DECEMBER COMMENCEMENT INFORMATION
Each graduate who has registered will be automatically listed for 8 tickets upon registering. Should additional tickets be required, graduates can email graduation@southern.edu to request up to 8 additional tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. Requests for additional tickets can only be handled up to the end of the work day on December 10. After that point, should you have additional guests, they will need to enter the gym via the line at the far left of the gym lobby until all seating is full. Note that if all tickets have been requested, these guests will be allowed in about 10 minutes after the start of the service when we can evaluate how many tickets have actually been used.
Please note that all guests will need a ticket, with the exception of babies under the age of 1. E-tickets will be used, and those e-tickets will be sent out to each graduate (and to one optional guest for distribution) 24 hours before his/her event and again three hours prior to his/her event. Graduates can then disburse their tickets to their guests. Each ticket can only be used once.
Commencement will be streamed online here. (NOTE: this link will not be live until the day/time of the event.)
Graduates and faculty will need to have their Southern ID (or driver's license) with them to enter the Hulsey Wellness Center and line up. A lanyard will be provided as needed to carry the ID.
Commencement will be held in the Iles P.E. Center.
Each graduate who registers will receive an automatic email thanking you for your registration.
Please note that ALL communication from the Commencement Coordinator AND your e-tickets will go to the email address you enter into the registration system. Please be sure you type it carefully. Also note that if you choose to register with a personal email address, you will need watch that address for communication.
Info/Instructions for parents & graduates
Commencement Apparel
Our new provider link for you to visit and order your regalia is: http://www.orderhj.com/Southern. Regalia consists of the cap, gown, tassel, and hood, ALL of which are required in order to march at commencement. Undergraduates will wear their tassels on the right, Graduate students wear tassels on the left. The website is open for ordering now.
Since this event is a celebration of your academic achievements, you are not allowed to march with items beyond those provided by the university. If your guests have flowers or gifts for you, please be sure they give them to you after the service. Space is limited in the seating area, and we don't want your special mementos to be damaged or stepped on. Please also note that Southern’s official dress code still applies.
Announcements
Robing and Instructions
Honor cords for undergraduate degree students should be picked up in the Hulsey Wellness Center lobby prior to the service or at the Records Office during exam week. (Graduate students do not receive honor cords.) Philanthropy medallions should be picked up from the Advancement Office prior to December 19.
Web Streaming
This same link provides access to the archives for later viewing.
Photographs and Recordings
If you receive the wrong photo, or don't receive your photo at all, please contact their customer service department at (800) 261-2576 or email them at ecc.giservice@gradimages.net.
Facility Restrictions
There are some restrictions that you need to make your family and/or friends aware of for the commencement service on December 19:
- Balloons are not allowed in the Iles P.E. Center. We wish to avoid the possibility of balloons making their way to the ceiling in the gymnasium, triggering the infrared sensors and fire alarm, and forcing the evacuation of the entire building. We do not want to take any chances of this happening during or after your program.
- In our pursuit of a commencement service that is honorable, respects all graduates equally, and protects guests with sensitive ears and/or hearing aids, we ask that there be no use of noise makers or mess-making devices including but not limited to: air horns, silly string, poppers, etc. These items will be respectfully confiscated if found and may be returned after the ceremony. Thank you for abiding by this policy and making family and friends aware of this restriction to ensure a smooth, pain-free service for everyone.
Exit Interview
Hotel Accommodations
Additional Information
Special Accommodations/Concerns
Flowers
Floral tributes will be available for purchase in the Iles P.E. Center lobby through BLLUUM. To place an order and for custom requests, call 423.541.6767 or email blluumfed@gmail.com.
Congratulations to our graduates!
Detailed Graduation Day Instructions
Congratulations again on your academic achievement. We want this event to be as organized & safe for you (and your family and friends) as possible, so please thoroughly read through all of the following information. Please also view the details and diagrams by clicking here.
Before You Arrive
- Take the gown (regalia) out of packaging and steam it if necessary (NEVER iron your regalia, as it will melt).
- Determine where you will meet your family and guests after the program. (A designated vehicle would be best). Please do not gather directly in front of or immediately to the side of the gym, in order to allow everyone to be able to exit safely.
Lining Up
- Please plan to arrive for line-up by 6pm.
- BEFORE you enter the lobby, make sure to give any personal items to your family. You will NOT be able to re-enter the line-up area after your program. It will be best if you are already wearing your regalia as you come to the doors. If you have hangers or any of the plastic bags that your regalia arrived in, please throw them away or give them to your family before you enter.
- Be sure you have photo ID (driver’s license or Southern ID) in order to enter the Wellness Center. The line-up area is in the hall of the Wellness Center, starting from the stairs to the gym, continuing between the pools and exercise room, and down the hall toward the Gym-Masters gym. Only graduates and faculty are allowed to enter the Wellness Center. There will be labels on the floor to assist with line-up spacing and order. Commencement staff will be on hand to help you find your place in the line-up.
- In the HWC lobby, there will be one table for Records with honor cords for Associate and Bachelor’s graduates who haven't previously picked them up from the Records Office.
- Lanyard pouches (to be worn underneath regalia) will also be available for those who don’t have pockets for their IDs. Note: these are NOT large enough to hold a phone.
- The person whose name appears first on each row list posted in the line-up hallway will be the row leader and is responsible for making sure his/her row is lined up correctly. Note carefully which side you are on so you remember to turn that direction at the appropriate place. Commencement staff will be present to provide you with your specific information.
- Remember you may not add any “extras” to your regalia, including flowers, leis, decorated caps, etc. Tell your family to give these to you after the service.
Marching In
- The platform party goes first, then faculty, then graduates.
- When the first row gets to the door into the auditorium, the graduates will wait until the Grand Marshal (Dr. Andrew Richards) walks back with the mace to lead in the graduates.
- All graduates will follow Dr. Richards two by two.
- Graduate names are on programs on your chairs. Be sure you are sitting in the chair that has your name on the program. If you are not sitting at your name, MOVE to the correct spot. The name card on your program is for you to pull off and take with you to the stage at the appropriate time.
Conferring of Degrees
Students will stand up one row at a time—beginning with the front row. Students will then walk out to the left of the seating area. There will be four stopping points on the way to the stage—one at the table to pick up your diploma cover and check to be sure you have your name card, one at the bottom of the stairs, one at the middle point of the stairs, and one at the top of the stairs. At the top step, hand your card to the announcer. As soon as your name is called, walk across the stage to where you will have your picture taken with our president, Dr. Ken Shaw. There will be “feet” marked on the floor indicating where you will stop, and face the direction they indicate, while holding your diploma cover between you and the president. Pause briefly in that spot for the picture, then continue across the stage and down the stairs.
After this brief pause for the photo, you will finish crossing the stage and go down the stairs. There will be a second photo station with a backdrop. Please pause for the photographer to take this second picture, then go back to your seat, and be seated.
Sometime within a few weeks after graduation, you will receive a complimentary copy of the photograph taken at the first location with the president. You will be
able to order more copies from either station from gradimages if you wish, but it is not required.
If you receive the wrong photo, or do not receive your photo at all, you may contact
their customer service department at (800) 261-2576, online at www.gradimages.com, or via email to ecc.giservice@gradimages.net.
Recessional
- The Grand Marshal will stand and pick up the mace.
- The platform party will leave first.
- The faculty will follow immediately behind the platform party.
- The graduates will follow faculty, leaving from back row to front row. Two faculty assistants will lead you out. Walk toward the back of the gym, and split at the back to line the side aisles for a final presentation (see diagram in link above).
There will be no graduation practice. Please be sure to review the instructions and diagrams in the link above.