Diploma/Certificate Mailing to Students

It is extremely important that students correctly report the address to which earned diplomas/certificates are to be mailed.  If a diploma and/or certificate is returned because the address listed in Student Self-Service is incorrect or outdated, students have three options:

  1. Mail with Postal Tracking: Use eShipGlobal, Inc. to pre-pay for the diploma/certificate to be sent by express mail.  The benefit of this option is that it does allow for the postal tracking of diplomas/certificates.  To use the service, students must create an account by establishing a user name and password (which requires an email address, phone number, and credit card).  When selecting a UIS delivery site, students must select UIS Registrar.  Questions regarding the service are to be addressed to eShipGlobal, Inc. directly at support@eshipglobal.com.
  2. In-person Pickup: Come into the Office of Records and Registration, present a photo ID, and pick up the diploma/certificate in-person.
  3. Mail without Postal Tracking: Provide the Office of Records and Registration (registrar@uis.edu) with an updated residential mailing address (as listed with the United States Postal Service).  The diploma/certificate will then be mailed to the updated address via first class mail and no postal tracking will be available.

Graduate Project/Thesis/Closure Courses

Graduate students are required to be continuously enrolled during each semester (excluding summer) once they have begun their graduate closure exercise until that exercise is complete. This requirement means that if you do not finish your closure exercise during the number of hours set forth by your program for the closure course, you will be required to enroll in your program’s continuous enrollment course in all subsequent semesters until the exercise is complete.

If a formal leave of absence is approved for a given semester by your graduate program, continuous registration is not required. Failure to obtain a leave of absence will, in most cases, require retroactive registration in the closure exercise for each semester (summer term excluded) in which you were out of compliance.

Please note that some programs have specific requirements concerning how you register and complete your closure requirement. Contact your adviser for details on how your program implements this policy.

The time limitation for completing a master’s degree is six consecutive years from your first graduate course (excluding prerequisites) taken at UIS in pursuit of that degree, unless you have requested, and the program has granted, a leave of absence.

A student must have approval from his/her adviser and program chair to continue working on the degree program after the time limitation has passed.

All pre-dissertation credit earned at UIS that is to be applied toward the completion of the doctorate must be taken within eight consecutive years from the first doctoral course taken at UIS. This does not include prerequisites or closure requirements. Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Outcome Survey

The First Destination Survey (FDS) is a nationally mandated survey that is meant to gain knowledge about what activities students are engaging in after graduation from college. The information gained from the survey helps to determine the effectiveness of the institution from which the student graduated.  Graduating students are highly encouraged to complete the outcome survey prior to graduating and to continue updating their information as it changes.