Ready for what happens after you finish your course? There are lots of things to think about as you come to the end of your studies and look to the future. This guide aims to help you along the way.
If you are leaving before completing your studies please see our guide to withdrawing from the University.
1) Your University finances
Make sure you have paid any outstanding fees and debts to the University before you complete. Otherwise, you may not be able to attend your graduation ceremony or obtain your degree certificate. Below is a list of debts to check:
- Academic (tuition) fees
- Accommodation
- Books
2) Campus accommodation
See our guide to leaving your University accommodation.
Information about the return of your Accommodation deposit can be found here.
3) Your University login, learning resources, and saving files
Remember to save your work. Your University login account will be closed 6 months after the leaving date detailed in your Student Record. This means that after this time you will no longer have access to University systems and services including your Canvas module sites. Once your account is closed, we are unable to recover your saved work and emails.
Copy/move your work and emails
Before you leave, please copy or move any documents you want to keep. This includes:
- Assignments submitted to Canvas or any files stored in your personal storage area. See more information about your user files on Canvas.
- Office 365 OneDrive – transfer any files and documents you wish to keep from your university OneDrive into personal storage. Don’t forget to also check your OneDrive ‘Shared with me’ and ‘Shared by me’ folders.
- Outlook e-mail. Forward any emails you want to keep to your personal email address. See Automatic forwarding in Microsoft Outlook. Please also remember to unsubscribe to any mailing lists you may have signed up to with your herts.ac.uk email address.
- Teams files you may have shared in meetings or group chats. These can be found in your ‘Shared by you’ folder in OneDrive
- Zoom recordings stored in your personal Zoom web portal. See instructions on how to share, download and delete cloud recordings.
Please note Office 365 applications installed on personal devices (via the University's Office 365 agreement) will have reduced (read only) functionality when your account closes. Applications can be reactivated with a personal or new workplace Office 365.
Return books and other loan items
Please make sure to return any loan items you have from us (books, computers, etc.) before you leave.
If you are still on campus or live nearby you can return items to one of the Learning Resources Centres (LRCs) at either campus. For more information please see our book return information on our Book Borrowing page.
If you are off-campus or living at home here in the UK and are unable to return to campus before you leave you can use our free UK postal return service.
If you are a final year international student no longer living in the UK please contact the Helpdesk.
4) Your Graduation Ceremony, Certificate and Transcripts
Find out more about your Graduation Ceremony, tickets, robe hire and what to do on the day.
When your award has been confirmed your certificate will be printed and sent to your home address as shown on your Student Record. You can update your home address on your student record, you can follow the steps noted on our 'Change your Personal details' page.
Further information about your certificate can be found here.
You will be sent a copy of your transcript after you leave. Information about obtaining a replacement transcript can be found here.
5) References
Whether you plan to undertake further study or move into the world of work, you will probably need a personal reference. You might wish to speak to a member of the academic staff to discuss if they would be willing to provide a reference for you.
If you need your award confirmed to an external company, you can contact our Exams and Awards Team to get an Award Verification Certificate.
6) Further study
If you are interested in further study at the University, speak to a relevant member of academic staff or visit the course pages of the University website.
If you are interested in undertaking research, you can find lots of useful information and contacts on the research pages of the University website or you can contact the Doctoral College.
7) Jobs and careers
See our guide to finding a graduate job and find out about the careers support available to you after you graduate.
8) Alumni membership
As an alumnus you have a number of benefits and privileges. Please visit our Alumni website for more information.
9) Return your student ID card
You're required to return your ID card when you leave University after completing your studies. You can do this by handing in your ID card to any of the following locations:
- One of the three Ask Herts Hubs
- College Lane Main Reception
- de Havilland Main Reception
If you are unable to return your card in person, you can post it back to us at Ask Herts, if that is not possible, we kindly ask that you destroy the card.
10) Celebrate
Completing your studies is a big achievement so make sure you do celebrate and reward yourself for all your hard work. Good luck for the future!