For the Graduate

Important Ceremony Details

All graduates should arrive no later than 9:00 a.m. Please note that it is extremely important for all graduates to be at the River Center at this time, as you will begin lining up shortly after.

Please note that Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University and the Raising Cane’s River Center will not be responsible for your personal belongings.

You will not be allowed to go to your family and friends inside the Exhibition Hall at any time prior to graduation.

Upon arrival, please proceed to the student check-in tables where you will be given your name card. This card will include your full name as it will be announced during the ceremony and your assigned group number for line up. Do not crumple, tear, or write on your name card. You are to keep this card and carry it with you to the stage during the ceremony. Graduate names are read from the cards of those in attendance rather than from a list of all eligible graduates.

Check in with the staff member assigned to your corresponding group number. This will be your contact person for all specifics related to line up and ceremony procession.

If you are the last person in the line-up for a particular degree and/or academic school, you will receive additional instructions and an additional card to carry with your name card to the stage. ALL instructions for this will be given just prior to the actual ceremony. During the ceremony, you are to follow instructions given by the speaker and/or the row marshals stationed around the arena floor.

A program will be on your seat on the Exhibition Hall floor.

Following the ceremony, you are to recess and return to the original line up area. At this time, you will pick up your diploma and receive a gift from the Alumni Association.

Dress and Decorum

Graduates will be issued a cap, gown, and tassel. All regalia pieces you receive are yours to keep.

It is strongly suggested that you wear all regalia to the River Center to ensure you have all items. Extra/additional caps, gowns, or tassels will NOT be available.

Honor Graduates

BACHELOR DEGREE HONOR GRADUATES

Summa Cum Laude graduates will be awarded gold tassels and gold Honor’s cords to be worn with the gown. Magna Cum Laude graduates will be awarded gold tassels and gold and navy Honor’s cords to be worn with the gown. Cum Laude graduates will be awarded gold tassels. All gold tassels and Honor’s cords become the property of the graduate. Tassels and Honor’s cords will be awarded at your school pinning and awards ceremony.

Graduates in a Bachelor degree program can graduate:

Cum Laude – 3.5 to 3.74 Overall GPA

Magna Cum Laude – 3.75 to 3.89 Overall GPA

Summa Cum Laude – 3.90 or greater Overall GPA

ASSOCIATE DEGREE HONOR GRADUATES

Highest Honor graduates will be awarded gold tassels and white and navy cords to be worn with the gown. Honor graduates will be awarded gold tassels. All gold tassels and white and navy Honor’s cords become the property of the graduate. Honor tassels and cords will be awarded at your school pinning and awards ceremony.

Tassels

Tassels should be worn on the right. During the ceremony, when the degrees are conferred by the President, you will be instructed to shift the tassel to the other side.

TASSEL COLORS

Doctor's and Master's Hood - Color by Discipline

Master’s Hoods

All graduates completing a Master’s Degree will receive a hood. The hood will be awarded on stage at Graduation. You will receive your hood at your school's pinning ceremony. Please note that you will be responsible for bringing it to the River Center on Graduation Day.

Doctoral Hoods

All graduates completing a Doctoral Degree will receive a hood. The hood will be awarded on stage at Graduation. You will receive your hood at your school's pinning ceremony. Please note that you will be responsible for bringing it to the River Center on Graduation Day.

Dress Code

SUGGESTED MALE DRESS CODE

Male graduates should wear dress shirts with ties, dark dress pants and dark shoes.

SUGGESTED FEMALE DRESS CODE

Female graduates should wear skirts or dresses and neutral colored shoes (black, brown, tan, white, etc.). If you decide to wear pants, they should be dark. Please remember that you will be walking across stage so no excessively high heels should be worn. You will not be allowed to carry a purse of any sort or size onto the area floor. A small cross body style purse may be worn under your gown if necessary.

IMPORTANT DRESS/DECORUM REMINDERS

Under no circumstances are embellishments to the academic gown and/or cap permitted. You may be dismissed from the processional for inappropriate attire. In such instances, your diploma will be mailed to you.

Recessional / "Second Line" Information

At the conclusion of the Graduation ceremony, the faculty will exit the Exhibition Hall first to traditional recessional music. Then, the graduates and platform (those sitting on stage) will recess to a “Second Line”. Each graduating program will receive two parasols for their graduates to decorate for the Second Line. You can decorate the parasols however you would like- beads, glitters, feathers, sequins, etc. Be creative and make them unique for your program!

The parasols will be distributed to the students by their programs' Academic Coordinators or Administrative Assistants. All decorated parasols are due back to the President’s Office by Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 4 p.m. (two days before Graduation). When you drop off the parasols, be sure to include the name of your program and the names of the students who will carry the parasols for the Second Line. All graduates who do not carry parasols will have FranU handkerchiefs on their chairs to wave during the Second Line. The handkerchiefs are yours to keep as a mementos from the Graduation ceremony.