General Instructions

Please read these Commencement Instructions carefully as there will be no rehearsal for Commencement.

During Commencement, all degree candidates (undergraduate and graduate) will be recognized individually while walking across the stage to receive a diploma cover. Candidates will be seated by degree, not alphabetically. Diplomas will be mailed about six weeks following Commencement to your permanent address. Please ensure your address is accurate and on file with the Registrar’s Office.

Each degree candidate needs to bring to commencement the green reader card with their name printed legibly on it. Please also provide the phonetic spelling of your name if it is pronounced differently than it looks when spelled. You will hand this card to the Reader before crossing the stage to receive your diploma cover. Additionally, once you receive the email from NameCoach, please use the link emailed to record your name. Recording your name using NameCoach allows our commencement reader the opportunity to practice pronouncing your name prior to commencement. Please record your name when you receive the email request. Email kwood@truman.edu with any questions.

Procession

Degree Candidates

Degree candidates need to assemble in academic dress on Saturday, May 11, in Baldwin Hall Auditorium by 12:30 p.m. Candidates will be seated by degree, not alphabetically. Since you will be in the auditorium only a short time before the procession begins, please be on time. At the appropriate time, the Grand Marshal will declare that the “ranks are closed” and anyone not in place will be excluded from the graduation procession.

Academic Procession

Degree candidates will follow the Junior Marshals through the east door of Baldwin Hall, proceed north, then east, and then southwest. The Grand Marshal and faculty will meet the graduates at the southeast corner of Baldwin Hall. The Truman ROTC Color Guard and Grand Marshal will lead the procession around the quadrangle and will pause to allow all candidates to exit Baldwin Hall and become part of the processional. The procession will then follow the Grand Marshal past the front of Kirk Building, turning west on the sidewalk past the Sunken Gardens then south past Magruder Hall to Stokes Stadium. The procession will enter Stokes Stadium through the west gate and be seated by the Marshals. It is a long walk so make sure you wear appropriate shoes.

Procession Order

The academic procession will form at 1:30 p.m. in the following order:

• Truman State University ROTC Color Guard & Grand Marshall Sue Thomas, President and Eric Freedman, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Commencement Speaker & Student Commencement Speaker
• Members of the Board of Governors & Vocalist
• Readers
• Two Junior Marshals, Faculty Honorees, Administration, & Faculty
• Marshal
• Two Junior Marshals
• Candidates for Master of Accountancy Degree
• Candidates for Master of Arts Degree
• Candidates for Master of Arts in Education Degree
• Candidates for Master of Athletic Training Degree
• Candidates for Master of Science Degree
• Two Junior Marshals
• Candidates for Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree & Candidates for Bachelor of Music Degree
• Candidates for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree & Candidates for Bachelor of Arts Degree
• Two Junior Marshals
• Candidates for Bachelor of Science Degree

Granting of Degrees

Degrees will be granted as follows:

All undergraduate degree candidates will rise at the request of Provost Freedman and remain standing while the degree is conferred en masse by President Thomas.

Undergraduate degree candidates will be recognized in the following groups:

Group 1: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Arts

Group 2: Bachelor of Science

After the degree is conferred en masse Group 1 students will be requested to proceed to the stage to receive their diploma covers. Group 2 students will sit and remain seated until Group 1 students receive their diploma covers and are seated. Group 2 will then be asked to proceed to the stage to receive their diploma covers.

The President and the Provost will be greeting graduates and handing out diploma covers on each side of the stage. The Junior Marshals will lead rows of graduates to line up for their names to be called. While approaching the stage, candidates will hand the green reader card with their name on it to the Reader. The Junior Marshals will guide the candidates to and from the stage to their original seat.

After all the undergraduates receive their diploma covers, all Master’s degree candidates will rise at the request of Provost Freedman and remain standing while the degree is conferred en masse by President Thomas. After the degree is conferred en masse, the Junior Marshals will lead rows of graduates to line up for their names to be called. While approaching the stage, candidates will hand the green reader card with their name on it to the Reader. The Junior Marshals will guide the candidates to and from the stage to their original seat.

Recession

Participants will depart in the following order during the playing of the recessional:

• Platform Party
• Administration and Faculty
• Master’s degree recipients
• Undergraduate degree recipients

Remain in the recession until outside the west gate of Stokes Stadium.

Academic Dress

1. Bachelor and Master’s degree robes, hats and tassels are available for purchase at the Truman Bookstore. Master’s degree hoods can also be purchased at the Truman Bookstore.
2. MA, MS, MAE, MAc, MAT and BA candidates wear white tassels; BS candidates wear yellow tassels; BM candidates wear pink tassels; BFA candidates wear brown tassels; and BSN candidates wear apricot tassels.
3. If you are receiving two degrees, choose the color of the one tassel you prefer to wear.
4. Caps should be worn straight, not tilted or tipped back.
5. Tassels should be worn on the right side. Do not change your tassel from the right side until after receiving instructions from the President during the ceremony.
6. If you received a medallion for a GPA of 3.50 or higher, please wear it.
7. Based on Truman tradition, we encourage you to wear dark shoes, dark skirts or pants, and long-sleeved white blouses or shirts. Wear comfortable shoes for walking up and down stairs and stepping on and off the stage ramps.
8. Flowers should not be worn with academic dress.

Honor Regalia
(Undergraduates Only)

Students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 to 3.74 on a 4.0 scale have earned the honor of graduating Cum Laude and will receive an antiqued bronze medallion. Students with a grade point average of 3.75 to 3.89 have earned the honor of graduating Magna Cum Laude and will receive a silver medallion. Students with a grade point average of 3.90 to 4.0 have earned the honor of graduating Summa Cum Laude and will receive a gold medallion.

Honors for commencement will be determined based on the student’s cumulative GPA at the end of the fall 2023 semester. Final honors will be based on your complete academic record once degrees have been verified and officially conferred. If you have any questions regarding your GPA, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (660) 785-4143.

Miscellaneous Information

Students Receiving Two Degrees

Students receiving a degree in Group 1 (BA, BFA, BM, & BSN) and Group 2 (BS) may elect to receive a diploma cover with both groups. To do this you will need two completed green cards. Sit with Group 1 initially and when returning from receiving your first diploma cover, go sit at the rear of the Group 2 students. Leave your first diploma cover on your Group 2 chair when you process to the stage to receive your second diploma cover. Then return to the Group 2 seat with the second diploma cover. If you decide you only want to walk across the stage once, please reach out to Kaytee (kwood@truman.edu) to receive your second diploma cover.

Students with a Family Member Presenting Diploma Cover

Students who wish to have a family member present their diploma during the ceremony must notify the Registrar’s Office by May 1st, 2024. Instructions will be provided to both the student and the presenting family member before the ceremony.

For Degree Candidates and Family Members With Disabilities

Candidates unable to march in the procession because of physical reasons should notify Julie Sneddon in the Disability Services Office at jsneddon@truman.edu as soon as possible.

If disability accommodations (e.g., interpreter, wheelchair access) are required for graduates or guests, please contact Disability Services at jsneddon@truman.edu . There will be no wheelchairs available. Guests requiring wheelchairs should bring them. Accessibility parking is available in front of Pershing Building and in the lot south of Stokes Stadium. If disability seating is needed for commencement, please complete the Graduation Disability Seating request at disabilityservices.truman.edu.

Seating

There is NO reserved seating for guests. Special disability seating is available by requesting it in advance per instructions in the following paragraph. The gates at Stokes Stadium open at 1:00 p.m. for family seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Graduation Pictures

GradImages will be taking photographs of each graduate at the moment the diploma cover is awarded and immediately after leaving the stage. Arrangements have been made to take an optional posed photo outside Baldwin Auditorium before the ceremony beginning at 12:00 p.m. Proofs and ordering information will be emailed by GradImages to graduates within a week after graduation.

Posting of the Graduates for Media Purposes

Once the degrees are certified by the Registrar’s Office, names of the graduates will be posted on the University website. Emails will be sent to Missouri media to let them know the names have been posted, and the media can announce the names. For those out-of-state graduates who would like to have their newspaper alerted, send an email to pr@truman.edu with the name of the newspaper and email address, and we will send that newspaper a link to the page. Keep in mind that major metropolitan newspapers will normally only consider running announcements for those students graduating with honors. For more information email pr@truman.edu or call 660-785-4016.

Livestream of Commencement

Truman State University’s Public Relations Department will live stream the Commencement Ceremony on the Truman website at dev.truman.edu/watch-ceremony/ and on Truman’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsMBCnmicsQ.

Inclement Weather Plans

In the event that forecasted inclement weather requires us to move the ceremony indoors, an email will be sent to the graduates on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 after 5 pm. The announcement will also be posted on the Truman website and posted on social media.

The commencement ceremony will be separated into two ceremonies held in Pershing Arena. Inclement weather guest tickets will be issued to each degree candidate at the graduation fair and must be presented for entrance into Pershing Arena. Tickets issued to candidates will be ceremony-specific and must be presented for entrance. These tickets do not guarantee specific seating; seating is still on a first-come, first-seated basis. Details can be found online at dev.truman.edu/registrar/commencement/inclement-weather-plan/.

Inclement weather tickets are intended to help the University monitor the number of people entering Pershing Arena to prevent overcrowding. No additional tickets are available due to the size of the graduating class. Live stream viewing of the Commencement Ceremony will be available on the University’s YouTube and Facebook page for family and friends who do not have tickets.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are there tickets for guests?
  Assuming the weather cooperates there will be no tickets for this ceremony and there is NO reserved seating for guests. The doors to Stokes Stadium will open at 1 pm for family seating on a first-come, first-seated basis. Parking is available in most campus parking lots, the closest being along Franklin Street across from Pershing. Please be respectful of the rest of your graduating class and keep your guest list reasonable. The ceremony will also be livestreamed on the Truman website and on YouTube for your convenience. If the ceremony does move indoors, each candidate will receive rain tickets and a ticket for themselves at the graduation fair.
• How long will the ceremony last?
  We are expecting the ceremony to be between two and two and a half hours. There are approximately 800 graduates and the length is also dependent on the speakers.
• When will I get my actual diploma?
  Diplomas will be mailed via USPS to each graduate’s permanent address in approximately mid-June following the verification of degrees. Diplomas mailed to International addresses may take several weeks to arrive. If you have any questions or concerns about your permanent address, please reach out to Kaytee in the Registrar’s Office at kwood@truman.edu.
• How do I get my Graduation Photos?
  GradImages will be on site taking professional photographs of each graduate the moment the diploma cover is awarded. Proofs and ordering information will be emailed to graduates within two weeks after graduation. They use the information on your green reader card so make sure you fill it out correctly.

Please contact the Registrar’s Office, McClain Hall 104, registrar@truman.edu, or (660) 785-4143, with any questions concerning Commencement.

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