Commencement Statistics: The 2018-2019 Academic Year At A Glance

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “Knowledge is power” plenty of times. Come commencement season, students receiving their diplomas will truly understand the meaning of this phrase. The 2018-2019 school year is the first one we’ve gone through for both fall and spring commencement with our Parchment Award system. During this time, we were able to help recent graduates transform their hard work and credentials into exciting opportunities.

Rather than providing our service and moving on, we decided to take it one step further by recording the commencement results of this academic year. This year’s group of students worked hard to get where they are; that’s why we’d like to show how many of them used Parchment Award to leverage their academic accomplishment to pursue further education, skilled careers and other extraordinary possibilities.
During the 2018-2019 academic year, we issued a total of 244,000 diplomas to students. This represents the combined total of diplomas in both paper and digital formats. Here is some other information we gathered during this time:

Format of diplomas

Because Parchment is able to provide students with diplomas in both electronic and hard copy formats, we decided to find out exactly how most students preferred their materials to be sent to them. Considering so many educational institutions distribute their diplomas in formal covers or holders — and many even encourage students to purchase frames to display their certificates in their offices — you might believe that most students would want to receive their diploma in paper form. In fact, of our 2018-2019 diploma recipients, 76% requested that we deliver this credential to them in a digital format.

Let’s take a look at an example of how many schools are going digital with their diplomas. Rather than calling each student up to the stage, several schools have started issuing digital diplomas. While students are sitting in their seats during commencement, the school can directly send a diploma to each graduate, so they can claim and have immediate access to this credential.

One of the main benefits of having their diploma in a digital form is that it arrives in an attractive format that can be transferred easily to other parties. This is helpful for users applying to jobs that do not require a transcript in their application but that make it necessary for candidates to hold a certain level of academic proficiency, such as a high school diploma.

Digital claims

Out of the 185,000 users that chose to have their diplomas sent to them digitally, 140,000 students — or 75% — claimed this digital certification. In comparison to other platforms, Parchment Award has the highest claim rate in the industry. Why exactly could that be? Not only do we show our users the value of having immediate access to their diploma, we make it simple to attain it, with just a one-click verification.

Rate of digital share

Of our digital diploma holders, 38,000 people shared their credentials on social networks. This represents 28% of the 140,000 individuals who digitally claimed their diploma. By leveraging this level of social sharing, graduates can increase their own marketability, making them more desirable to employers and connections.

Parchment Award can help your academic institution distribute diplomas in both paper and digital formats to your graduates. Rather than waiting four to six weeks for the average print vendor to send documents, you can help students access their information in as few as five to seven days. That way, they can view and share their accomplishments faster and easier than ever.

There’s always more to learn.