UNE Graduation Glossary

With graduation not too far away we thought we’d make it a bit easier for you guys with a little bit of a cheat sheet on the terms you will likely hear in the lead up to grad and exactly what they mean.

Below, we have also included a few descriptions of our beautiful campus – which many of you might not have had the chance to visit yet! These graduation “terms” will come to life when you step foot on campus for our Summer Graduation. We can’t wait to meet you all!

Booloominbah Historic House Lawns

This is our original building. Booloominbah was built (completed) in 1888. Today it still stands as one of the most prominent buildings of the university and its lawns often host our outdoor graduation ceremonies in warmer months. When the weather doesn’t permit, we usually move the celebrations into Lazenby Hall. However, in the event of wet weather, the ceremonies will be held in Campbell Hall at Sport UNE due to the damage Lazenby Hall sustained during the October storm in 2021.

Conferral

Conferral is the act of bestowing an award, where your academic achievement is recognised at a public ceremony. Conferral generally occurs at a graduation ceremony, either in your presence or in absentia, or at a scheduled meeting of University Council.

Final Results

The results of your final unit grades. These can be accessed after the release date and can be found in the ‘unit results’ tab in My UNE using your student login details.

Graduand

A person who has completed the requirements for their award course, but the award has not yet been conferred at a graduation ceremony.

Graduate

A person who has completed the requirements for their award course and had the award conferred on them at a graduation ceremony.

Graduation

Once a student has met the requirements of their course, they will be eligible to graduate. Students may choose to attend a graduation ceremony and will receive an official copy of their award (Testamur) from the University Chancellor.

Graduation Ceremony

A ceremony during which all graduates receive their award for the completion of their studies.

Graduate Program

A graduate program is an employment opportunity in which graduates are offered industry training, professional development, and networking opportunities. Most programs offer employment for between 1-3 years.

Graduation Services, on the day

A typical UNE Graduation service is a collaborative effort between many of the teams at UNE.

It requires:

• The ceremony management and planning is usually run by UNE Student Experience and UNE Life
• Food and beverages are provided by UNE Life Functions & Catering in the form of BBQs and formal lunches/dinners.
• Gowns for hire or purchase provided by The Shop
• The Shop, Graduation Services host a landing page that ties together all of the information you may need to make your graduation day as special as it should be.
• Professional Graduation photography is arranged by UNE Life
• Graduation gifts from The Shop
• Testumars are arranged and distributed by the UNE Graduation Team – who also look after your final marks and welcome you to become a UNE Alumni.

Graduates Walk

Graduates’ Walk is centrally located on campus, the long brick path leading from the main UNE buildings in Armidale to Booloominbah Historic House. This path is edged with names and years of past Graduates – over 900 other graduates in fact. If you would like your name to be included in the Graduates walk you can purchase a paver here. The money for these pavers directly assists students through scholarships.

Lazenby Hall

Lazenby Hall is a multipurpose theatre hall on campus, and it’s usually where our indoor graduation ceremonies are held. It is a fitting location as this is where most students have their orientation to the university!

Testamur

The hard copy of the certificate or award that you are given when you complete your award course and graduate. A Testamur lists your graduation name, course and the date it was conferred.  Testamurs are legal documents issued by the University Council under the Common Seal, the University Council must give explicit authority for the Common Seal to be applied on a specified date (which occurs on the date of the graduation ceremony)

Transcript

An official document issued by the University as a record of a student’s completed units and results. A student can purchase official copies of their academic transcript through Onestop.

UNE Alumni

After your graduation from the University of New England, you automatically become a member of the UNE Alumni program.  There is no joining fee or entry form required although we ask you to help us keep your contact details up to date here.

The UNE Alumni family is an active community of hundreds of thousands of past UNE students. UNE is really proud of its alumni and their achievements – past, present, and future – and they are celebrated through the Alumni Awards each year!

UNE Life Functions and Catering

UNE Life Functions and Catering is the catering team at UNE. They are part of the UNE Life family and look after the majority of food on campus. At any typical graduation, they work tirelessly on the catering for in-person ceremonies, often consisting of a gourmet BBQ, and Twilight Cocktails & Grazing!

UNE Life The Shop

The Shop looks after a range of services throughout the year including UNE’s very own Post Office. Some of the services they provide include; UNE merchandise, stationery, and equipment to students and staff, as well as selling eBooks & paperback books, and snacks. The Shop also looks after your very special graduation gowns and gifts.

This is the team you will have chatted with if you have ordered or hired a gown, and if you’re here on the day, this is the team that will help you to fit your gown. If you’re not here check this out.

UNE Student Experience

You would have talked to this team a few times throughout your time as a student, they play an integral role in your time here. Typically, they organise and coordinate the event coordination on the day. If you are unable to make the ceremony they will work in collaboration with the UNE Graduation Team to make sure you receive your award(s) in the post. They also play an integral role in student wellbeing and answer a big chunk of questions on AskUNE.

Volunteers

On a regular graduation day, you’ll be greeted by volunteers as you arrive. They will direct you to where you and your family are to be seated and they help with a lot of behind-the-scenes work that UNE Student Experience manages.

We hope this has been useful and that you’re excited about your big day – you’ve worked really hard to get here and we are endlessly proud of your achievements. 

If you want to share a photo with your cohort simply tag @uninewengland and/or @unelife2351 and hashtag #ProudToBeUNE so we can join you celebrating from wherever you are.

Did you know…

When you purchase through UNE Life, you’re helping future graduands reach their potential as well. All money spent with UNE Life goes back into the student experience and amenities, on campus.