A long time ago, I had responsibility as registrar of closed schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, along with my records management responsibilities. We did not issue replacement diplomas at that time and I am not aware of any requirement to do so. The student transcript is considered the official record of the student's status. A diploma is generally seen as a ceremonial document and is normally not accepted as proof of graduation status (in this day and age, at any rate). Clearly, if there are no otehr records available, an original diploma will serve as proof, but most background checks are performed using student transcripts. This was a driving factor for the Archdiocese of Chicago's Archives and Records Center to consolidate the records of closed schools in the Archives.

In looking through a Google search, it appears that many universities will issue a new diploma upon certification that the student has lost his or her document, but the diploma will bear signatures of current administrators. In some instances, the fees for the replacement diplomas are pretty steep.

In some instances, when I worked for the Archdiocese, we would pull the file for the student and find the diploma in the file. Sometimes it was a photocopy; in other cases, it was the original document that was withheld either becuase the student did not complete a required course or had unpaid fees.

You may want to check with the Archdiocese of Chicago Archives and see if their position has changed relative to diplomas.
 Patrick Cunningham, CRM
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