Preserving the honor of the Honoris Causa: Revisiting the guidelines on the conferment of honorary degrees

Aim.This study examined the ethical, academic, and policy foundations of the conferment of honorary degrees (Honoris Causa), with particular attention to the proliferation of unregulated and fee-based conferments by nonrecognized organizations.Anchored on higher education ethics and Philippine regulatory frameworks-especially policies of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)-the study sought to educate academic stakeholders and caution institutions and individuals against practices that undermine the dignity, credibility, and integrity of honorary academic distinctions. Methodology.The study employed a qualitative policy-ethical analysis design.Data were gathered through semistructured interviews with twelve purposively selected participants composed of higher education administrators, graduate school faculty members, research ethics experts, and accreditation practitioners.Documentary analysis of CHED memorandum orders, public advisories, institutional guidelines, and international academic standards supplemented the interviews.Data were analyzed using thematic coding, policy alignment mapping, and ethical synthesis.Results.Findings revealed strong consensus that honorary degrees are morally and academically legitimate only when conferred as gratuitous recognitions of extraordinary merit, service, or contribution to society by CHED-recognized higher education institutions with prior regulatory approval.Participants uniformly rejected conferments involving payment, transactional arrangements, or misrepresentation as ethically defective and academically invalid.Recent CHED public advisories on unauthorized awarding of honorary doctorates were cited as critical regulatory clarifications reinforcing these conclusions.Circumstances such as commercialization, lack of institutional authority, and misleading public use of titles were found to gravely damage public trust in higher education.Conclusion.Honorary degrees retain dignity and legitimacy only when aligned with CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 09, Series of 2021, academic ethics, and the foundational principle of honor without compensation.Safeguarding the Honoris Causa requires institutional discipline, regulatory vigilance, and sustained education of academic communities and the public.