Troubleshooting Ecclesiastical Endorsements for Students
Troubleshooting Ecclesiastical Endorsements for Students
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If my endorsement expires right before I plan to graduate do I need to renew it?
If you are planning to graduate soon, please be aware that you must have an active endorsement on the last day of finals for your degree to post. If your endorsement is going to expire prior to the last day of finals, then you must renew your endorsement.
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Why does endorse.byu.edu never load?
Either your church account is not connected to your BYU account, or it needs a reset.
Please try visiting myaccount.byu.edu. At the top of the page there is navigation that says "Home", "Recovery Email" and "Linked Accounts", click on "Linked Accounts".
Next, you should see a button next to your church account username that says "Unlink", click that blue button to unlink your church account from your BYU account. Once that has been unlinked, click on the green button that says "Add a linked account" and then link your church account again. This can act as a reset for the system.
If you do not see your church account, click on the green button that says "Add a linked account" and then link your church account.
Once you have done the steps above, please go back to endorse.byu.edu and try to submit your endorsement request again.
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Why is my completed endorsement not shown on MyMap?
The Church’s endorsement system and BYU’s MyMap system sync a few times throughout the day. Please allow up to 24 hours for the systems to sync. After 24 hours, if your endorsement isn’t showing as complete in MyMap, please do the following:
If the endorsement on endorse.byu.edu shows as incomplete contact the Honor Code Office by calling 801.422.2847.
My account has a mission deferment hold after my ecclesiastical leader completed my endorsement. How do I remove it?
Mission deferment holds automatically come off 6 months prior to the semester the student said they were going to return on their mission deferment application. If you are returning to BYU earlier than you originally communicated when you placed your mission deferment the hold will not fall off automatically, and you will need to call the Admissions Office at 801.422.4104.
Another issue that returning missionaries often experience is that they have selected the incorrect endorsement type. Check to see what kind of endorsement you submitted, whether as an applicant or continuing student. You can visit endorse.byu.edu to find this out.
Anytime a student is placed on mission deferment and comes back, that student needs an applicant-level endorsement, which includes an interview with their stake president or mission president. At endorse.byu.edu, you need to select the second option “BYU student on mission deferment”.
If you selected any of the other options, there is no way to switch it; you will just need to start a new endorsement request.
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What kind of endorsement do FLEX GE students need?
If you are currently in the FLEX GE program you will need what is called an applicant-level endorsement which involves an interview with your Bishop AND someone from the Stake Presidency.
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My bishop can’t find my endorsement request. What should I do?
Go to endorse.byu.edu to confirm that you have submitted a request. Once you have confirmed that you have submitted a request, please call the HCO, so that the HCO can notify the Church to move the endorsement to the appropriate Bishop’s queue or assist the leader in completing the endorsement.
The Bishop can also call the Church’s Ecclesiastical Clearance Office (ECO) directly. If the leader does not have the ECO’s phone number, they can call the HCO to get it. The ECO is an office at the Church that is staffed to support Ecclesiastical Leaders. They have asked that the HCO not share this information with someone who is not a Bishop, Mission President, or in a Stake Presidency.
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Applicants who are not members of the Church completed the endorsement interviews before creating a Church account.
Once completed, please call the Honor Code Office to complete one additional step. 801.422.2847
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My account says it's not federated. What does that mean?
Your church account and BYU account are not linked together. To link the two accounts, visit myaccount.byu.edu. At the top of the navigation, click on “Linked Accounts,” then click on the green button that says, “Add a Linked Account.” Follow the steps as they appear.
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My endorsement request says I am not a member, even though I am.
Please follow the below steps to troubleshoot.
1. Ensure that you have connected the correct Church account to your BYU account. Visit myaccount.byu.edu. At the top of the navigation, click on “Linked Accounts”. Does your church account show? Is it the same account you use in the LDS Tools app?
If no account is linked, click on the green button that says, “Add a Linked Account.” Follow the steps as they appear.
If the incorrect account is linked, click “Unlink” next to the incorrect account, and then click “Add a Linked Account” to add the correct account.
2. Another issue might be related to your birthdate. Check that your birthday is correct on your BYU account and church account. If the birthdate is incorrect on your Church account, please speak with your Ward Clerk to get it changed.
3. Lastly, your membership record number might not be attached to your Church account. Visit the settings page on churchofjesuschrist.org to see if you have a membership record number. If you do not, please speak with your Ward Clerk to get it changed.
Once the birthdate or membership record number is corrected, we have found it necessary to “Unlink” and then “Relink” your BYU and Church accounts as described above in step #1.
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I submitted my endorsement request and then moved wards. How do I get the request to my new bishop?
Ecclesiastical Endorsements are completed as part of a Bishop’s Priesthood Keys. Thus, a student may seek an endorsement only by the Bishop where they live AND where their Church records reside. If a student moves wards after a request is made, but before it is completed, please call the HCO, so that the HCO can notify the Church to move the endorsement to the appropriate Bishop’s queue.
The Bishop can also call the Church’s Ecclesiastical Clearance Office directly. If the leader does not have the ECO’s phone number, they can call the HCO to get it. The ECO is an office at the Church that is staffed to support Ecclesiastical Leaders. They have asked that the HCO not share this information with someone who is not a Bishop, Mission President, or in a Stake Presidency.
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I submitted an endorsement request, and it was flagged “Not in Unit”. What should I do?
This means that when you submitted the request it went to a bishop who marked that you do not currently live in their ward. Please complete the following steps to resolve this issue:
1. Please email the Honor Code Office at hco@byu.edu to confirm that you are aware of the issue and taking steps to resolve it. The HCO also receives the same error message notification, so your email proactively lets us know you are already working on it. We will then cancel your endorsement request, so it no longer causes issues with your next request.
2. Contact your ward clerk to have your records moved into the ward where you currently live.
3. Once your records are in your new ward, visit endorse.byu.edu and start a new request.
Please be sure to not request a new endorsement before steps 1 and 2 are complete to avoid the same error occurring again.
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How do I renew my endorsement?
Please visit endorse.byu.edu. Once submitted, the endorsement request will automatically appear in your Bishop or Mission President’s queue. After submitting the request, schedule an interview with your ecclesiastical leader to complete the endorsement.
Once the ecclesiastical endorsement has been completed, please allow 24 hours for this to be reflected in MyMap.
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What is the difference between applicant and continuing?
Level 1 Continuing Student Endorsements – Bishop Only
Continuing students, which is any student that has been enrolled at BYU within the last academic year. These students should initiate their endorsement as a Continuing Student when they are registering for new classes or applying for graduation.
Level 2 Applicant Endorsements – Bishop and Stake Presidency
Newly applying students (this includes new freshmen, transfer students, and students applying to a BYU graduate school program).
Students who have attended BYU in the past, but not within the past academic year. These students should initiate their endorsement as an Applicant if they are returning to the university or applying for graduation.
Students enrolled through the Flex GE program.
Students who are on Mission Deferment. Once a Mission Deferment is placed on a student’s account, the student needs to complete the Level 2 endorsement, regardless of the amount of time that has transpired since the deferment was placed. Mission Presidents have the ability to complete the endorsement for both the Bishop and Stake Presidency levels.
Please note that Service Missionaries complete their endorsements with their homeward Bishop and Stake Presidency; not their Mission President.
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If I work at BYU as faculty or staff, do I need to obtain a student endorsement in order to enroll in classes?
Faculty and staff that are planning to enroll in classes need to obtain a student ecclesiastical endorsement. The student ecclesiastical endorsement is different than the employee endorsement. To start the student ecclesiastical endorsement process please visit endorse.byu.edu.