Dear May Candidate:

We´re into countdown for your graduation now, and I´m sure you have questions about the ceremony and other events leading up to graduation. Please read the following information carefully so that you can share it with your family and friends. If you requested that your diploma be mailed or picked up, it will be handled accordingly.

• The University will hold two commencement ceremonies, each lasting approximately two hours in LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM. On FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008, the ceremonies are scheduled as follows:

  9:30 a.m. Ceremony	2:30 p.m. Ceremony
  College of Agriculture, Forestry & Life Sciences	College of Business & Behavioral Science
  College of Architecture, Arts & Humanities	College of Health, Education & Human Development
  College of Engineering & Science	Library
  Staff	Staff
  †Students participating in the graduation ceremony must attend the ceremony designated for their major college. No exceptions will be made.

• There are no tickets issued for the ceremony; seating is available on a first come/first served basis. As a convenience for your guests, the entire first row of fixed seating inside the concourse will be reserved for those having difficulty climbing stairs.

• Call the Bookstore at (864) 656-2050 for cap and gown information. Additionally, the Clemson Alumni Association contracts with Commencement Specialists, Inc. of Charlotte, NC to provide you with mementos of the days events. You will receive additional information in the mail about their service, Photograds.com, with the Clemson Alumni Association logo explaining available photograph packages. We ask you to consider this company that is supporting Clemson University when purchasing your photographs.

• You can obtain your grades via SISweb after 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 8.

• Only candidates who have completed ALL graduation requirements will be permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony. No exceptions will be made.

• After grades are submitted to the University Registrar's Office and degree requirements are checked, a representative from each college will attempt to contact, via telephone, any candidate who has been deleted from the graduation list on Thursday, May 8. If you are in doubt as to whether you have completed all requirements for graduation, you may check with the Office of Enrolled Student Services after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7.. Verification of satisfactory completion of degree requirements will not be available before that time.

• All debts to the University should be cleared by Monday, May 5 (this includes money, library books, property, etc).  Otherwise, University policy requires that your diploma be withheld until the debt is cleared.  When clearing debts at the Bursar's Office (G-08 Sikes Hall), be sure to identify yourself as a candidate for graduation so that Enrolled Student Services will be notified.

Important Reminders

If you are participating in the ceremony, please remember:

• For the 9:30 a.m. ceremony, come to the East gate entrance to the coliseum to pick up your line-of-march card between 7:30 - 8:15 a.m. Staff will be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. to assist you in lining up for the processional

• For the 2:30 p.m. ceremony, come to the East gate entrance to the coliseum to pick up your line-of-march card between 12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Staff will be available beginning at 1:30 p.m. to assist you in lining up for the processional.

• Please find your place and form orderly lines since the Order of March must be checked for absentees before moving onto the coliseum floor.

• Dress appropriately-the traditional bachelor and master black gown (no decorations on the gown, hood, or cap, please!) and appropriate shoes for negotiating the stairs.

• No alcoholic beverages in the coliseum--possession of any kind will result in your being asked to leave and to pick up your diploma after the ceremony.

• You are asked to return to your seat after crossing the stage--and to plan on remaining at the ceremony until you are dismissed after the singing of the Alma Mater. This helps give the ceremony the decorum you and your classmates have a right to expect.

The University wants your graduation ceremony to be a memorable event for you, your family and your friends.  Please help us to make it such by keeping the above procedures in mind.  The Office of the Registrar would like to be the first to congratulate you on your success in arriving at this important threshold in your life.   GO TIGERS!!!

Sincerely,

Calvin R. Becker
Associate Registrar