In the depths of Old Main, past the frosted glass of the registrar’s office door, sits a vault holding the result of students’ hard work.

Entering the registrar’s office, one of the first thing students will see is a heavy metal vault located in a narrow hall within the office.

The vault secures the diplomas of hundreds of Eastern graduates.

Behind the rough, beige metal of the vault’s door and a baseball-sized spinner are about 540 diplomas of graduates, Registrar Sue Harvey said in an email.

Harvey explained that the diplomas have ended up in the vault for a number of reasons, but most are being held for non-payment of tuition.

“The majority of diplomas that are being held are a result of various holds on a graduate’s record,” she said.

A smaller number of diplomas that are not being held for payment reasons are being stored in the vault because they were returned after being mailed to graduates.

“Other diplomas have been returned to our office because the address, which the graduate provided us, is no longer valid,” Harvey said.

On the shelves of the vault, among stacks of obsolete Eastern course catalogs and stores of office supplies, sits the thick files of diplomas.

Sitting within a dimly lit hallway between the rooms of the registrar’s office, the vault is passed by numerous employees daily yet remains locked tight.

The vault is a dark and long-term home for most of the diplomas, Harvey said.

The registrar’s office does not dispose of any of the diplomas and holds on to them indefinitely in hopes past graduates will take action to retrieve the result of their hard work, she said.

The only way students can have their diplomas released from the vault is to pay their tuition in full or call the registrar’s office to update their address and request it be resent.

Harvey said most students are successful in retrieving their diplomas.

The oldest diplomas in the vault date back to 1991, she said, a testament to the dedication of Eastern students who are proud of their accomplishments.

While Harvey is glad the registrar’s office is able to hold the graduate’s diplomas in a safe location, she said she would much rather be able to return the diplomas to graduates and empty the vault.

“I would much prefer to mail the graduate her or his diploma than hold it in our vault,” she said.

Tim Deters can be reached at 581-2812 or tadeters@eiu.edu.