Candidacy
Membership in the senior class (or the program's final year) does not within itself imply
candidacy for the degree. Before the degree can be conferred, all indebtedness to the University
must be met and published requirements for the degree fulfilled.
No student may be declared a graduate of the University until all requirements for entrance and
for graduation have been met, the degree has been conferred, and the diploma has been awarded.
Students who have filed a plan of study and an application for graduation are listed as candidates
for graduation.
Candidates
for Graduation
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Preparation for Graduation
Plan of Study
A plan of study must be on file in the Registrar's
Office that indicates the student's anticipated graduation term. Plans of study need input (and
signatures) from the student, the advisor for the major, the advisor for the minor (if applicable),
the department head of the major and the Registrar's office.
A plan of study must be submitted to the Registrar's office before (s)he reaches the specified
number of earned hours:
- ASN students – 40 hours
- Bachelor's degree students – 90 hours
- MAT students – 20 hours
- MBA students – 20 hours
- MEd students – 20 hours
- MPA students – 25 hours
- MS Nursing Education – 25 hours
- MS Counseling students – 35 hours
- MS Family Nurse Practitioner students – 35 hours
- MS Nursing Education - 25 hours
- Educational Specialist - 20 hours
Application for Graduation
An application for graduation must be filed with the Registrar's Office. This form
starts the graduation process for the student. This application orders the diploma, triggers
degree verification and secures the student's name in the graduation program. This form also confirms
the contact information for the student in the final semester. The address listed is used as
a mailing address for the diploma (if the student does not receive the diploma at the
ceremony).
These forms are available in the Registrar's Office or from the site(s) below using
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Deadlines for the submission of the application for graduation are listed in the
Registration & Reporting Guide for the semester of graduation.
Students who submit applications after the deadline will receive a $100 late fee.
If the application is submitted late, the Registrar's Office can not guarantee
delivery of the diploma at the graduation ceremony.
Graduation Fee
The graduation fee is $20. The deadline for this fee is the same as the application for graduation deadline. Students who
submit their graduation fee after the deadline are subject to the $100 late fee.
Graduation fees are not 'rolled' to the subsequent term if the student does not graduate in the
given term. Student(s) who do not graduate in the specified term must pay the graduation fee
again for the new graduation term.
Cap and Gown Orders
Cap and Gown orders must be placed and pre-paid in the Bookstore at least 6 weeks prior to graduation. Costs
and deadline dates may be found on the Bookstore's
website.
Information regarding how to order honor stoles will be sent via NGCSU email.
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Ceremony Information
Graduation dates are published each term in the Registration
& Reporting Guide. Specific information regarding ceremony times and
student guidelines and instructions are determined by the Vice President for Academic
Affairs. Each graduation candidate will be contacted by his or her
NGCSU email
account regarding these details.
in absentia
Each candidate must be present at the graduation ceremony. However, a student who does not
plan to participate in the ceremony can request to graduate in absentia. This student
must make this request on the application for graduation or in writing to the Registrar's office no later than the
posted in absentia deadline and pay a $5 diploma mailing fee. A student who is not excused from the
ceremony must pay $10 in order to receive his/her diploma.
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Graduation Regalia
Graduation regalia includes the cap and gown, as well as other distinguishing hoods, stoles, and
cords that denote traditions of academic achievement. Only those who have achieved an academic honor
or are members of an academic honors society are entitled to wear the special regalia.
Hoods
Graduate students are hooded during the commencement ceremony. The graduate hoods are a part of the
cap and gown order from the Bookstore. The color of the hood corresponds to the student’s school and
major.
Honor Hoods
Gold honor hoods are available to undergraduate students who will graduate with a Baccalaureate degree with academic honors—
cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude honors. A list of eligible
students is sent to the Bookstore after final grade point averages (GPAs) are computed at the end of
the semester. Eligible students purchase honor hoods from the
Bookstore separately from
the cap and gown.
Graduate students are not eligible for cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum
laude honors.
Honor Stoles
Honor stoles are worn over graduation regalia. They are white with the NGCSU seal embroidered on one
side and academic honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) and/or
membership in an academic honors society are embroidered on the other side. Stoles must be ordered by
midterm of the semester the student is graduating using the
order form. Students
graduating in the Summer must order during Spring semester.
Graduate students are not eligible for cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum
laude honors. However, because membership in an honors society is for a lifetime, graduate students
may wear stoles with academic honors society membership denoted.
Honor Society Cords
Students who are members of an academic honor society may wear honor society cords over graduation
regalia. These honor cords, if available, are ordered through the honor society’s advisor.
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Diploma Replacement
Alumni needing to order a replacement diploma may do so at a cost of $30. Please be advised that the replacement diploma will have the current signatures regardless of term of graduation.
The form is available in the Registrar's Office or from the site below using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Replacement Diploma Order Form
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