The Registrar’s Office would like to invite you
and your guests to the University of South Alabama’s Commencement
Ceremony. We hope that you will enjoy this special occasion and congratulations
on your success at USA.
The official commencement dates, times and location
for the upcoming terms are:
Fall 2008 December
6, 2008 2:00 p.m. Mitchell Center
Spring 2009 May
9, 2009 2:00 p.m. Mitchell Center
The links will provide you with the necessary information and steps
to complete the commencement process.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact
the Registrar’s Office at 251-461-1648 or email graduation@usouthal.edu.
Participation in Commencement
All candidates who have a pending graduation application
are eligible to participate in the ceremony held for their graduation
term. The commencement ceremony for Spring candidates is held in May.
Summer graduates and Fall candidates participate in the December ceremony.
Instructions and information for the ceremony will be posted on this
website during the term that commencement will be held. You will be
notified via your Jaguar1 email account when new information is posted.
To participate in the commencement ceremony complete
and submit a Commencement Attendance Form to the Registrar's Office,
and complete an online Cap and Gown order.
Candidates with special needs must inform the Registrar’s Office
(251-461-1648) of any needed accommodations at least two weeks in advance
of the ceremony.
Candidates who do not wish their names to appear in the printed commencement
program or to be released to the press, must complete a Request to Prevent
Disclosure of Directory Information Form through the Registrar’s
Office (Meisler Hall, Suite 1100).
Cap and Gown Information
To order your commencement cap and gown and announcements,
complete the order process on the USA Bookstore's website - Student
Order Form for Graduation Apparel and Announcements. Then, click
on the Regalia Rental link, complete the appropriate forms, and submit
your order.
All participants must wear academic regalia rented through the USA Bookstore.
Announcements will be available at the USA Bookstore
two weeks after you submit your order.
The cap and gown can be picked up from the University
Bookstore Monday through Thursday of the week prior to commencement
or in the HPE Building (Room 1125) the morning of the commencement ceremony.
Return the cap and gown to the University representative after the ceremony
in the HPE Building (Room 1125). The graduate-level hood must be returned
with the cap and gown.
University academic honor cords will be given to eligible
undergraduate students the day of commencement. Any honor society cords
will be distributed by those organizations prior to commencement. Students
keep honor cords and tassels.
Student Apparel
Men wear dark slacks, white shirt, solid dark tie,
dark socks and dark shoes. Women wear white blouse and dark skirt or
dark dress and dark pumps. The white collar included with the gown is
worn only with the bachelor’s gown. Tassels are worn on the right
side of the mortarboard (cap) before the degree is conferred. Only honor
cords, honor pins, and honor medallions may be worn with the academic
apparel. You may need to bring bobby pins and/or safety pins with you
to the ceremony.
All graduate- or professional-level students with the
exception of Ph.D. candidates wear their hoods. Ph.D. candidates carry
their hoods in the processional and will be hooded during the ceremony.
Instructions for Wearing your Regalia
Hood - To insure proper fitting
of your hood, we suggest that men wear a dress shirt and women wear
a blouse with buttons or a suit. Hold the hood in your hand by the velvet
at the narrowest point. The loop should be hanging straight down. Grasp
the loop in your right hand and place the hood over your head so the
loop continues to hang straight down the front of your neck. Fasten
the loops over a button on your shirt/blouse or jacket, or you may pin
it in place. This will prevent the hood from pressing on your throat.
Midway down the back of the hood you will find another satin cord and
loop. Fasten this loop around the button on the inside of the hood to
prevent the hood from falling off your shoulders. This may require the
assistance of another person. Be sure to have someone “fluff”
the back of the hood just below the button, i.e., turn the velvet side
underneath to expose the satin colors on the inside. Assistance will
be available by Bookstore personnel in the HPE Building, Room 1125 on
the day of commencement.
Personal items are not allowed in the HPE Building
or the Mitchell Center.
Photographs
M&A Studios
is the official photographer for the USA commencement. M&A Studios
will be at the USA Bookstore on October 15-17 for Graduate Appreciation
Days.
Academic Honors
Undergraduate candidates eligible for tentative academic honors will
be notified through their Jaguar1 email accounts one month prior to
commencement. Since commencement occurs before the official end of the
term, final grades cannot be determined in time for inclusion in the
printed commencement program. Thus tentative honors, based on the student’s
academic record through the end of the last term completed, will appear
in the printed commencement program and will be recognized in the ceremony.
Final official honors will be computed after all grades are processed
at the end of the term for the last term of attendance, and will appear
on the student’s diploma and transcript.
Students who have at least 60 GPA hours in residence
with a grade point average of 3.50 or better at the University of South
Alabama are graduated with distinction. Transfer credit hours are not
included in the determination of academic honors. Academic honors are
not awarded for second degree, graduate degrees, or professional degrees.
Cum Laude 3.50
– 3.69
Magna Cum Laude 3.70 – 3.89
Summa Cum Laude 3.90 – 4.00
Questions concerning tentative honors should be resolved
prior to commencement by contacting the Registrar’s Office (University
of South Alabama, Registrar’s Office, Meisler Hall, Suite 1100,
Mobile, AL 36688).
Guest Information
Click here to view
guest information on commencement.
Diploma Information
To check your diploma mailing address on file, go to your PAWS account
and view Addresses and Phones under
Personal Information. If corrections
are needed, you must complete and return the
Diploma Mailing Address Change Form to the Registrar’s Office
by the posted deadline. After the deadline, the form will not be available
on the website and you must contact the Registrar’s Office (251-461-1648
or graduation@usouthal.edu)
to make any changes. Diploma covers are only given to students participating
in the commencement ceremony.
Your diploma will not be sent if you have any outstanding
financial obligations to the University. You can check your PAWS account
for any holds. Once the holds are cleared, contact the Registrar’s
Office and your diploma will be sent. Unclaimed diplomas become the
property of the University after one calendar year and will be destroyed
at that time.
Any changes to the diploma name submitted on the graduation
application must be sent with supporting documentation to the Registrar’s
Office prior to commencement. Contact the Registrar’s Office (251-461-1648
or graduation@usouthal.edu)
for further instructions.
To order a duplicate diploma complete and return to
the Registrar’s Office (University of South Alabama, Registrar’s
Office, Meisler Hall, Suite 1100, Mobile, AL 36688) the Duplicate/Replacement
Diploma Order Form including the $25.00 fee.
To replace a damaged diploma complete and return to the Registrar’s
Office (University of South Alabama, Registrar’s Office, Meisler
Hall, Suite 1100, Mobile, AL 36688) the Duplicate/Replacement
Diploma Order Form including the $25.00 fee. The original diploma
must also be returned.
For a notarized copy of your diploma contact the Registrar’s Office
( 251-461-1648 or graduation@usouthal.edu.)
If you have not received your diploma 6 weeks after
the end of term contact the Registrar’s Office (251-461-1648 or
graduation@usouthal.edu.)