MAY GRADUATION INFORMATION
Everything you need to know about the upcoming Graduation day.
Graduation Events
For GradFest information click here.
Friday, May 3
9a.m. - Graduation Practice - Iles P.E. Center
For those unable to attend practice, please view the instructions here.
6p.m. - School of Social Work Pinning Program - Iles P.E. Center
6p.m. - School of Business Commissioning and Honors Induction Ceremony - Thatcher
Hall Chapel
8p.m. - Senior Dedication Vespers - University Church
Saturday, May 4
4p.m. - School of Education and Psychology Dedication - University Church
7p.m. - School of Nursing Dedication - Iles P.E. Center
Sunday, May 5
9a.m. - Commencement Service - Iles P.E. Center
1p.m. - Commencement Service - Iles P.E. Center
There will be two full-capacity commencement services, 9am and 1pm. Graduates will be able to register for their preferred service by about mid-March. Each graduate will be automatically listed for 8 tickets upon registering for their service. 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.
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 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.
We look forward to celebrating this important occasion with you, and we hope that
holding it on campus will only add to the good memories you will have of Southern.
You can download a copy of the May 2023 commencement program by clicking here. The May 2024 program will be uploaded about two weeks prior to the event.
Doors for each commencement service will open one hour prior to the event’s scheduled
start time.
Detailed instructions for the graduation services are listed below on this page.
Helium balloons are not allowed inside the gym, because if one is accidentally released, it could set off the alarms in the gym, requiring evacuation of the facility. If balloons are brought in, they will need to be left at the florist's tables and picked up after the service. It is recommended, however, that balloons be left in vehicles to be received after the event.
Be sure to purchase your regalia (gown, cap, hood, tassel) no later than April 4.
Our new provider link for you to visit and order your regalia is: http://www.orderhj.com/Southern. The deadline for ordering regalia is April 7. You will not be able to order regalia after that deadline. 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.
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 wreaths for you, please be sure they give them to you after the service. It can be challenging carrying out the items given to you during commencement without adding these extras to your load. Please also note that Southern’s official dress code still applies.
In an effort to provide security and safety in the graduate line-up area, we are asking all graduates to please bring a form of photo ID (either Southern ID or Driver’s License) with you, in order to enter the line-up area in the Hulsey Wellness Center. You may want to arrive a little earlier, in case this causes some delay. For those who may not have pockets in which to carry your ID, a lanyard will be provided at the check-in table just inside the doors for your use. Note: this lanyard is only large enough for your ID, and NOT large enough for a phone.
For any who may arrive late, thus missing the processional, please see the usher, who will be stationed at the far left side of the graduate and faculty seating area, to help you past the barriers and to your seat. You will need to show your ID so that you can be checked in. Thank you for your understanding and patience during this entry process.
Detailed Graduate Instructions and PowerPoint Instructions Below
Graduate Instructions Sunday, May 5, 2024, at the Iles P.E. Center on the campus of Southern Adventist University.
The big event is almost here! 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.
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 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 approximately 60 minutes prior to the start of your program. For Sunday, May 5: first service, arrive by 8:00 a.m.; second service, arrive by 12:00 p.m.
- 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. Please be sure to maintain appropriate physical distancing while waiting to receive assistance with regalia and while waiting to march.
- In the HWC lobby, there will be two tables: 1) a Records table with honor cords for Associate and Bachelor’s graduates, and 2) a table for our Advancement Department where each graduate can pick up a zipper pull medallion, if they meet the requirements for one.
- 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. Kristie Wilder) walks back with the mace to lead in the graduates.
- All graduates will follow Dr. Wilder 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 replace your mask, 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 dismiss you by row. Walk toward the back of the gym, straight out through the lobby, and go to a location that you should pre-arrange with your family beforehand.
- Do not stop or try to turn around to go back inside. It is recommended that you go directly to meet your family at one of your vehicles in order to allow everyone to exit safely.
There will be a graduation practice on May 3, at 9am in the Iles P.E. Center.