Please read the following Commencement instructions carefully and thoroughly. Pay particular attention to the
time for your ceremony. Refer to the bottom of this message for the schedule of the December 2009
Commencement ceremonies.
Please note that you must attend the ceremony for YOUR academic unit. (Graduate students must attend
the ceremony for the Graduate School.) For example, you must attend the ceremony for the College of Engineering
if you are receiving the BS degree in Civil Engineering. You must attend the ceremony for the Graduate School
if you are receiving the MS degree in Civil Engineering.
For further information, see also "Graduating from
Southern Illinois University Carbondale" on the web at http://registrar.siu.edu/records/Graduation.htm.
Attendance – Attendance at Commencement is not required; however, if you do attend, cap and
gown are required. For our active duty military graduates, formal (dress) military attire is
acceptable. If you indicated on your graduation application that you would attend the graduation ceremony,
and you have changed your mind OR vice versa, you must inform the Graduation and Special Events Office
(618-453-2054) by no later than Friday, December 4, 2009. Graduate students are to notify the
Graduate School. It is assumed that Military Programs students will not be attending the
Carbondale campus ceremony unless the graduating student notifies the Graduation and Special Events Office otherwise.
The Commencement ceremony is an important occasion not only for you, but also for other graduates,
families, and friends. Although it is a happy time, it should not be a time of revelry. Your
conduct at the ceremony should be dignified. Alcoholic beverages may not be brought into the
Arena. Security personnel will be present during the entire ceremony.
Caps, Gowns, and Announcements – You may order caps, gowns, and announcements from
the Student Center Bookstore. The deadline to order caps and gowns
is Friday, October 30, 2009. All rented caps and gowns must be returned immediately after the ceremony
to the Student Center Bookstore staff present in the Arena lobby. (Military Programs students should
confer with their base representatives regarding caps and gowns.) The tassel is worn on the right side of the
cap until the degree is conferred. After conferral, the tassel is moved to the left side of the cap.
Seating for Guests – Seating is available in SIU Arena
for guests. Tickets are not required for admittance. Seats are available on a first-come,
first-served basis. SIU Arena will be open one hour before the ceremonies begin.
Ample handicapped seating is available on a first come, first served basis at floor level. Please
enter through the south lobby of SIU Arena and notify an usher of your need. No reservation is
required. For accessibility questions, please contact SIU Arena at (618-453-1801).
Processional & Recessional – Candidates for Doctoral degrees and their major professors, School of
Law degree candidates and their Marshal and Reader, the platform party, and a representative
faculty group will participate in the processional and recessional for the ceremony. Doctoral
candidates and their major professors and Law School participants will assemble on the second floor of Lingle
Hall (north end of SIU Arena) no later than 1:00 PM for the 1:30 PM ceremony. Doctoral and Law candidates
will be given name/seating cards at that time.
Name/Seating Cards – Candidates for all degrees, except Doctorates and Law, must pick up their
name/seating card from the South Lobby of the Arena before taking a chair on the Arena floor. Candidates for
the Master's degrees will be assigned specific seats on the Arena floor in the proper order. Undergraduate
and Master's degree candidates must be seated at least 15 minutes before the ceremony
begins. Please note: you MUST have a name/seating card before proceeding across the stage.
Diplomas – Diplomas are issued at the ceremony for all Doctoral degree candidates
who have completed all degree requirements and who have no outstanding financial obligations to the
University. Diplomas for all other candidates will be mailed six to ten weeks after
the ceremony, providing that all degree requirements are completed and any financial obligations to the
University are cleared.
If degree requirements are not met, the undergraduate degree candidates who first applied to graduate
in December 2009, and the graduate degree candidates designated by the Graduate School, will be moved
automatically to the May 2010 applicant listing. Undergraduate degree candidates who were automatically
moved to the December 2009 list from a prior application will not be moved and will be required
to complete and submit a new application for a future commencement that follows the completion of
their degree requirements.
Degree Clearance – Degree candidates are responsible for ensuring that all degree
requirements are met, that all incomplete grades are completed, and that evidence of these two
requirements is on file in the Graduation and Special Events Office by Friday, January 29, 2010. Failure
to do this by the degree candidate may result in a delay in the degree clearance and a delay in
the issuance of the diploma and any transcripts.
Undergraduate candidates who want to be removed from
the candidacy list for the December 2009 Commencement should fill out this
form
and submit it to the Graduation and Special Events Office as soon as possible.
Photographs – Professional photographers from Chappell Studio will be available to take
photographs during the Commencement Ceremony. Please advise relatives and friends not to go beyond
the designated areas to take photographs. You may call Chappell at 1-800-424-3686 for more information
about photographs.
COMMENCEMENT SCHEDULE FOR FALL 2009 Saturday, December 19, 2009 at the SIU Arena