Graduation deadline is almost here

by Cole Miller
Graduation is necessary to get a degree, and the priority deadline to graduate from Volunteer State Community during the Spring 2017 semester is Oct. 31. The final deadline for this is Feb.1. The process of applying to graduate is one very graduation packet,which can be picked up in the Hal Reed Ramer Administration Building in room 183 in the Office of Records and Registration. According to the Graduation Packet, students applying to graduate after the priority deadline must submit a Graduation Plan by the final deadline date in order to graduate during that semester, otherwise they will be moved to the next semester. This means that if a student misses the Feb. 1 deadline, they would graduate in the Summer 2017 semester, rather than the Spring 2017 semester. The priority and final deadlines for the Summer 2017 semester are March 15 and June 1, respectively. The packet also states that applicants must review all graduation requirements in their College Catalog for their program, check their progress by using
DegreeWorks, and to work closely with their advisor to make sure that all requirements have been or will be met in their anticipated graduated term. Vol State has two graduation ceremonies each year, at the end of the Fall and Spring semesters. All Summer graduates will participate in the following Fall ceremony. Although participation in the commencement is optional, it is strongly encouraged. All requirements for the respective program must be completed before the credential can be posted to the student’s transcript, or a diploma awarded to the student. For students that are graduating this semester, make sure to contact the bookstore by Nov. 11 to order your cap and gown for the ceremony. Graduation rehearsal is Dec. 9, at 10 am in the gymnasium located in the T. Wesley Pickel Field House. The ceremony will be held in the same place,on the following day,Dec. 10, in the gym. The phone number for the bookstore is 615-230-3636, or you can visit them in the Randy and Lois Wood Campus Center. The “Prospective Graduate Checklist”
lists several things that are needed to check off in order to graduate. They are: completion of all course requirements, all exit exam(s) taken, a minimum of 2.000 GPA unless the student is studying for an Associate of Science in Teaching which requires a GPA of 2.75, pay all financial obligations to the college including overdue fees and parking tickets, making sure all deadlines are met, and picking up the diploma on or after the designated dates of the semester graduation occurs for the respective student. Diplomas are available beginning on the following dates for Fall 2016, Spring 2017 and Summer 2017 semesters, respectively, Feb. 15, June 15, and Sept. 15. Graduates that cannot pick up their diploma can have their diploma mailed to them by providing a written release and pre-addressed, prepaid envelope to the Records office. “Make sure you meet with your advisor to discuss which classes you need to have credit for [in order to graduate],” said Amber Reagan, Graduation Analyst. “Everything you need to know, and the required forms are all on the graduation packets.”