New Boston University policy to award posthumous degrees not triggered by pandemic, says college
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Boston University will begin awarding posthumous degrees this fall to students who die before completing coursework, but university officials denied the policy has anything to do with the coronavirus pandemic.
“This policy is not a result of the pandemic and we sincerely apologize for the insensitive timing of the announcement,” university spokesman Colin Riley said in a statement to the Herald.
The policy was approved in June, but there was no formal announcement about the change until this week, which is the “normal” process for announcing policies enacted over spring, Riley said.
The idea behind making a formal posthumous degree policy was first proposed in 2013 and was approved by the council over the spring, Riley said.
The university issued a posthumous degree to then-student Lingzi Lu after she was killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Riley said the question over formalizing the policy has come up at times when “we tragically lose a BU student.”
Riley said previously degrees for students who died while enrolled at BU were awarded “without clear guidelines or transparency.” The Boston University Council debated the issue from January to July this year to come up with formal process, according to the school’s website.
“Again, we apologize if the timing created the incorrect impression that the policy was a result of COVID. It is not,” Riley said.
The university will consider posthumous degrees on a case-by-case basis, according to the policy. Students must have been enrolled in a degree program, in good academic standing at the time of their death, and within one semester of completing their coursework, according to the policy.