Commencement

Commencement Policy

Degrees are conferred three times per calendar year, once at the annual commencement ceremony following spring semester and again following both the summer and fall academic terms. All students must complete a Degree Application and submit it to the Registrar’s Office in order to participate in the commencement ceremony. The College reserves the right to prohibit a student from participating in the commencement ceremony in the event that any disciplinary proceedings have been or are being commenced against the student.  

Eligibility to participate in Commencement Ceremony

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students who complete degree requirements during the prior December or are scheduled to complete in the spring semester are eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony. Students who plan on completing in August are eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony only if they are within 12 credits of completion and have a minimum GPA of 2.0.  If a student needs to complete more than 12 credits, on an exceptional basis, the student may petition for Permission to March Early.*

Graduate Students

Graduate students who have completed requirements for a Master’s degree, Doctoral degree, or Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study during the spring semester or the previous summer or fall sessions are eligible to participate in the annual commencement ceremony. Graduate students must have successfully defended their thesis, dissertation, capstone project, or independent study in programs where such requirements exist and be registered for any remaining requirements in the subsequent summer term are eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony.  Graduate students who have successfully defended their thesis, dissertation or independent study, but are not registered for remaining requirements in the subsequent summer term, will need to complete a Permission to March Early Request*, documenting their plan for completion.  The form will be distributed by the Office of the Registrar and must be signed by the student, the student’s academic advisor, and program director / department chair, and approved by the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.

*For students who have been granted permission to march at commencement, the conferral of the degree will occur at the end of the academic term in which all degree requirements are completed.