that you do not throw your mortarboard. The University does not accept any liability for any injury caused to yourself or to third parties as a result of mortarboards being thrown.

8 - Guest tickets cost £15 each. You need to register and order guest tickets, online via UDo and your Student Centre, on or before your ticket deadline date on your invitation and guest tickets may not be available if you do not book early.

9 - There is no entitlement to change to a different ceremony. In exceptional circumstances, the Academic Registrar may grant a ceremony change. Please contact us at graduation@derby.ac.uk giving detailed reasons as to why you wish to attend a different ceremony. Consideration will be given to your request but cannot be guaranteed.

10 - If you are unable to attend the ceremonies you may defer your attendance at an award ceremony by up to one year. In this case please email graduation@derby.ac.uk and we will add you to our invite list for the next ceremonies. If any tickets have been purchased these will be refunded if we receive your request before the ticket deadline on your invitation. You will need to purchase tickets for the ceremony you defer to.

11 - If you studied at one of our partner colleges you may be invited to the partner college’s awards ceremony. You may only attend one ceremony. If you choose to attend your college’s ceremony you will not be eligible for an invitation to the University of Derby’s awards ceremonies. Even if you don’t attend your college ceremony we will not send you an invitation to our ceremonies unless you advise us by email to graduation@derby.ac.uk that you would like to attend. The ceremony you will be invited to (Summer or Winter) will be at our discretion.

12 - If you are a disabled student and need a carer to accompany you at your award's ceremony, you will be entitled to one additional free guest ticket. If this is the case please contact us as soon as possible by email to graduation@derby.ac.uk so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

13 - You will receive confirmation of purchase by email as soon as your payment has been processed. You are advised not to make travel arrangements for you or your guests until you have ordered your tickets and received your email payment confirmation and your award has been confirmed by the Assessment Board. If you do not receive the confirmation email please contact graduation@derby.ac.uk as soon as possible.

14 - Children aged up to three years old may attend the ceremony without a ticket provided that they sit on the lap of a parent or guardian in the guest seating area. Children over the age of 3 require a guest ticket which will count towards your ticket allocation, (detailed in your invitation email). PLEASE NOTE - all children (under 18's) MUST BE ACCOMPANIED by at least one adult guest. Children are required to sit in the guest area with the accompanying adult

15 - Tickets will be sent electronically to primary email addresses on the system, the tickets will have a QR code to be scanned on the day informing our staff how many tickets you have purchased.

16 - We do not accept any responsibility for registrations or guest ticket reservations that we do not receive for any reason on or before your ticket deadline date, whether lost, delayed, corrupted or otherwise and regardless of any technical difficulties or malfunctions.

17 - Tickets purchased on the day, subject to availability, are only available to a guest accompanied by a graduate. A graduate student ID card may be used in lieu of the graduate being present.

Cancellation and refunds

18 - You may cancel your registration and any guest tickets by email to graduation@derby.ac.uk. If we receive your cancellation on or before your ticket purchase deadline you will be eligible for a refund of any guest ticket fees paid. See also registration and purchase of tickets paragraphs 4 and 5 if your award is not confirmed by the above dates or if you have outstanding tuition fees.

19 - Refunds will normally be processed as soon as we can, however, it may take up to three weeks to be processed and for money to go back to your account. Refunds will be made to the original payment card.

On the day

20 - All guests and graduates must be seated at least 20 minutes before the ceremony begins. Guest seats are not allocated and seating is on a first-come basis. We reserve the right to refuse entry or remove any graduate or guest where it appears to us in our sole discretion to be necessary for the good conduct of proceedings and /or the safety, health, and wellbeing of graduates, guests, or staff

How we use your data

21 – For further details about how we use your information please review the privacy statement. If you do not wish your information to be used in this way, you must notify us by contacting our Data protection officer at +44 (0)13332 591954 Alternatively, you can email gdpr@derby.ac.uk on or before your ticket deadline. 

22 - The awards ceremonies may be live-streamed across the internet and your name will be announced as you process across the stage, this is a mandatory action for every student attending the awards ceremony. Footage from the awards ceremonies will be made publicly available on the University’s website after the awards ceremony. If you do not wish to be a party to this, regrettably we advise that you should not attend the ceremonies.

Use of images

23 - All awards ceremonies may be photographed, filmed, and/or streamed via live webcast by us or our agents. By registering for an awards ceremony, you are giving your consent to the recording and transmission of images (both still and moving) of you and your guests. We retain all rights to any images, which may be used for publicity purposes.

Footage from awards ceremonies may be made publicly available on YouTube after the awards ceremony. Still, images will be published on the University’s website and social media platforms and may be given to a third party to promote the University. If you do not wish to be a party to this, regrettably we advise that you should not attend the ceremonies.

Force majeure

24 - If your awards ceremony cannot take place or is delayed because of circumstances beyond our reasonable control, we will not be liable for any direct or indirect losses incurred by you or your guests. Examples of such circumstances include (without limitation): war, terrorism, civil commotion; fire, flood, adverse weather, natural disaster, act of God; outbreak of communicable disease, epidemic, or pandemic; any strike or labour dispute; interruption or failure of any utility service; any law or government order, rule, regulation, or action by a government or public authority. You and your guests should ensure that you have sufficient insurance protection to cover any losses you may suffer as a result of a ceremony being cancelled or delayed.