BREAKING: Effective this Fall, Boston University will begin approving the issuance of degrees to students who die before completing their college education.

Those who do not meet the criteria for a posthumous degree may be issued a Certificate of Academic Achievement. Story coming soon.

Criteria for students to be approved for a posthumous degree include having been in the last semester of their coursework while "likely to pass those courses with acceptable grades, and likely to have fulfilled any noncourse requirements of the degree within one additional term."

The policy was posted on the BU website in June, but the University did not notify students or release an announcement to the community.
https://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/award-of-posthumous-degrees-by-boston-university/

Please see our developing story for more context and new information. Meetings regarding creation of the policy extend back to January, before the pandemic became widespread.
https://dailyfreepress.com/2020/08/12/boston-university-to-issue-degrees-to-students-after-death-starting-this-fall/