Maria Syed was not impressed when she received an e-mail on September 7 from U of T: “It has come to our attention that the diploma that you received during the Spring 2010 convocation period contains an incorrect signature title.”

Syed, a management specialist graduate, was one of 1,345 UTM graduates issued diplomas that titled then vice-president and principal Ian Orchard as “Vice-Principal and Principal.”

“My first reaction was anger. The first e-mail sent was very poorly written so it caused students to be angry not at the mistake itself but more at the deadline,” said Syed.

“Unfortunately, the incorrect signature title on your diploma makes the document invalid,” reads the e-mail, sent by U of T Office of Convocation Production Coordinator Karen Williamson. “We would, therefore, like to offer to replace your diploma […] To obtain your replacement diploma, you must return your original diploma to our office by no later than December 17, 2010.”

The e-mail details that there is no cost for the replacement diploma, and that it must be exchanged in-person by the individual or an authorized person.

“How does a well-established institution like U of T make such a mistake and then have the nerve to tell students there’s a deadline to return diplomas?” said Syed.

“I am currently not in Toronto so it bothered me how I was going to get my diploma. When I called the Office of Convocation, they explained the situation and assured me that my current degree was, in fact, valid. They needed to replace them on principle. They were co-operative and apologetic. Another e-mail was later sent out properly explaining the situation, as should have been done from the start.”

The follow-up e-mail, sent September 10 by Silvia Rosatone, director of the Office of Convocation, had a conciliatory tone and said the degree could also be exchanged at UTM and sent by worldwide courier for free.

“I would like to apologize for the printing error and also for the erroneous statement that was made in the September 7 e-mail regarding the validity of the document,” says the e-mail. “The error does not affect the validity of your degree.

“Your diploma parchment, however, is the public manifestation of your accomplishment and it should be correct in all respects. Accordingly, the university wants to make every effort to provide you with a corrected replacement as expeditiously as it can.”

The error appeared on diplomas of 283 students who graduated in November 2009, while the remaining 1,062 graduated this June.

“Students would obviously be quite upset by this,” said Terry Johnston, assistant director at the Office of Convocation, “which is why our office is acting so quickly.”

Johnston added that a message was sent to every student’s e-mail address and those who did not reply within a week were pursued by phone numbers in the university database. He said most students have appreciated the university’s efforts to fix the error. Incorrect diplomas can be folded and mailed in; postage expenses will be reimbursed for those who cannot afford them. Over 300 diplomas have already been exchanged.

UTM graduates affected by the error are being asked to contact the Office of Convocation at [email protected] or 416-978-3629.

Commencement Confusion

Turns out the University of Toronto isn’t the only school to have difficulties spelling.

June 2001: 700 graduates of the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City were given diplomas boasting that the school specialized “in science and mathemetics.”

Jan 2003: 158 high school students were rewarded by Massachusetts’ education department after successfully appealing that they should graduate despite failing standardized tests. The congratulatory certificates issued had the word “mathematics” spelled incorrectly.

December 2004: Over a thousand graduates of Kent State University were awarded for completing a degree with “all the rights, and privilieges and honors pertaining thereto.”

June 2005: Graduates of Franklin High School were given diplomas from the Elk Grove United School District of California. Instead of printing “United,” it read “Unified.”

July 2005: Leon Edward Shal Jr. of Connellsville, Pennsylvania was charged with fraud after working as a children’s mental health counsellor. His degree, awarded in 1986 from London, UK diploma mill Shaftesbury University, contained two spelling mistakes.

May 2008: Graduates of Dickinson College in Pennsylvania were awarded with diplomas written in Latin. They were dated “annno” before the Roman numeral 2008.

June 2008: 330 graduates of Westlake High School in Cleveland, Ohio were given diplomas from the local board of “educaiton.” “I was sick to my stomach,” said Principal Timothy Freeman, adding that the diplomas had already been sent back for corrections once because of problems with the signatures.

May 2009: Graduates of Arizona Western College were given certificates proclaiming them “hereby grated” an Associate of Arts.