Congratulations! It’s time to celebrate your achievement. Whether you plan to participate in commencement ceremonies or not, you need to apply for graduation in order to complete your degree or certificate.
How to apply for graduation
- Complete an Application for Degree.
- Complete the Degree Check for your major with your advisor.
- Have your advisor sign the degree check and the application for degree and forward them to the Department Chair.
The Department Chair will review, sign and send your application and degree check to the Admissions & Registrar’s Office.
After the application and degree check have been reviewed by the Registrar, a notice will be sent to the student verifying that the application has been received and reviewed. If for any reason the graduation requirements have not been met an explanation will be included.
Priority deadlines
| Spring Graduation | December 1 |
| Summer Graduation | May 1 |
| December Graduation | July 1 |
Applications for graduation will still be accepted after these dates but students may not necessarily have the opportunity to correct any problems there may be to meet the degree requirements and their names may not be listed in the commencement program.
The details are important
All students eligible for graduation must complete a graduation checklist that will be emailed to your NEO email account in April. Included in the checklist are the following items:
- Graduation Survey Data from this survey will be used for grant reporting purposes only. Survey results will be reported as aggregate data and your individual results will remain anonymous. Please contact the Admissions and Registrar’s Office for an exemption from completing the survey if you are not comfortable responding to any of the questions.
- Exit Assessment is not a pass/fail and does not prevent a student from graduating. The exit assessment is used to give the college feedback on whether or not students are learning at the college level when they complete a degree. This assessment will be given in the LRC Computer Lab, second-floor Library. Dates for the Exit Assessment will be included in the graduation checklist email. Allow approximately one hour to complete the exit assessment.
Commencement ceremony
Other steps that need to be completed if you will be participating in the graduation ceremony. Additional information concerning the commencement:
- Mandatory Commencement Practice Additional information concerning the commencement practice will be emailed to all students who have approved graduation paperwork on file in the Registrar’s Office. Students will receive important information about the ceremony at the practice.
- Pick Up Cap and Gown You can pick up your cap and gown in Student Union – Student Activities Center the week of the graduation ceremony.
- Outstanding Financial Obligations Resolve any outstanding financial obligations to the college, such as library fines, parking tickets or other holds. If you have outstanding balance you may not pick up your cap and gown and you will not receive your diploma.
- Exit Interview If you have had financial aid loans you must complete an exit interview. You can complete the exit interview in the Financial Aid Office or you may do the exit interview online.
Graduation Check Sheets
Graduation Check Sheets are to be completed by the student’s advisor and submitted to the Registrar’s Office at the time of the student’s final enrollment. The Graduation Check Sheets can be used as a resource to ensure students are completing the required courses for a degree or certificate. Check sheets are posted as Microsoft Excel Files. Microsoft Excel, or Excel Viewer, is required to access and edit files.