PowerPoint Presentation

Graduate Program

Commencement

Process Overview

Team Effort

The Office of the Registrar, Graduate School, and Graduate

Program Directors (GPD) will need to work closely to ensure

all graduate students who are eligible to participate in

Commencement are included.

The Graduate Program Director’s role is to communicate

with the student to complete necessary tasks and with the

Graduate School (Alana Schaeper) to ensure that students

who meet the criteria to graduate are coded properly in

Banner.

The Office of the Registrar Commencement Coordinator runs

reports to prepare for the program and big screen display,

verifies addresses to mail diplomas, orders diplomas, and

coordinates Special Cases.

The Office of the Registrar and Graduate School utilize

Banner to code students in a screen called SHADEGR.

A student’s Outcome Status in Banner can be coded SO

(Sought), FI (Filed), RG (Ready to Graduate), EW

(Eligible to Walk), and finally AW (Awarded) once

degrees are conferred.

All Commencement Reports are based on the

Outcome Completion Term and

Outcome Status of RG or EW coding in Banner.

If a student does not fall within these parameters,

they will not appear on any Commencement Reports.

The Office of the Registrar has no way of knowing if

someone is missing. We rely on the Graduate School

Degree Planner and GPDs to verify accuracy.

GPDs are the most familiar with the students within

their program. The Office of the Registrar and

Graduate School rely on you to verify that all students

who are eligible to graduate have applied and been

coded correctly.

The Office of the Registrar prepares a Commencement

Participation Report every week that includes all

students coded RG or EW. Please email

Sandra_Groves@baylor.edu if you want to be copied

on this report to confirm all eligible participants are

listed.

Steps Necessary to

Participate in Commencement

At the beginning of the semester the student

intends to graduate, the student should:

➢ Mark the semester deadlines (filing for graduation, Dissertation

and Thesis defense and submission, oral exams). Check the

academic calendar for all deadlines.

➢ Run a degree audit in UAchieve to ensure fulfillment of all degree

requirements. Students should rely on their GPDs for assistance

with any discrepancies. GPDs should work with Alana Schaeper

to rectify any issues. All incompletes for coursework other than

dissertation or thesis hours must be cleared before the oral

examination can be taken.

➢ If a student meets all degree requirements and wish to

declare their intent to graduate, they must apply to graduate

via Bearweb. The deadline is February 1, 2023.

➢ A joint student must apply to graduate from each program

separately. Please note that not all Colleges/School at

Baylor University utilize Bearweb to file for graduation.

➢ If a PhD student wishes to graduate with a non-terminal

master’s degree, they should contact

Alana_Schaepe[email protected].

➢ Students should purchase or rent regalia to represent the

degree to be awarded. A student will not be allowed to

participate in the ceremony without regalia.

• Master’s Degree candidates wear traditional academic

dress that can be purchased from the Baylor Bookstore.

• Regalia for the Educational Specialist (EdS) degree can

be purchased from the Baylor Bookstore and should be

in stock by the middle of the semester.

• Regalia for doctoral degrees is purchased or rented

through Herff Jones online. The deadline for rental is

April 12

and the purchasing deadline is March 25

Please allow up to eight (8) weeks for delivery.

Applying to Graduate

All students must apply to graduate by the set deadline on the

Graduate School Academic Calendar. Graduate students must log

into BearWeb to submit their application.

For Non-Thesis Programs

Students need to complete their Comprehensive Exam.

If successful, faculty must submit the Results of Comprehensive

Exam Form which is available to faculty through OnBase. This

must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm on the last business

day prior to the first day of Final Exams.

For Doctoral and Master Thesis Students

➢ Students should schedule their dissertation/thesis defense. At least

ten (10) days before the defense, the GPD needs to submit the

Announcement of Oral Exam. Students should review committee

requirements prior to submission.

➢ At least two (2) weeks before the defense, the student should schedule

a Preliminary Technical Review. Instructions for scheduling and

formatting can be found on the Graduate School website. At the time

of the review, the student must submit:

• A formatted manuscript.

• The Copyright and Availability Form.

• A formatted signature page to the Baylor dissertation and thesis

portal: https://baylor-etd.tdl.org.

➢ At the Oral Exam, the student must obtain relevant signatures on the

Signature Page or obtain electronic signatures immediately following.

➢ Within ten (10) days after successful defense:

• The department must submit the Result of Oral Exam form which

is available to faculty through OnBase.

• The student must electronically submit the final

dissertation/thesis, the signed Approval of Final

Dissertation/Thesis, a signed Signature Page with all signatures

except the Dean’s, and any necessary publisher permissions to the

submission portal: https://baylor-etd.tdl.org.

➢ After Graduate School approval, doctoral students must:

• Submit their dissertation to the ProQuest website.

• Complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates when requested at the

end of the semester.

➢ Alana Schaeper will verify that the student is coded RG if all

requirements are met. If a student does not meet the requirements,

Ms. Schaeper will change the coding so the student is not eligible to

participate in Commencement.

Name to be Printed on the Diploma

When the student applies to graduate in BearWeb, the name

they enter will be printed on the diploma and utilized for the

Commencement ceremony. The address entered will be used to

mail the diploma to them once degrees are awarded.

If a student wants to change their name, they should email

Alana_Schaepe[email protected].

If a student wants to change the address their diploma will be

mailed, they should email Sandra_Groves@baylor.edu.

All emails should include the student’s name and

Baylor ID for verification.

Before applying to graduate, GPDs should advise students

of the name policy below for consistency in the Program.

Baylor Marketing & Communication Policy:

➢ All initials should be followed by a period.

➢ Jr. and Sr. should have a period after the abbreviation

and a comma before it.

➢ II should not have a comma before it.

➢ There should be no extra spaces between the names.

Notify Sandra Groves if the student has a special request.

Example: Initial being a name, not an initial.

Diploma Name Criteria

Ceremonies

The date(s) Commencement will be held are determined

several years in advance. However, the assignment of

colleges/schools to a specific ceremony are not made until

students can no longer add courses.

It is very important that Graduate School students have

applied to graduate as soon as possible. About 3 weeks into

the semester, the Office of the Registrar runs a report to pull

all students who are coded Ready to Graduate (RG) for the

current term. The goal is to balance the ceremonies with an

equal number of students so the event will last from

2 to 2.5 hours.

This past May, we had close to 30 students come to

wrong ceremony based on information they received

from Advisors, Faculty, etc. The Graduate School is the

most challenging, especially when we separate the Arts

and Sciences disciplines. The Office of the Registrar has

created a list that includes “assignment” of majors and/

or degrees to schools/colleges.

FYI - The Commencement Participation List released

every week has a column that includes Ceremony

Assignment when multiple ceremonies will occur.

Ceremony Divisions

Commencement Information

The Commencement Website provides valuable

information to graduates, parents, and attendees.

https://commencement.web.baylor.edu/

It also includes a link to the Non-Participation Form.

We request that all graduates who will not attend

complete this form. It helps in preparation for the

Marshals and organization for the ceremony. The first

student to walk for a degree/major must have a sticker

put on their Graduate Card that says “Receiving the” so

the announcer states the new degree/major.

Since the transition to a non-certified ceremony, the deadline to

be included in the Commencement program is six (6) weeks

before the ceremony.

It is very important for our students to be listed correctly in the

program. Alana and I rely on your assistance to ensure all

students who are eligible are included in the program.

Since we now have a non-certified ceremony, there is a

disclaimer in the program stating:

NOTE: This program is not an official University document. The exclusion of the

names of students is not to be taken as indicative of their official status as non-

graduates, nor is the inclusion of the names of students to be taken as certification of

their official status as graduates.

Commencement Program

Graduate information for the program and MarchingOrder

display at the ceremony is submitted 4 to 6 weeks before the

ceremony. We have vendors who print the program and

prepare the graduate cards and display.

Anyone added after this point will have a different color card at

the ceremony because they are manually added. Additionally,

they will not be listed in the program and will be hand-written

on the Marshals List.

The display at the ceremony will include the Student Name,

Degree(s) and Major(s).

Program and MarchingOrder Display

Doctoral candidates must be certified as having completed their

degree in order to participate in commencement ceremonies at

the end of a term.

A student seeking a master’s or Education Specialist degree may

participate as a degree candidate in commencement ceremonies

at the end of a term if they are enrolled in or have completed

sufficient coursework to complete degree requirements in the

term. For purposes of determining sufficient coursework under

this policy a student must have a final grade, an incomplete

notation (I), or a withdrawal notation (W) for relevant

coursework. Students who withdraw from the University in the

term and have not been certified for completion of a degree may

not participate.

Eligible to Walk

Students who meet the criteria to be Eligible to Walk need

to have their coding in Banner changed from RG (Ready to

Graduate) to EW (Eligible to Walk). Please notify Alana

Schaeper with the Graduate School if you need assistance in

determining if a student meets the criteria and to request a

student’s coding to be changed.

Students should not be removed from the ceremony if they

are eligible to participate according to Baylor University

Policy. Please note that students removed after the

Program deadline will still be listed in the Program.

The diploma is 14”x 11” horizontal. Signatures of the chair of the

Board of Regents, the president, the provost, and the appropriate

dean, along with a gold embossed seal, are on the diploma. The

College Name, Degree, and Student Name are included on the

diploma. Major(s) are not included on the diploma.

Diplomas will be ordered once degrees are awarded. Once the order

is placed, our vendor in Virginia produces and ships them directly to

the graduate within ten (10) business days via the United States

Postal Service. The student will receive an email in their Baylor

account that allows them to track the package once it leaves the

facility. A student should email [email protected] with

any damages and include their name and Baylor ID Number.

The Diploma

Conferral of an academic degree is a separate event from the

public commencement ceremony that symbolically

commemorates that academic achievement. Baylor students

who participate in commencement ceremonies are considered

candidates for a degree. The final awarding of degrees and

honors is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the

appropriate requirements by each candidate. Degree conferral is

not official until grades are posted and candidates are certified

as having completed all requirements. Only then do graduates

receive their diplomas. Baylor University uses a single date for

the conferral of all degrees.

Participating in Commencement

During the semester they intend to graduate, any student

wanting to walk in a future ceremony must submit an email

that includes their name, Baylor ID, reason for request , and an

alternate email to reach the student to

[email protected]. She will obtain permission from

the Dean’s and Registrar’s Office. Once it is approved, Alana

will notify Sandra Groves of the special case. The student

remains coded RG on the Commencement Participation List

and included in the Program because they will be awarded

their degree.

Additionally, all students who are being awarded a degree in

the current term who were awarded a degree in 2020 will be

asked if they want to be recognized for both degrees at the

ceremony.

Special Cases

Baylor University wants

happy graduates and

parents at the ceremony

and when they receive

their diploma.

Baylor University Graduate Catalog:

POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED DEGREES A student in

his/her final year who has successfully completed 75% of the

degree requirement, who is enrolled in good standing, making

satisfactory academic progress, meeting a minimum grade

point average requirements for his/her degree program, and

dies before completing his/her degree may be awarded the

degree posthumously upon the recommendation of the

Graduate School Dean and with the approval of the Provost.

Posthumous Degrees

Burt Burleson is the first person notified when a student

passes. He will notify Sandra Groves and Teresa Mellon

immediately.

Sandra will reach out to the degree planner for verification of

the student’s academic status. If the degree planner desires

for a Posthumous Degree to be awarded, the Degree Planner

will need to submit a request to Dean of Graduate School and

Dr. Wes Null with the Provost’s Office for approval. This

approval needs to be forwarded to Sandra Groves.

At this point, Sandra will order the diploma, and Burt will

communicate with the family to see if they wish to attend the

ceremony. Teresa Mellon will coordinate with Denyse

Rodgers, the Head Marshall, to make arrangements for the

special recognition.

Posthumous Degrees will be awarded at a

Commencement Ceremony that works best for the

family. Only two (2) people can accept the degree on

stage. We present the diploma with a diploma cover to

the family. The posthumous degree will be awarded as

the last degree in the corresponding major.

If a family does not wish to attend the ceremony, Burt

will write a letter to send to the family to ship with the

diploma in a diploma cover. A program will also be

included.

It is very important that Burt Burleson be the first point

of contact before making plans for a posthumous degree.

We have set this protocol in place to ensure we honor the

deceased student’s family in a memorable way.

If the student does not qualify for a degree,

Sandra will order a “Certificate of

Attendance” from our vendor. Upon receipt

of the certificate, Sandra will get it to Burt

Burleson who will write a letter to send with

the certificate to the family.

Certificate of Attendance

Week of Commencement

The week of the ceremony is very hectic for the Office of the

Registrar, Institutional Events, and the Graduate School Degree

Planner.

Please encourage students to refer to the Commencement

website for information. If they need additional information,

they should send an email to commenceme[email protected]

which includes their name and Baylor ID number instead of

calling.

Remember – Latin Honors only apply to Undergraduate

degrees.

The week before the ceremonies, the Marshals are provided

with a list to determine the division for 24 groups for each

ceremony for the procession into the Ferrell Center. This

list is then printed the day before the first ceremony and

provided to the Marshals who hang them on signs for

students to view. Anyone added after this day will be hand-

written on the list. At this time, the Office of the Registrar

is working from the Ferrell Center and does not have access

to a printer. Cards are divided by groups. Any changes are

a manual addition/removal from numerous lists and from

the student cards.

Be sure to only remove a student from the ceremony if they

do not qualify to participate.

Commencement Week Activities

Day of Commencement

Students should arrive dressed in Regalia an hour before the

ceremony to line up in the Ferrell Center concourse for the procession.

Signs will have student names divided by degrees and majors. Please

note that if a student has more than one degree, they will be listed

with both degrees separately from students receiving a single degree.

The lists on the signs are created several days before Commencement,

so any late additions will be manually added to the list.

Students are so excited to come to Commencement. It is very

disappointing for them if they are not included on the list. The GPDs

role to oversee that all eligible students are included in the

Commencement Participation List is vital before the ceremony.

Commencement should be a day to celebrate their accomplishment,

not explain why they are not on the list.

The procession will begin promptly at the start of the ceremony.

Office of the Registrar Contacts

Commencement Ceremony, Program List, Display, Graduate Cards, Diplomas

Sandra Groves

Graduate School Degree Planner

Alana Schaeper

Graduate Grades, Pass/Fail Reports, Online Grad App

Braxton Ray, Ashleigh Bailey, Kyle Yates

Legally Changing Name

Brenda Khozein

Registration

Hannah Dysinger

Institutional Events – Marketing &

Communications Contacts

Logistics of Commencement, Programs

Teresa Mellon, Christina Gaona

Commencemen[email protected]