Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates
[amended 6/22/23; 5/25/2023]

1. The requirements for an approved degree and/or certificate will be established and monitored by the faculty of the division responsible for recommending candidates for the degree and/or certificate.
2. Names of students who complete degree and/or certificate requirements and are recommended by the appropriate faculty will be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar at the conclusion of the annual fall, spring, and summer terms. Additions and deletions to the list of candidates may be made by the respective deans.
3. Diplomas and certificates will be issued following verification that each candidate has completed requirements specified by the appropriate faculties and that the proper notations have been recorded on official transcripts.
4. Consistent with Higher Learning Commission Assumed Practices, candidates seeking undergraduate degrees from MU must successfully complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in MU-authored courses. Academic units may have additional requirements. Exceptions may be made with justification by individual departments or units with the approval of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies.
5. Credit initially earned and applied toward an undergraduate degree may not subsequently be applied toward a graduate degree unless it is part of an officially approved accelerated graduate degree program.
6. Any credit transferred to MU and applied toward a graduate degree program must have been earned at an institution accredited to confer graduate degrees.
7. Attendance by candidates at commencement and other activities related to the completion of campus academic programs is encouraged, although not required.
8. Posthumous Undergraduate Degrees

An undergraduate degree may be awarded posthumously to a deceased student if the following conditions are met:

• The student was enrolled at the University within the 12 months preceding death.
• The student completed at least 60 credit hours toward an undergraduate degree, including credits earned elsewhere that would have counted toward an eventual University of Missouri degree.
• At the time of death, the student was not under suspension or expulsion for misconduct.
• The request was received within two years of the student’s death.

Requests for posthumous undergraduate degrees may be made by the family of the deceased student or by a faculty or staff member of the University. Requests will be directed initially to the dean of a school or college in which the deceased student was enrolled.

If the criteria set forth above are met, or if the dean believes good cause exists for granting an exception to the criteria, the dean will recommend to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies that the degree be awarded, using the General Education Waiver Process. If the dean does not recommend that the degree be awarded, the person making the initial request may appeal to the Provost.

In all cases, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies will decide whether the University will award the degree. If the degree is to be awarded, the office of the University Registrar will coordinate with the appropriate school or college about how best to recognize the conferral of the degree.

9. Alternative Digital Credentials

Alternative Digital Credentials (ADC) provide agile, flexible, economical, secure, electronically sharable records in a format that can be used by learners to demonstrate certain learning achievements, skills, and competencies. These are often earned as compliments to traditional academic degrees, minors, and certificates.

1. Terms and Definitions
1. Alternative Digital Credential are non-traditional (non-degree) electronically issued credentials. They are less than a degree and may be smaller than a University, minor and/or Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) – approved certificate program. All ADCs must match the mission and culture of the University of Missouri.
2. Badges and badging systems refer to the technology used to display ADCs. Badges use digital artifacts to validate a skill, accomplishment or competency earned through micro-credential programs and contain metadata that help articulate learning for communication of these skills, accomplishments and/or competencies.
3. ADCs must use the University of Missouri’s approved platform(s) to create traceable, verifiable, documentation of the award for the demonstrated learning, skill(s), or competency(ies)
4. ADCs may be awarded to current Mizzou students, non-current students, faculty, staff, and those participating in Extension or other University sponsored activities, if they meet the current approved qualification standards and the tuition and/or fees are approved by the appropriate entities and financially assessed accordingly.
5. Verification must be maintained according to the University of Missouri’s Records Retention Policy and will be managed by the Office of the University Registrar for all ADCs not offered through University of Missouri Extension.
6. ADCs must meet University standards for issuance. ADC proposals must originate from the sponsoring unit and may be offered by any MU division or department provided the unit complete the appropriate proposal process for approval and that the ADC is issued using University approved software platform, technical and design standards.
7. ADCs may be non-credit, credit-bearing, or a hybrid (a combination of credit and non-credit). However, they must adhere to standards related to academic assessment defined below:
1. ADCS may be offered by academic or non-academic units:
1. ADCs may be created in conjunction with degrees, minors, or certificates, but it is not required.
2. ADCs may contribute to, but may not fully constitute, a degree as defined by MU Stackable credentials. These are credentials that may be combined or sequenced to form a larger credential. ADCs may also be “stacked” to build towards credit hours as long as the learning outcomes of the “total” equal that of the credit hours awarded and the tuition/fee assessment is approved through the appropriate processes.
2. Assessed vs. Unassessed:
1. Assessed ADCs are issued for evaluated learning accomplishments that demonstrate learning, skills and/or competencies. Assessed in this definition is unrelated to tuition and/or fee assessment
2. Unassessed ADCs are issued for unevaluated learning accomplishments, such as the completion of a series of tasks or attendance at events, or for learning that has not been assessed. Unassessed in this definition is unrelated to tuition and/or fee assessment.





3. Only academic units may offer credit-bearing ADCs. Credit-bearing ADCs receive academic credit which is reflected on the MU academic transcript. They must be assessed, as described above. Must have clear learning outcomes for skills and competencies that are assessed;
4. Credit-bearing ADCs:
1. Must be initially approved by the head of the Academic Unit (college or school) or their designee. Considerations for granting approval should evaluate the academic quality, market need, and financial sustainability of the learning experience.
2. Must include the standard approvals by the dean, academic committees, and Provost’s office.
3. Must represent an assessed successful outcome of a learning experience at MU; thus, no ADCs can be earned through assessment only; an MU sponsored experience must occur first (e.g., training sessions, boot camps, workshops, apprenticeships)
4. Will be in the academic catalog, maintained by the Office of the University Registrar, and will appear on the academic transcript as credit earned.
5. Will be distinguished in representation from assessed, noncredit-bearing ADCs, as well as unassessed, noncredit-bearing ADCs;
6. Reference to related assessed, credit-bearing ADCs may be included in the catalog degree description;
7. Must adhere to University standards and use the approved platform(s).
8. Informal/assessed/evaluated, credit-bearing ADCs ARE NOT ALLOWED.




8. Noncredit bearing ADCs will not be reflected on the academic transcript. Examples include but are not limited to seminar or workshop participation or an event that involves a learning experience and assessment activity. Noncredit bearing ADCs may be assessed or unassessed.




1. Assessed, noncredit-bearing ADCs:
1. Can be issued by academic units and non-academic units;
2. Must have clear learning outcomes for skills and competencies that are assessed.
3. Must be initially approved by the head of the Academic Unit (college or school) or their designee, or in cases of non-academic units, the director of the unit. Considerations for granting approval should evaluate the academic quality, market need, and financial sustainability of the learning experience.
4. Must be approved through the curriculum management system (CIM Courses) following a path designed for non-credit ADCs.
5. Will not be included in the academic catalog nor on the academic transcript.
6. Sponsoring unit is responsible for collecting and issuing learner completion records in the ADC system, which will be managed and sustained by Missouri Online, on behalf of the Provost.
7. Will be distinguished in representation from assessed, credit-bearing and non-credit bearing ADCs.
8. Reference to related assessed, non-Credit ADCs will not be included in the catalog degree description.
9. All promotional materials and communications regarding noncredit-bearing ADCs must clearly state and illustrate the difference between credit and noncredit bearing ADCs.
10. Must adhere to University standards and use the approved platform(s).




2. Unassessed, noncredit-bearing ADCs:
1. Can be issued by either academic units or non-academic units.
2. Will be approved in writing by the head of the Academic Unit (college or school) or their designee, or in cases of non-academic units, the director of the unit. Considerations for granting approval should evaluate the academic quality, market need, and financial sustainability of the learning experience.
3. Will not be included in the academic catalog nor on the academic transcript.
4. Will be implemented using the campus ADC system and may be included in announcements of the learning experience.
5. Sponsoring unit is responsible for collecting and issuing learner completion records in the ADC system, which will be managed and sustained by Missouri Online, on behalf of the Provost.
6. Will be distinguished in representation from assessed, credit-bearing and non-credit bearing ADCs.
7. Must adhere to University standards and use the approved platform(s).
2. Approval process
1. ADCS must be approved through the process approved by the Provost’s office and managed by the Office of the University Registrar.
2. ADCs must be initially approved by the head of the Academic Unit (college or school) or their designee if offered for credit, and by the unit or divisional head for non-credit bearing ADCs. Considerations for granting approval should evaluate the academic quality, market need, and financial sustainability of the learning experience.
3. Proposals must include, but are not limited to: ADC type, title, description, Intended audience, anticipated learning outcomes, specific earning criteria, the resources to assess the student’s learning as well as demonstrated competencies and skills, analysis that demonstrates demand, administrative and fiscal management structure, proposed first date of term or issuance.
4. Every proposal needs to meet the standards for assessed/unassessed, credit/non-credit as described above.
3. Non-credit to credit


In rare cases, a student may have taken a not for credit course, then want to convert that to a for-credit course. To do this, the non-credit course must align specifically to a course offered at MU and the learning must be equivalent, have been taken at a regionally accredited institution, and the student must be able to complete the final evaluation (e.g., test, paper, portfolio). These course conversions will be approved by the Provost’s Office.
The following types of credit will not transfer to Mizzou:

• Technical, vocational, or remedial courses,
• Courses not intended for a baccalaureate degree,
• Courses intended for a terminal vocational degree or certificate program,
• Courses from a non-regionally accredited institution

Promotional Information – All promotional materials and communications regarding noncredit-bearing ADCs must clearly state and illustrate the difference between credit and noncredit bearing ADCs. All ADCs must meet University standards and clearly communicate the type of credential they represent. When ADCs are issued in the same subject area at two or more levels or types (assessed/unassessed, credit/non-credit) of competency, the levels must be clearly defined and obvious to the public.

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