Everything Parents Want to Know About the Spring 2015 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony
Congratulations to the parents all 3256 May degree candidates! Here is what you need to know about the May 9, commencement ceremony, which begins at 9:30 a.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and will conclude by approximately 12:00 noon. We encourage you to make reservations for post-commencement celebrations no earlier than 1:00 p.m. due to traffic congestion following the ceremony. The Nebraska Alumni Association is hosting a ConGRADuation party in The Railyard adjacent to Pinnacle Bank Arena immediately following commencement.
In early April 2015, your student will be emailed commencement ceremony information. The message will go to the student’s preferred email address in MyRED. At that time, students will get access to their electronic Commencement Attendance Form in MyRED. The electronic Commencement Attendance Form must be completed by April 24. Students need to complete the form even if they do not plan to attend commencement so we know what to do with their diploma.
COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY is Saturday, May 9, 2015, 9:30 a.m. at the Pinnacle Bank Arena. Graduating students report with cap and gown at 8:30 a.m. Arena policy encourages everyone to arrive early and travel light, as you may be subject to search upon entry, which includes metal-detecting hand wands. Please see the Pinnacle Bank Arena website for prohibited items. Graduates will not be allowed to carry any personal items into the ceremony, so take your student’s coat, bag and personal items with you. Students are to remain for the entire ceremony, which will conclude by approximately 12:00 noon. We encourage families to stay for the entire ceremony as well out of respect for all graduates and their families – the last student to cross the stage on commencement Saturday deserves as much pomp and circumstance as the first.
ADMISSION TO COMMENCEMENT – All family and friends are cordially invited to attend commencement and may sit in any non-reserved Arena bowl seats. Only ceremony participants are allowed on the Arena floor on commencement Saturday. Tickets are not required for the ceremony. Handicap seating for commencement guests is available on the concourse level of the Pinnacle Bank Arena in sections 106, 107, 110, 112, 114, 117 and 118. There is open captioning of the ceremony on the ribbon boards in the Arena. The commencement ceremony will be streamed live on the UNL website at http://www.unl.edu.
PARKING – Campus parking lots are available commencement Saturday without charge, and no UNL permit is required. Direct all questions regarding on-campus parking to UNL Parking Services at 402 – 472 – 1800. Paid parking is available in City of Lincoln garages. Be mindful that the Haymarket Farmers’ Market is also on Saturday morning, and this will affect traffic patterns to the Arena and parking availability.
CAPS & GOWNS – Your student is required to wear the academic cap and gown appropriate to the degree being awarded at commencement. Students may order regalia in person or by mail from the University Bookstore, City Campus Union, or purchase it at the Wick Center on April 21 or 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. See http://www.unlbookstore.com for more information.
DIPLOMAS – UNL proudly distributes diplomas on stage at commencement! Your student will receive their diploma from a College Dean. Graduates will cross the stage alphabetically by College. See the commencement program for a map showing where on the Arena floor each College will be seated. Professional photographers will take pictures as each diploma is distributed and as each graduate comes down the ramp from the stage. Photographer vendor information is here http://www.gradimages.com. Family photographers are not allowed on the Arena floor during commencement. All financial obligations to the University must be satisfied before a diploma is released. Students may call Office of Student Accounts, 402 – 472 – 2887, with questions regarding their bill.
Graduating students who choose not to participate in Commencement may receive their diploma as follows:
1. Pick it up with a photo ID at the Pinnacle Bank Arena diploma room between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on graduation day.
2. By mail as requested on the electronic Commencement Attendance Form. Diplomas will be mailed the week following Commencement. Diplomas mailed outside the United States, require payment of a $15.00 fee at Graduation Services, 109 Canfield Admin. Bldg., before graduation.
3. Pick up with a photo ID at the Graduation Services Office, 109 Canfield Admin. Bldg., as requested on the electronic Commencement Attendance Form. Diplomas are available for pick up beginning the Monday following Commencement.
GRADUATES WITH DISABILITIES - are very welcome and should notify Jennifer Verhein, Assistant Registrar, at 402 – 472 – 3640, by May 1 to allow time to establish reasonable accommodations. Disabled Parking is available in UNL Campus lots and in marked spaces in the Haymarket area.
Additional commencement information and useful maps are available at http://www.commencement.unl.edu
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/ie8d