Certificates are not given out at the graduation ceremony. Certificates are printed throughout the year, so if you graduate in the summer you can either:

• Collect your Certificate from the Student Hub, Ground Floor of the new Business School Building on the All Saints Campus from Monday 19th August 2013. You will need to tell us that you are doing this by selecting this option in the Graduation online booking system.

OR

• We will post your Certificate to your permanent address in September. Please remember to update your address on the booking system if you are moving.

If you have not received your certificate within 6 months of your qualification being awarded, please email awards@mmu.ac.uk. We will charge a certificate re-print fee of £45.00 for any notification of non-delivery received more than 6 months after your qualification has been awarded.

All other times of the year certificates are normally posted within 4–6 weeks of your qualification being awarded.

Yes, students and guests choose to dress smartly for the day wearing suits, dresses or even national costume.

Ede and Ravenscroft, the official photographers offer the following tips to look smart and unruffled on the stage and in your graduation photograph:

• A smart shirt and tie. Waistcoat optional.
• Button up blouse
• A brooch (or safety pins) if you choose to wear a dress or a top without buttons, so you can secure your hood
• National dress
• We also advise that you bring some hair clips as well to secure your mortar board.

For further information on dress, see our video guide.

Gowns will be available for collection from The Midland Hotel.

See the map for more information

Please use the doors at the back of the Midland Hotel, facing Manchester Central (formerly GMEX):

Yes. It doesn’t matter when you choose to have your photographs taken as studios are open from 7.30 to 9.30, (except Friday start at 7.30am and finish at 7.30pm) so you can go along at any time.

An ideal time to visit the studios is when another graduation ceremony is taking place.

• The best times to avoid queues are during other ceremonies at 10.30–11.45am, 2.00–3.15pm and 6.00–7.15pm

OR

• For Friday ceremonies the best times to avoid the queues are: 9.30–10.45am, 1.00–2.15pm and 4.30–5.15pm

You will need to ensure you have an agreed instalment plan in place or alternatively you must contact our Credit Control team on 0161 247 1852 who will discuss all available payment options with you.

Until you have paid or have an agreed plan in place, you will be unable to access the graduation system to register and purchase guest tickets.

If you register by the closing date you are guaranteed two guest tickets, if required.

You do not pay for your student ticket, but we have to make a charge of £11.00 each for guest tickets to cover the cost of hiring the venue.

Guest tickets can be purchased on-line when you book your attendance. You will need a valid credit or debit card to do so.

Once the closing date has passed, we will release all unsold tickets and you can log back into the graduation booking system to purchase any extra ones. Please note that the demand for extra guest tickets is very high and we cannot always meet this.

Closing date for guaranteed tickets: 17th May 2013
Extra tickets released: 6th June 2013
Any late extras released: 27th June 2013

We will post your student ticket out to you mid to late June, together with other important information about the day.

We cannot send guest tickets through the post.

Students collect their guest tickets on arrival at the Bridgewater Hall. Please remember to print off your receipt and bring it with you. We cannot issue guest tickets to anyone other than the graduating student who has purchased them.

There are no tickets for sale on the day at the Bridgewater Hall. All guest tickets must be purchased in advance via the on-line graduation booking system. We cannot admit guests who do not have tickets including very small children. Please see Guests with small children.

We hope that you will be successful in your final assessments but if it turns out that you need to do re-sits you can either:

• Claim a refund at any time up to 31st October 2013 by emailing graduationrefunds@mmu.ac.uk
• OR
• If we do not receive a refund request by the deadline, we will automatically give you a credit for tickets to attend the 2014 ceremony.

If you are unable to attend for any other reason, we can only provide a refund if you let us know before the day of your ceremony by emailing your request to graduationrefunds@mmu.ac.uk.

If you cannot make your ceremony day and time, we may be able to arrange for you to come on a different day.

Please contact the graduation helpline on 0161 247 5959 or email studentservices@mmu.ac.uk to discuss your situation.

We are aware that many Muslim graduands and their guests will be observing the fast. Because many of you will be travelling from outside Manchester you may want to consider discussing your graduation day and any travelling plans well in advance with any elderly or unwell guests.

The University’s Muslim Chaplain Assia Shah will be happy to assist with any religious questions you may have about observance of Ramadan. Assia is available from 12.00 – 2.30 pm every Friday during term time in the ‘interview room G28’ in the Student Information Point in the Geoffrey Manton building. Alternatively you can contact her at assia.shah@mmu.ac.uk, please leave a contact phone number.

You can also find useful advice on health and fasting at the UK Government website.

To avoid possibly tiring queues on the day of your ceremony, and especially if you live within the Greater Manchester area, you may want to consider bringing your guests to one of our pre-ceremony Graduation photo sessions in the new Business School Building at All Saints campus. These are taking place on:

• Friday 17th, Saturday 18th, Sunday 19th and Monday 20th May: well before the start of Ramadan

These session are much more relaxing for the elderly and very young. They are less crowded and there is plenty of seating in the Hub area. (There is free parking on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May.)

Please go to Graduation Photography for further information.

If your guests need visas, the visa application form and country specific information is on the UK visas website.

You will need to let them have the following documents to enclose with their visa application:

• Photocopy of the main page of your passport
• Photocopy of your visa
• An invitation letter from you. We recommend you use our standard letter .doc file, 200k.

As an International Student (a national of countries outside the EU) you are strongly recommended to check prior to graduation that the name on the University ’s student record matches exactly the name on the current version of your passport. This should include any abbreviations or other markers that are customary to the state that issued your passport. If you are a visa national, your certificate should be issued in the name by which you are registered with UKBA.

1. Minor correction of current name

   You will have the opportunity to check how your name will appear on your certificate when you register for graduation at the beginning of the summer term. If the names don’t match up, you can request an amendment directly into the Graduation on-line system. A copy of the passport will be required as evidence.

   At any other time prior to graduation you can check your name on the Student Contact Management System, or at your local SIP or Student Life Office and request an amendment to be made, so that the name matches the passport.

   You are strongly advised to photocopy the ID pages of your passport and store the copy with your certificate.

2. Request for significant change to current details

   If you are a Tier 4 international student and you wish to request a name change, because for example you have married, or your date of birth is incorrect, because of an error on the record, the relevant administrator must be obtain formal approval from the MMU International Compliance and Experience Manager, before amending your record.

If you need assistance, there is an opportunity to tell us when you register via the graduation on-line booking system.

OR

Alternatively, if you prefer to discuss your needs please contact the Graduation Helpline on 0161 247 5959 or email studentservices@mmu.ac.uk and a member of staff will be able to help you.

Please ring 0161 247 5959 or email studentservices@mmu.ac.uk to let us know before your ceremony, so we can make the necessary arrangements.

On the day of your ceremony please arrive as close to the scheduled time as possible so as we can show you the access arrangements. Ede and Ravenscroft, the robe hirers can provide special help with robing on the day.

All floors in The Bridgewater Hall are easily accessible for guests with mobility difficulties, with wheelchair spaces on each level. Reserved seating will not be necessary as there are plenty of places available on all levels. Staff at the Bridgewater Hall can assist you if you need help.

Parking spaces are available in the Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex) Car Park (opposite the Bridgewater Hall) with easy access to the Hall via an underpass and lift which brings you out just near the main entrance. Please visit the Bridgewater Hall website for details on where to park.

There is a wheelchair user drop off point is on Lower Mosley Street: see the map for more information. However, this is not a parking space, even for blue badge holders.

There are designated disabled bays located on Chepstow Street at the rear of the venue. And there is also plenty of on-street pay and display parking bays on Whitworth Street West and Great Bridgewater Street, in which badge holders may park free of charge with their badge only, displayed without time limit.

The Bridgewater Hall does have a loop system in the hall – although it works quite differently from a normal hearing loop. It’s an infra red system and guests must pick up a loop necklace from the cloakroom where they will be advised of the best places to sit to pick up the signal.

These loop necklaces work with the usual hearing aids and the newer digital ones. We also have headsets with headphones only, for those with no hearing aid but that want the sound amplified in their ears. Further access information is available on The Bridgewater Hall’s website.

Each guest entering The Bridgewater Hall must be in possession of a guest ticket irrespective of age.

Young children will not be permitted to be seated on a guest’s lap, nor will additional tickets be made available to guests attending the Degree Ceremonies with children who do not have a ticket.

Having their name read out as they go across the stage is a once in a lifetime experience for our students and their families. We know you will understand that if children become unsettled this can spoil the experience. So even with a purchased ticket, a member of Bridgewater Hall or MMU staff may ask guests with children to take them out of the auditorium, if they are disturbing the ceremony for other guests. If this happens, you can still watch the ceremony on screens in public areas of The Bridgewater Hall.