New academic year? Time to streamline your diploma process!

September marks a fresh start. Thousands of students begin their programs at colleges, universities, and vocational schools. For lecturers, student advisors, and administrative staff, it’s the start of a busy period filled with enrolments, timetables, and orientation weeks.
But this is also the ideal moment to look ahead — to the end of the academic year. What will your diploma process look like by then? Is everything already running efficiently? Or will examination boards once again face the same bottlenecks and last-minute stress?

Why the diploma process deserves more attention

For students, receiving a diploma is the culmination of years of hard work. But for educational institutions, it’s a complex logistical process with many moving parts — from document formatting and approvals to signing, printing, verification, and secure delivery.

In practice, this process often turns out to be:

• Time-consuming and error-prone
• Fragmented across multiple departments
• Dependent on manual checks and email communication
• Poorly protected against fraud

A missing signature, an error in student data, or a document that gets ‘lost’ in the process — it happens more often than you’d expect, and always at the worst possible moment.

Pressure on the education sector is increasing

In recent years, the pressure on educational institutions has grown significantly.

Consider, for example:

• A growing number of students
• Increasingly complex privacy regulations (such as GDPR)
• Greater demand for audits and quality assurance
• Rising concerns about diploma fraud

This calls for processes that are not only secure, but also scalable and efficient — especially for institutions that want to continue meeting the expectations of students, accreditation bodies, and government authorities.

The solution: digitisation and automation

Many institutions have already taken steps towards digitalising education in recent years. But the diploma process often lags behind — and that’s a missed opportunity. This is precisely the kind of process that benefits greatly from optimisation.

With a digital diploma process, you can:

• Automatically generate diplomas using templates
• Link student data directly to the correct documents
• Use legally approved digital signatures (e.g. certified by OCW/DUO)
• Manage ordering, verification, signing and dispatch — all from one platform
• Secure physical delivery through certified transport services

In short: fewer errors, more control over the process.

Real-world example: Maastricht University

Maastricht University has been working with an integrated diploma management process for years. Anja Ronken, central exam coordinator, explains in an interview:

“Previously, we constantly received emails for orders and print proofs. A single mistake could delay the entire process by days. Now everything runs through one controlled platform. It saves us an incredible amount of time and stress.”

More than 100 staff members from various faculties now use this system at UM. Every diploma is automatically generated, checked, printed, and securely delivered. The result: a uniform, secure, and efficient approach across all faculties.

“With this airtight diploma process, we not only protect our diplomas, but also the reputation of our university.”

Why security is essential

Diplomas are valuable documents. When diplomas are forged or lost, it can damage an institution’s reputation and lead to legal risks — or even unsafe situations, especially in sectors like healthcare.

That’s why it’s essential that every part of the diploma process is:

• Traceable and verifiable
• Protected against unauthorised access
• Designed to prevent blank diplomas from ending up in the wrong hands
• Compliant with the highest ISO security standards

Why now is the time to optimise your diploma process

The start of the academic year is the ideal time to review and improve internal processes. By streamlining and digitalising your diploma process now, you’ll ensure a smooth and stress-free issuance by the end of the year. Plus:

• There’s time to train your colleagues
• You can test changes early and make adjustments
• You can align with IT departments and examination boards
• You avoid last-minute stress at the end of the academic year

How do you get started?

A good starting point is to map out your current process:

• Which departments are involved?
• Where are the biggest delays or errors?
• How much time does each issuance take?
• Which parts can be digitalised or automated?

From there, you can look for targeted solutions that fit your organisation – whether you work at a small vocational school or a large university.

Diploma Support as your partner in process optimisation

Diploma Support is an all-in-one platform specifically developed for educational institutions. It integrates 12 secure services, including document creation, stock management, digital signing, delivery, and administration. It is a product of Royal Joh. Enschedé — a trusted expert in high-security printed materials such as stamps, banknotes, and diplomas.

The result:

• A 100% fraud-proof diploma process
• One central platform for all stakeholders
• Reduced workload, increased control
• Seamless process from ordering to delivery
• No more manual signatures
• Fully secured logistics from start to finish

Conclusion: Now is the time for a modern diploma process!

A new academic year isn’t just a fresh start for students — it’s also an opportunity for educational institutions. By modernising your diploma process now, you’re taking a sustainable step toward greater efficiency, security, and reliability.

Want to see what such a process could look like in practice? Download the whitepaper or request a free demo today.