Office of the Registrar - Commencement Ceremony

Assembly and Seating of Graduates

Graduates, except for doctoral graduates, should report to the coliseum arena floor at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2008. Please enter through the ground level entrances on the east or west side of the coliseum.

Undergraduate degree recipients should seat themselves in the section for their college/school without regard to alphabetical order. Masters and Educational Specialists degree recipients should seat themselves in the Master's section without regard to alphabetical order. Signs and rows will indicate the section for the college/school.

Doctoral degree recipients (Ph.D. and Ed .D.) and Doctor of Audiology recipients, should report to Room 2093 of Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2008. Please enter through the second floor entrance on the east side of the coliseum and then turn left, down the hallway and follow the room numbers to Room 2093. Name cards will be distributed at this time. Doctoral graduates will march to the arena with their major professors.

Security

Auburn University has implemented several policies designed to ensure the continued safety of guests at University events held in the Coliseum. Increased security is the focal point in the new entrance procedures. Guests will be permitted to bring small cameras (including small video cameras - no tripods or stands), small purses or equivalent handbags into the Coliseum. Items that are prohibited in the Coliseum include backpacks, umbrellas, coolers, alcohol, weapons and wrapped gifts. Guests are urged to arrive early to the ceremony and to limit the items they bring with them. Law enforcement personnel will search/screen all items that are brought into the Coliseum, including purses, camera bags, strollers, diaper bags and ambulatory assistance devices (wheel chairs, crutches, canes, etc.).

Seating of Guests

Guests should enter through the third floor entrances on the east or north side of the coliseum. Seating for guests is on a first come, first serve basis. No tickets are required for guests to attend the ceremony. Students are not limited as to the number of guests they may invite to attend graduation. The practice of families saving seats for multiple guests' late arrival is discouraged. If access problems into the coliseum necessitate saving a few seats, we request that they be limited to no more than eight seats in a single row. All guests are encouraged to be respectful and courteous to other guests. Everyone has a significant relative or friend in the ceremony that they want to see.

Additional Commencement Information

Graduates, except for doctoral graduates, will receive name cards in the mail which will be used to read your name on stage. Please bring the name card with you to graduation . Doctoral graduates will receive name cards on the day of graduation. Only your first and last names will be read on stage. If you prefer a middle or maiden name to be read, please line through the other name(s) listed and legibly write the name(s) you want read.

To ensure that you receive your name card in the mail, please update your local address in Tiger i.

It is important that graduates come to the coliseum dressed in proper attire and be seated immediately so the ceremony may begin promptly. Staff from the Office of the Registrar will be available to assist you and to issue another name card if the previous one is not available.

We ask that cell phones and pagers be turned off or put in the silent mode when the processional begins and to refrain from using either of them during the ceremony. Each graduate has his or her time on stage, and that time should be a happy one for each family or friend.

In order to maintain the integrity of the ceremony and ensure that each student is properly recognized, we ask for your cooperation in observing the following regulations:

1. No champagne or other alcoholic beverages are allowed in the coliseum.

2. No beach balls, airplanes, or other inflatable objects are allowed at the ceremony.

3. No silly string or other toys should be taken to graduation.

4. Do not leave the arena floor until the ceremony is over and the platform guests and

faculty have recessed from the arena floor; diplomas will not be released until after

the ceremony is over.

Commencement Ceremony

It is a very special day of celebration for students and guests and all are encouraged to be courteous to other guests. Students are also encouraged to exhibit behavior that is appropriate to recognizing the academic achievement of your degree and to demonstrate the spirit and words expressed in the Auburn Creed.

Graduates should rise as the faculty and administration march into the arena area. Please remain standing during the National Anthem (male graduates should remove their caps).

After the graduation address, the President will confer degrees on graduates by colleges/schools. The graduates will be directed to come to the stage for individual recognition. Graduates will stand, as directed, one row at a time beginning with the Graduate School. Graduates will walk to the stage, present their name card to the Announcer for reading, receive a diploma cover from their Dean, be greeted by the President and return to their seats.

The ceremony will conclude with a recessional by the stage party and faculty only. If you choose to attend the commencement ceremony, you will be expected to remain until its conclusion.

Diplomas

Immediately after the ceremony, please go to the Student Activities Center to receive your diploma. Only the diploma cover will be presented to you on stage. The student must be the one to pick up their diploma. Diploma distribution at the Student Activities Center will last until 4:45 PM after the conclusion of the graduation ceremony. After 4:45 PM on graduation day, diploma pick-up will begin the following business day during regular university business hours at 1 00 Mary Martin Hall in the graduation section.

If you do not plan to attend the commencement ceremony, please notify the Office of the Registrar to specify if you want to pick up your diploma in our office or have your diploma mailed to you. The student must be the one to provide address information regarding the mailing of their diploma. Our office can not accept mailing information from anyone but the student.

Diplomas that are not picked up or mailed by midterm of the semester following the graduation date on the diploma will be shredded. After that time, it will be the responsibility of the student to request a duplicate diploma at the cost of $20.00.