If you do it right, graduation ceremonies are special events that bring people together in a way not normally possible.
They should move along fairly quickly, and need not be boring. A good speaker will have something important and interesting to say without taking too long. You can also personalise a fairly small graduation for your graduands.
Graduation ceremonies follow a fairly rigid pattern regardless of the institution or level of qualification. They have a very clear beginning, middle, and end.
Graduation ceremonies are normally separate occasions. However, if you hold a graduation in a church service, make sure you have enough time to achieve its purpose and don’t mix it up with other parts of the service.
For the graduates and their families ...
Graduates need to feel that this is their special day, that their qualifications are valuable, and that they are valued by the college. Graduations are usually a major turning point in students’ lives, looking back on their college experience and forward to what they will do next. Graduations are often celebrations with family and friends, and might be farewells to classmates whom they might never see again.
For the college ...
Graduations create college identity by bringing people together for a special occasion. They are one of the few times the whole college body can gather in one place. They are also one of the few times when students’ friends and family attend a major college function. An identity as a community is essential to a small or new college; older colleges already have a strong sense of tradition.
Why?
Why are they solemn?
In some universities, the graduation ceremony is actually an open meeting of the university senate where the degrees are actually conferred. In other universities, the degrees are conferred at a closed meeting, and the graduation is the awarding of testamurs.
They are solemn because they are important and need to be special days for the students, their families, and the college. Dress and act for an important occasion and carry it off with a sense of ceremony. Give honour to students’ achievements and make it an important day for them and their families. Consequently, dress should be quite formal. This means ties and jackets for men, and the equivalent formal standard for women.
Even if you think that informality in the ceremony is okay, your guests probably won’t think so, and neither will you later on. Informality might appear cool at the time, but in hindsight it will demean the value of students’ qualifications. Students who dress down should not be graduated. If you’re leading, improvisation and ad libbing won’t cover your lack of planning.
Why academic dress?
The tradition of special academic dress goes back to the Middle Ages. Each college determines the academic dress for its graduates, and particular forms of academic dress represent particular qualifications, just like the diploma does.
All staff and graduands should be wearing correct academic dress according to their qualifications. If they aren’t, they should not participate and should sit with ordinary guests.
The graduation ceremony is the time when a graduate gains the right to wear academic dress. Consequently, many graduations in some way symbolise the gaining of the right to wear academic dress. The best way is for a graduator simply to move the cap tassel from over the left eye to over the right eye. Academic dress is now complete and correct. (Some graduators place the hood or sash on the graduand during the ceremony, but this is rather messy in formal clothes, with people stretching arms up, straightening the thing, etc.)
What's in a graduation ceremony?
Beforehand
Assembling the procession should be done outside, and out of sight of the guests.
Start with the Procession
The MC asks everyone to stand.
The staff and graduands proceed in with senior college office-holders at the front. Staff members go to their places on stage. Students have places on stage in a small graduation, but have reserved front rows in a large graduation. They remain standing at their places.
The MC invites everybody to sit when all procession members have reached their seats.
Introduction
There might be the usual welcomes, explanation of what’s going on, introduction of special guests, special items, etc. In some universities, the commencement of the meeting is a formal declaration of the opening of a meeting of the university Senate.
In very small graduations, you may have time to personally introduce each graduand and speak about them in some way. Or you might let students speak for themselves. (Topics usually include their college experience or their aspirations after college.)
Graduation
The MC reads the name of each graduand, who comes forward, gets his/her diploma, has a hand shaken, perhaps has a tassel shifted and a photo taken, and then goes to a specific place to stand or sit. The names of students graduating in abstentia are also read out with the title of their qualifications.
Start with the lowest qualification first and move on to the higher qualifications, finishing with the highest qualification. For all students of the same qualification, graduate them according to the alphabetical order of their surname.
To move it along, the MC calls the next person while the last person is still having their hand shaken.
Except in very small graduations, applause tends to slow the graduation down and make it rather boring. You would be advised to discourage it until after the last student has graduated. In very large graduations, you might graduate people class by class, and allow applause after each class.
Other things
Keep this part very brief. (Long speeches are usually boring and can kill the graduation.) There might be:
academic prizes or awards
speech by one of the winners of prizes or awards
speech by a senior student on behalf of the graduating students
speech by a senior academic staff person or major sponsor
commissioning prayer
etc.
Speaker
The speaker gives the graduation speech to the graduates, while the audience "listens in".
Close
The special guests and staff form a procession out of the hall or off the stage and the graduation ceremony is finished. Students do not join this procession. The MC might ask the audience to remain seated until the procession is finished.
How to plan one
If you get it right, the "feel-good" factor will last as long as the graduation photos hang in your graduates’ living rooms. In fact, everybody will enjoy the graduation and probably won’t even notice that you’ve done a good job.
But people will notice and remember mistakes, which you can prevent by good planning. Graduands easily make embarrassing mistakes because:
It's a special occasion so they’ll be nervous and forgetful.
They’ll have many distractions such as each other, family and friends, unfamiliar clothing, perhaps a strange venue, etc.
They might be embarrassed about standing in front of an audience.
Most might not have much idea what to do; they've never graduated before, and might have forgotten what they saw when they last attended one.
Some younger people may even show off to cover their nervousness.
Assign someone the specific job of planning the graduation.
Start planning well ahead. A simple graduation is fairly easy to plan, but you still need to do it. Graduations are usually the job of the Academic Dean or his/her representative.
Exactly who will graduate?
Make a list and check that each one has met all requirements for graduation. If they have not done so, they should not be graduated and should not be part of the ceremony.
This sounds obvious, but some colleges want to give students something to help them graduate with their friends and to prevent them from losing face. But being a little bit graduated is like being a little bit pregnant.
Decide on the venue
Book it if necessary. Check out the facilities in person so you can plan who will sit where, walk to where, stand where, etc.
What day, and what time of day?
Morning, afternoon, or evening? What works for you, your staff, and your students?
Delegate tasks
Appoint a Master of Ceremonies. It doesn’t work for the MC to be the same as the person handing out the diplomas, because he/she needs to read from a list, watch that graduands have enough time to walk forward and be graduated, and call the next graduand straight afterward.
A graduator. You need a person to actually hand over the diplomas and shake the graduates’ hands, usually the Chairperson of the Board, the Principal, or a special guest.
A person to look after the diplomas. Explained below.
Someone to shift tassels and shake hands. This is optional, but will be either a special guest or a senior staff member.
Invite a speaker.
Appoint a photographer. You’ll still want photos even if it’s a simple graduation where you won’t have a professional photographer.
You will need a stage manager to cue graduands onto stage if you have too many of them to fit on stage.
A sound technician.
Ushers.
Decide on food or refreshments for afterward
You can do something simple, but either do a good job or don’t do anything at all. In major graduations, many students arrange their own parties or family celebrations for afterwards. If you have people coming from out of town, you may need to provide food.
What about a program sheet?
The front cover of a program sheet normally has the college logo and name, the graduation date, and the place. Inside, there should at least be a program of what’s in the ceremony and a list of all graduands with their respective qualifications. You can add lots of things to this, including details and photos of special guests, details of students, student photos, and thesis titles.
Inform students
Tell them as early as possible the date and place, what will be required of them, and how much it will cost.
Order academic dress for graduating students
You will need to order in advance caps and gowns from hire places. Get the details of sizes and costs, and make sure you know how it will be paid for. What about holding deposits? Hoods and sashes will probably need to be made.
Order academic dress for faculty members
You cannot presumen that all faculty members have their own academic regalia. Some might not have regalia at all, and some might be travling to graduation and could not bring their own. Faculty members wear the regalia of the institution from which they graduated, so you may have to consult them. For example, they might be able to bring their own hood, but wear a plain black gown.
Plan stage movements
Keeping your graduation as simple as possible will make life easier on everyone. Graduands need to know how they will get onto the stage, where to go to get graduated, where to stand after graduating, when to sit down, and when and where to get off stage. Staff also need to know exactly what to do and where.
If you have too many graduands to fit on stage, they will sit in the front rows of the audience seating. It is even more difficult if they also have to walk to the centre of a very wide stage, or if the floor boards creak or echo. Timing and movement will take careful management:
Put Reserved tags on those seats beforehand.
Appoint an usher/stage manager just to keep people organised and moving quickly.
Devise a system to move large numbers of graduands simply and efficiently onto the stage to prevent them wasting time shuffling from their seats.
Write instructions
Have clear, simple step-by-step instructions and diagrams that work specifically for your venue. Photocopy them and give them out at the beginning of the rehearsal.
Plan a budget
If you’doing a graduation on your own premises for people whose qualifications aren’t high enough to wear academic dress, your only outlay might be your time and the cost of programs. From there on up, you can easily spend as much as you're allowed. You should pass some costs on to the graduates, particularly academic dress and photos. Find out what works for your college.
Prepare the venue
What seating will be necessary on stage?
How will people get up onto the stage?
What about sound and lighting?
Could people trip on cables?
Where will people stand?
Do you need to mark places on the floor for people to stand?
Where will microphones go?
What about a speaker’s rostrum?
What about a table to put the diplomas on?
Rehearse
Believe it or not, you will need to rehearse the graduation in the venue to make people sure that they know what to do, where to stand, where to go, etc.
It should be enough for people to show up early on the day, and make sure they get there on time. Plan extra time for graduands to get their caps and gowns on as they will not be used to wearing them.
Lay out diplomas
Make sure that the diplomas are printed, signed and ready beforehand. Either put them in folders or roll them and tie them with ribbon. Either way, you need names on the outside. They should be laid out on a table, or perhaps on a tray held by someone. Holding them in hands doesn’t work.
A different person should have the specific task of finding the next diploma to be handed over and giving to the graduator. (The chances are quite high that diplomas will get out of order or be hard to find.) The alternative, which will disappoint the students, is to give out dummy rolls of paper on stage and give out the real diplomas separately later on.
It doesn’t work for the graduator to try to do all the following all at once:
hold all the diplomas
keep them all sorted
listen for the next name being called
find the next diploma
check that the name of the diploma matches the name called out
look at the student
give the diploma to the student
shake hands, and
smile to have a photo taken.
Imagine if everybody in the auditorium is waiting for the graduator on the stage to shuffle through handfuls of diplomas looking for the right one to present. (The worst case scenario is not far off; what if the graduator drops some of them?)
Review afterwards
After the graduation, review it at a staff meeting. What went well? What will you do differently next time? What will create your college's own atmosphere and traditions? Keep your planning records so that next year's graduation will be very easy to plan.
Appendix: Jargon
Cap: Academic mortarboard
Diploma: the qualification printed on a piece of paper (even if it’s a Certificate or degree, not just a Diploma). The technical term is testamur, but not many people use that word.
Gown: Academic gown
Graduand: A person who is going to graduate at the ceremony
Graduate: A person who has already graduated
In abstentia: Graduating at that time but not present at the ceremony
Mortarboard: the kind of flat hat that is part of academic dress. Most have four points, but Indonesia has five. Some doctoral degrees don't have mortarboards, but have a kind of floppy hat called a bonnnet, an some have a tam which is a smaller kind of cap.
Tassel: The tassel of an academic mortarboard
Testamur: See diploma above.
I made up the word graduator for the person handing over the diplomas, because I needed a word for it. But graduator isn’t really a standard English word.
Pembukaan (opening an Indonesian graduation ceremony)
Kami sebagai Ketua dan Rektor [nama lembaga]
dan atas nama [nama lembaga]
membuka
Sidang Terbuka Dewan Kurator Bersama
untuk pelaksanaan
Wisuda Perdana [kedua, ketiga ...] [nama lembaga] Tahun [tahun]
Selamat datang. Kiranya Tuhan memberkati.
Graduation Planning Checklist
This list can also be reorganized into a shorter final checklist with tick boxes for printing.
Graduation committee
Who will be on the graduation committee?
Who will be the chairperson?
Who will be the bookkeeper or treasurer?
What other positions will be needed on the committee?
Who has authority to make final decisions?
How often will the committee meet?
Who will prepare and distribute minutes of committee meetings?
Who will monitor progress against the planning schedule?
Date and planning schedule
What date will the graduation be held?
What time will the graduation begin and end?
Does the date conflict with public holidays, religious observances, examinations, or other major events?
What major planning deadlines need to be set?
When must the venue, speakers, catering, regalia, certificates, and printing be confirmed?
Who will prepare the overall planning timeline?
Budget and finances
How will you set a budget that is adequate but still affordable?
How will the graduation be paid for?
Will graduands or guests be charged a fee?
Will the college subsidize any part of the event?
Will you seek sponsorship or donations?
What financial records will need to be kept?
Who will approve expenditure?
How will payments and reimbursements be handled?
Will you include a contingency amount for unexpected expenses?
Who will prepare the final financial report?
Venue
Will you rent or borrow a venue?
Is the venue available on the preferred date?
Is the venue large enough for graduands, staff, guests, and officials?
What is the maximum seating capacity?
Is the venue accessible for people with disabilities?
Does the venue have suitable toilets and changing facilities?
Is there a suitable room where graduands can assemble?
Is there a suitable waiting room for speakers and special guests?
Is there adequate parking?
Will parking attendants be needed?
Is public transport available?
What equipment and furniture are included with the venue?
What cleaning arrangements are required before and after the event?
Will any permits or insurance be required?
What are the venue's rules concerning catering, decorations, photography, music, and electrical equipment?
Graduands
Who is eligible to graduate?
Who will confirm that each graduand has completed all graduation requirements?
When will the final list of graduands be confirmed?
Who will verify the spelling of each graduand's name?
Who will verify the qualification awarded to each graduand?
How will graduands confirm whether they will attend?
What information and instructions must be sent to graduands?
When and where must graduands assemble?
How many guests may each graduand invite?
How will graduands report accessibility, dietary, or other special needs?
What will happen if a graduand cannot attend?
Academic awards and certificates
Who will prepare the certificates, diplomas, or awards?
Who will carefully check names, qualifications, dates, and signatures before printing?
Who will sign the certificates?
Will certificate folders or presentation cases be used?
In what order will graduands receive their awards?
Who will arrange the certificates in the correct order?
Who will hand the certificates to the person presenting them?
What will happen if a certificate contains an error?
How will certificates be delivered to graduands who cannot attend?
Will there be prizes, medals, or special awards?
Who will confirm the names and citations for special award recipients?
Academic regalia
How will you organize academic regalia?
Who will be responsible for it?
Will regalia be purchased, rented, or borrowed?
What regalia is required for graduands, faculty members, and officials?
How will the correct sizes be determined?
When will regalia be distributed?
Who will help graduands put on their regalia correctly?
How and when will borrowed or rented regalia be returned?
What will happen if regalia is lost or damaged?
Ceremony program
What will be the order of proceedings?
How long should the ceremony last?
Who will act as master of ceremonies?
Who will prepare the master of ceremonies' script?
Who will formally open the ceremony?
Will there be a procession and recession?
Where will the procession assemble beforehand?
Who will lead the procession?
What order will be used for the procession?
Who will confer the awards?
Who will read the names of graduands?
Who will check the pronunciation of names?
Who will escort graduands to and from the stage?
Will there be prayers, Scripture readings, a national anthem, or other ceremonial elements?
Will there be musical performances?
Will music be live or recorded?
Who will prepare the music and ensure it is played at the correct times?
Will there be a vote of thanks?
Who will formally close the ceremony?
Speakers and special guests
Who will be the main speaker?
Who will invite the speaker?
What topic and length will be requested?
Will the speaker require travel, accommodation, transport, or an honorarium?
Who will communicate with the speaker before the event?
Who will welcome and assist the speaker on arrival?
Who else will speak during the ceremony?
Which officials, board members, community leaders, or special guests will take part?
What role will each official or special guest have?
Who will prepare introductions and biographical information?
What seating arrangements will be made for speakers and special guests?
What will happen if the main speaker is unable to attend?
Invitations and attendance
Who will you invite?
How many people can be invited?
Who will prepare the guest list?
Who will send the invitations?
Will invitations be paper or electronic?
When will invitations be sent?
What information must be included in the invitation?
Will guests be required to reply?
How will replies be recorded?
Will guests need tickets?
How will tickets be distributed and checked?
Who will follow up invited guests who have not replied?
Will media representatives be invited?
Accommodation and transport
Will accommodation need to be provided for people travelling a long distance?
Who will arrange accommodation?
Who will pay for accommodation?
Will transport be provided between airports, bus stations, accommodation, and the venue?
Who will coordinate transport arrangements?
Will maps and travel instructions be sent to visitors?
Food and hospitality
Will you provide a full meal?
Will you provide refreshments before or after the ceremony?
Will the college provide the food or use an external caterer?
Who will organize the catering?
How many people must be catered for?
How will dietary requirements and food allergies be identified?
Where will the food be prepared and served?
What tables, chairs, utensils, and serving equipment will be needed?
Who will serve the food?
Who will clean up afterward?
Will refreshments be provided separately for speakers, officials, staff, and volunteers?
How will drinking water be provided?
Printed program
Will attenders be provided with a paper program?
Who will collect the information for the program?
Who will write and edit the program?
Who will do the graphic design?
What information will the program include?
Will it include the names of graduands, speakers, officials, award recipients, and committee members?
Who will check all names and details before printing?
How many copies will be printed?
When must the program be sent to the printer?
Will an electronic version also be provided?
Signage and visual design
What signage will be needed?
Will you need a banner?
Will you need screen graphics or projected slides?
Will you need directional signs for parking, registration, toilets, seating, regalia, and refreshments?
Will reserved seating signs be required?
Who will do the graphic design?
Who will approve the designs?
Who will arrange printing or production?
Who will install and remove the signs?
Stage and venue decoration
What stage decoration will be needed?
Will you use flowers, banners, flags, lecterns, furniture, or backdrops?
Who will design the stage layout?
Who will supply and install the decorations?
Will the decorations obstruct movement, visibility, lighting, or emergency exits?
Who will remove and return decorations after the ceremony?
Seating arrangements
Who will prepare the seating plan?
Where will graduands sit?
Where will faculty members and officials sit?
Where will special guests sit?
Will seats be reserved for family members?
How will accessible seating be provided?
How will guests be directed to their seats?
Will late arrivals be admitted during the ceremony?
Registration and reception
Will guests be required to register on arrival?
Where will registration take place?
Who will prepare registration lists?
Will name badges be required?
Who will welcome guests?
Who will distribute programs?
Who will answer questions and provide directions?
How will special guests be identified and escorted?
Staff and volunteers
How many staff members and volunteers will be needed?
Who will recruit them?
What duties will be assigned to each person?
Who will train ushers, greeters, stage assistants, and registration staff?
Who will supervise staff and volunteers during the event?
Will volunteers receive written instructions or duty sheets?
How will staff and volunteers communicate during the event?
Will meals or refreshments be provided for them?
Schedules and rehearsal
Set a schedule for people to arrive at the venue.
Set a schedule for setting up the venue.
Set a schedule for graduands to register, receive regalia, and assemble.
Set a schedule for speakers, officials, staff, and volunteers to arrive.
Set a schedule for people to do a full rehearsal.
Who must attend the rehearsal?
Who will direct the rehearsal?
Will the procession, stage movement, presentation of awards, speeches, music, and photography be rehearsed?
Who will prepare a detailed event-day timetable?
Will each responsible person receive a copy of the timetable?
Photography and video
What photography will be needed?
Will you appoint a professional photographer?
Will official photographs be taken of each graduand receiving an award?
Will group photographs be taken?
Will photographs be taken before, during, or after the ceremony?
Where will photographers be allowed to stand?
Will family members be allowed to take photographs during the ceremony?
Will the ceremony be recorded on video?
Will the ceremony be livestreamed?
Who will obtain any required photography and recording permissions?
How will photographs be distributed?
Will electronic versions be emailed or made available online?
Will hard copies be sold?
Who will manage orders and payments?
How long will photographs and recordings be retained?
Audio-visual and technical arrangements
What microphones will be required?
Will microphones be available at the lectern and presentation area?
Will projection equipment and screens be required?
Will presentation slides, videos, music, or screen graphics be used?
Who will prepare and operate the audio-visual equipment?
When will all equipment be tested?
Will backup microphones, batteries, cables, and presentation files be available?
Is reliable internet access required?
Will technical support be available throughout the event?
What will happen if there is a power failure or equipment breakdown?
Accessibility and special needs
How will guests and graduands report accessibility needs?
Is wheelchair access available?
Are accessible toilets available?
Will sign-language interpretation be required?
Will printed material need to be provided in large print or another accessible format?
Will assistance be available for people with limited mobility, hearing, or vision?
Who will be responsible for coordinating accessibility arrangements?
Safety and risk management
What kinds of risks might you face?
What could you do to manage those risks?
Who will prepare the risk assessment?
What are the venue's emergency procedures?
Where are the emergency exits?
Who will ensure that exits and aisles remain clear?
What first-aid arrangements will be available?
Who are the emergency contacts?
How will crowd movement be managed?
How will electrical, fire, food-safety, and security risks be managed?
What will happen in the event of severe weather?
What will happen if the venue becomes unavailable?
What will happen if a speaker, official, caterer, photographer, or supplier cancels?
Will insurance be required?
How will children and vulnerable persons be kept safe?
Communication
How will you communicate with graduation committee members?
How will you communicate with the college board or governing committee?
How will you communicate with graduands?
How will you communicate with staff and volunteers?
How will you communicate with special guests, including speakers and officials taking part in the ceremony?
Who will be the main contact person for each group?
Will communication be by email, telephone, messaging application, letter, or meeting?
How will important decisions and changes be recorded?
Who will maintain the contact list?
How will urgent messages be communicated on the day?
Publicity and media
Will the graduation be publicized?
Who will prepare news releases, website announcements, and social media posts?
Will local media be invited?
Who is authorized to speak to the media?
Will photographs or stories about graduands be published?
What permissions will be required?
Will an official event hashtag be used?
Who will monitor and manage social media coverage?
Documentation
Who will prepare the master of ceremonies' script?
Who will prepare speeches, introductions, prayers, and award citations?
Who will prepare cue sheets for the stage manager and technical staff?
Who will prepare duty sheets for staff and volunteers?
Who will prepare contact lists and emergency information?
Where will final versions of all documents be stored?
Who will ensure that the latest version is distributed?
Final confirmation one or two weeks before graduation
Confirm the venue booking.
Confirm the ceremony date and time.
Confirm the final list of graduands.
Confirm the spelling and pronunciation of all graduand names.
Confirm the attendance of speakers, officials, and special guests.
Confirm the order of proceedings.
Confirm the master of ceremonies and award presenters.
Confirm the certificates and awards.
Confirm the delivery and distribution of academic regalia.
Confirm the catering numbers and dietary requirements.
Confirm the seating plan.
Confirm the photographer and video arrangements.
Confirm the audio-visual equipment and technical staff.
Confirm the staff and volunteers.
Confirm transport and accommodation arrangements.
Confirm accessibility arrangements.
Confirm that programs, signs, banners, and screen graphics are ready.
Confirm first-aid, emergency, and security arrangements.
Distribute the final event-day timetable.
Conduct a full rehearsal.
On the day of graduation
Who will open and inspect the venue?
Who will confirm that seating, signs, decorations, and equipment are ready?
Who will check that certificates and awards are arranged correctly?
Who will register graduands and distribute regalia?
Who will welcome speakers and special guests?
Who will brief staff and volunteers?
Who will supervise the procession and stage movement?
Who will manage timing during the ceremony?
Who will respond to problems or emergencies?
Who will supervise cleanup and the return of equipment?
After the graduation
Who will collect and return borrowed or rented regalia?
Who will return rented equipment and decorations?
Who will check the venue after the event?
Who will pay outstanding invoices?
Who will prepare the final financial report?
Who will send thank-you letters to speakers, officials, volunteers, donors, and suppliers?
How will photographs and recordings be distributed?
How will certificates be delivered to absent graduands?
Will feedback be collected from graduands, guests, staff, and volunteers?
When will the committee meet to evaluate the event?
What went well?
What problems occurred?
What should be changed for the next graduation?
Who will prepare the final event report?
Where will programs, scripts, budgets, photographs, reports, and planning documents be archived for future use?