Seniors must fill out a form and return in to the registrar’s office Oct. 1 to be eligible for spring graduation
(Photo courtesy of fromthebarn.org)
By Kate Stringer, Staff Writer stringer14@up.edu
For UP seniors, the melodic march of "Pomp and Circumstance" is probably the last thing on their mind. The swing of the semester workload clouds the image of a swinging tassel, and the dream of handing in capstone projects trumps the thought of being handed a college diploma.
But don't forget, Oct. 1 marks the deadline for spring 2013 graduation registration.
Seniors are required to fill out a graduation registration form, which can be found on the registrar's webpage. Each student must electronically fill out the form, print it out and deliver it to the registrar by Oct. 1 in order to be eligible for graduation in May 2013.
The form requests information such as the name students want on their diploma, address, degree and major.
According to Fr. Jeff Allison, graduation and degree audit coordinator in the office of the registrar, after returning the form to the registrar's office, the dean of each student's respective school must sign off stating that the student has completed the credit hours necessary to graduate.
If a student doesn't fulfill requirements, the dean will write a letter to the student listing the credits still needed.
Registration does not include purchasing caps and gowns. Instead University Events deals with all activities when commencement day is closer. This means that there is no fee attached to the registration process.
Allison points out that while each school can send out an email informing students about the graduation registration deadline, the registrar does not directly notify students about registering.
Allison said the responsibility falls on seniors to stay informed about the graduation process.
"It's part of the routine," Allison said. "Read all the instructions on the website - it gives instructions for graduation."
For some seniors, this adds to the stress of registering.
"I hope there's a little more publicity about it," senior Hannah Billett said. "And I hope it's not too confusing."
Senior Olivia McCracken said that the registration deadline makes a distant event closer.
"It's just weird that it's due so early because it makes it [graduation] come a lot faster," McCracken said. "It's weird and unreal."
