Deadline approaches for new December Commencement
As of now, 1,250 Utah State University students will not participate in December Commencement unless they notify the Registrar’s Office by Wednesday.
By not responding, 60 percent of eligible undergraduate students will not be allowed to participate.
Students are asked to reply regardless of whether or not they are going to participate in the ceremony.
“We need to know either way,” said Sydney Peterson, co-chair of the university’s commencement committee. “We are simply asking students to notify the university of their intent to participate.”
Undergraduate students should reply to the Registrar’s Office at register@cc.usu.edu.
Graduate students must inform the Graduate School of their intent to participate by Nov. 19. E-mails should be sent to Jeanenne Nielsen at bjn@grad.usu.edu.
Students need to include either their birth date or student identification number in their e-mail so their record can be located and marked accordingly.
This year there are about 1,500 undergraduate students who are eligible to participate in the fall Graduation Ceremony, said Associate Registrar Heidi Beck.
Only 250 of those students have responded indicating whether or not they will be participating in the ceremony, and of those 250 students, 148 students plan on participating in commencement, Beck said.
“We are anticipating between 800 and 100 students to participate, based on spring participation,” Peterson said.
This number, however, could be affected by the time of year and holiday season, Peterson said.
Undergraduate students anticipating on participating in the ceremony should already have applied for graduation. These students should have received an e-mail and a brochure from the registrar’s office.
“Some students may not have received these, since we don’t always have up-to-date information,” Peterson said.
The December Commencement will take place at 10:30 a.m., Dec. 19, in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The ceremony will end at is approximately 12:30 p.m.
Family and friends are invited to attend the ceremony, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, Peterson said.
“We expect there will plenty of space,” Peterson said.
All participants in the ceremony are required to wear authorized caps and gowns.
The caps and gowns can be picked up in the Taggart Student Center International Sunburst Lounge on Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Dec. 15 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There is no need to pre-order the cap and gowns, since Jostens will have the inventory to meet the needs of students, Beck said.
There is a celebration planned for after the commencement in the TSC. Tickets are required for this event; however, they are free and can be picked up at the ticket office beginning Nov. 15. More information can be found at www.usu.edu/commencement.
-apassey@cc.usu.edu