Graduation preparation
Definitions of terms used
Commencement is the ceremony the College of Education and Human Development hosts every May to celebrate the students who have or will be graduating within the academic year. An academic year consists of the fall, spring and following summer term. Students who complete their degree after the fall, spring or summer term are eligible to attend commencement in May.
Degree Clearance is the term used to indicate that the student’s APAS report indicated all curriculum requirements have been completed.
Graduation is completed when all of the student’s degree
requirements have been completed and cleared by the University.
Graduation/degree clearance results in a diploma.
Preparation procedures
Students who are preparing to graduate should complete the following steps. Please note that the application for graduation is due early in the semester in which you plan to graduate.
- Complete the online Application for Undergraduate Degree form no later than the due dates listed on the Undergraduate student graduation checklist Web site.
- Review your APAS report immediately after you have registered for your last term. This will give time to make last minute registration changes if selected courses are not fulfilling requirements as expected. Contact your Student Services adviser if your APAS report is missing any requirement or appears incorrect in any way.
- If all your requirements appear fulfilled on the APAS, in other words, if every requirement is “green” on your APAS, then you are on the right track toward degree clearance and graduation.
- Meeting with the undergraduate major advisor in both the second to last and final semester is recommended to help plan for the final semester and review any questions about the APAS, graduation, the licensure program, etc. Note there are no signatures or special meetings with your advisor required with the degree clearance process. Completion of the APAS report is used for this purpose and it is your responsibility to make sure it is correct and complete.
Degrees are cleared and processed for graduation by staff in Student Services after final grades are submitted and appear on the student’s transcript. If an APAS is found to be incomplete the undergraduate advisor is alerted and will contact the student if needed.
Graduation links
- Graduation link from One Stop (links to deadlines, checklist, forms, financial aid info and more)
- Commencement information
- Grad Fest (order cap and gown, invitations, etc)
- General graduation FAQ’s
Revised August 2011
