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There are five standard graduation dates each year for the Kellett School undergraduate program, Master of Business Administration program, and Master of Science in Leadership and Organizational Development program, which are used on transcripts and diplomas to indicate the day on which graduation requirements have been completed. These dates are December 31, January 31 (for fall term student teachers), the date of the commencement ceremony in May, June 15 (for spring term student teachers), and August 31. For students in the Master of Education program, the graduation date is typically the date of successful defense of the thesis or project. For students in the Master of Arts in Counseling program, the graduation date is typically determined by the completion of internship hours or the accompanying coursework for the counseling internship requirement. For students in the Master of Education or Master of Arts in Counseling programs who are enrolled in coursework in addition to the thesis or Internship II, the standard graduation dates will be applied.
Application for Graduation
Students should work closely with their Kellett School advisor to make sure they are accurately projecting their graduation date. Once the Registrar’s Office has been notified by the Kellett School advisor, an analysis of student academic records will be completed and a graduation evaluation will be mailed out. Students are required to return the completed graduation application form to the Registrar’s Office.
Should graduation plans change, the student must inform his/her Kellett School advisor immediately. Students who reach graduation eligibility without having submitted an Application for Graduation may risk not being included in the commencement ceremony. Such a student will also be responsible for any fees incurred if adjustments must be made to the information on his/her diploma, i.e. a change in graduation date or a revision in the representation of his/her name.
General Graduation Policies
Financial or Record Holds:
- Lakeland requires students to complete all financial obligations to the university, including the payment of all fines, prior to conferring a degree and issuing a diploma.
- Students who have not met their financial obligations by their proposed date of graduation will receive their diplomas and requested transcripts when satisfactory arrangements for financial obligations have been completed.
- Outstanding transcripts from other institutions which contribute to the completion of degree requirements should be in the Office of the Registrar at least two months before the official date of graduation. If such transcripts are late in arriving, final granting of the diploma will be delayed until all transcripts have been received and processed.
- Application for Graduation is the official request for degree conferral by the Office of the Registrar. Participation in the commencement ceremony is completed via a separate reservation process on the Lakeland University web site. Registration and academic attire orders are placed via a commencement page on the Lakeland University website and launches in early March of each year. Students should check their Lakeland University email and check the web site to determine the deadline date to register and order attire.
Undergraduate Honors:
- Honor cords for the commencement ceremony are issued on the basis of the cumulative GPA for all coursework completed by the final day of the Kellett School’s first 7-week session of the spring term and the earned or in-progress semester hour calculation of the individual student.
- Official University academic honors citations are computed once all courses are completed and grades entered.
- Honors designation may be newly awarded or rescinded for any student, once the final academic record assessment is made.
- Official honors designations are recorded on the permanent academic transcript and diploma.
- Associate Degree and Graduate Studies students are not eligible for honors.
- Please refer to the Academic Standing section of this catalog for further information regarding the standards for honors.
Diplomas:
- Diplomas are issued to graduates six to eight weeks after the term in which all graduation requirements are completed and financial obligations to the university have been met.
- The graduate will not receive a second degree or diploma if the degree designation of the second program is the same as that of the first. The new major (and/or minor) will appear on the graduate’s transcript as an additional major (and/or minor).
- The graduate will only receive a second degree and another diploma if the student completes at least 30 additional semester hours and the second program is assigned to a degree designation that differs from the prior degree (B.A., B.S. or B.F.A.).
Commencement Ceremony:
- Eligible students are encouraged to attend the May commencement ceremony to celebrate accomplishments and receive a diploma folder.
- A Lakeland University graduate returning under the Program for Alumni Career Enhancement (PACE) will not be eligible to participate in commencement.
- Undergraduates may participate in the ceremony when earning their first associate or bachelor’s degree, while master’s degree candidates may participate for each master’s degree earned.
Transcripts noting the completion of degree and honors awarded will be available within one month after all graduation requirements have been completed.
All appeals for exceptions should be made to the Office of the Registrar.
May Commencement
The 2018-2019 commencement ceremony is scheduled for May 11, 2019. Students who have completed all degree requirements by December 31, 2018; January 31, 2019; May 11, 2019; June 15, 2019; or are registered for their final 12 or fewer credits for the Summer 2019 term may participate in the May 2019 ceremony. To be eligible to participate in the May ceremony, students must have completed or be currently enrolled in all courses required for the completion of their degree. Students who are enrolled in Lakeland spring term courses which will complete all graduation requirements are eligible to participate in the May ceremony, even if those courses do not conclude until after the date of the ceremony. Students who are registered for student teaching or a counseling internship which will also complete their degree requirements may participate in the May ceremony.
Students with more than 12 credits remaining who register for all of those credits for the Summer 2019 term will be eligible to participate in the May 2020 commencement ceremony.
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