About the Ceremony

2024 Commencement Ceremony

OVERVIEW:

Jefferson State Community College is proud to announce that the 2023 graduation ceremony will be held on Friday, May 3, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. at the Alabama Theatre. We are excited to be offering a livestream of the event at www.jeffersonstate.edu/graduation2024

Click to Download the 2024 Commencement Ceremony Guide!

The event will be livestreamed so that family and friends who do not attend in person will be able to watch in real-time.

All Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and Spring 2024 graduates are eligible to participate.

The deadline to register to participate in the ceremony is April 26, 2024.

Our administration, faculty, and staff are very proud of our graduates, and we look forward to sharing this special day with them and their family members. We are excited to congratulate each of them as they complete this defining milestone!

Please be sure to regularly check your Jefferson State email or this website for future guidance.

Note that details listed at the bottom of this page regarding the ceremony’s order of events are subject to change.

The 2024 Commencement Ceremony will take place at the Alabama Theatre on FRIDAY, May 3, 2024 at 1:30 pm.

All students graduating or are pending graduation for the spring semester will have their name, honors, hometown, and major listed in the Commencement Program. Students wishing this information not to be included must email [email protected] and request their information be excluded by April 12, 2024. The request must include a signature.

Students may view their graduation status through myJSCC on their transcript. Students who have been approved to graduate upon successful completion of their current courses will have “Pending” as their status under Degree/Certificate Awarded near the top of their transcript.

Because seating is limited at the Alabama Theatre and due to capacity restrictions, each graduate who registers for the ceremony by April 26, 2024 will be issued tickets for four guests. Tickets may be picked up from the Pioneer Bookstore on our Jefferson and Shelby Campuses when caps, gowns, and hoods are purchased. They are also available in the Graduation Office at our Jefferson Campus.

The Commencement Ceremony is expected to be two hours in length. Ceremony length may vary slightly depending on the size of participation. Details for checking-in with cap, gown, hood, and tassel will be provided. Ambassadors will be available to direct graduates to the assembly room. Please try to leave personal belongings with a friend or family member.

Line-Up

Graduates will be lined up by degree: AA, AS, AAS, and Certificate. If you have more than one degree, you will line up with the degree that is listed first on the reader card. Be ready to march by 12:45 p.m. Graduates are the first to march in. Tassel goes to the right.

Processional

The candidate processional begins promptly at 1:30 p.m., which denotes the start of the commencement ceremony. Family members and guests should be seated by 1:15 p.m.

Members of the graduating class will march to the reserved seat area on the auditorium floor. Graduates will follow a designated student marshal to the appropriate seating location. Remain standing until all graduates have arrived on the floor and the Platform Party has reached its place on the stage. Continue standing for The National Anthem, posting of the colors, invocation, and benediction. Men will remove their mortarboards for the singing of The National Anthem and invocation.

Presentation of Graduates

Following the commencement address and a song, Danielle Coburn, Vice President of Academic Affairs, will instruct the graduates to rise. She will then present to the President the candidates for the various degrees/certificates. Candidates will:

  1. Ascend the stairs on the right-hand side of the stage
  2. Hand the Reader Card to the announcer
  3. Wait for their name and academic honor, if applicable, to be spoken
  4. Walk across the stage to be greeted first by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, then the President will hand a diploma scroll to the graduate
  5. Have their picture taken
  6. Descend the stairs on the left side of the stage
  7. Return to their seat. Graduates should stay seated until prompted to begin the march to receive diplomas. When receiving your diploma, take your diploma with your left hand and shake with your right hand.

When the last graduate has completed the graduation march, all graduates will stand for the conferring of the degrees. President Keith Brown will say: “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the State Board of Education, I confer upon you the associate degree or certificate to which you are entitled with all rights, privileges thereunto appertaining.” Graduates should move tassels to the left at this time. President Brown will ask graduates to show appreciation by applause to the faculty.

Recessional

The ceremony will conclude with a formal recessional led by the platform party, followed by the faculty, and ending with the graduates. Your student Marshal will direct your exit of the auditorium floor.

Diploma Scrolls

All graduates are presented a commemorative scroll for participation in the graduation ceremony. Your actual diploma will be mailed to you inside a diploma cover within four weeks after your degree has been posted and your $20.00 payment has been received.

Reader Card

The Reader Card provides your name to the announcer for individual recognition as you walk across the stage. The card will include your honors and the phonetic pronunciation of your name that you provided when registering for the ceremony. Candidates receive their card at the time they assemble for the processional. You will take the “Reader Card” with you to the stage. Do not lose, destroy, or leave the “Reader Card” in your seat when it is time for you to approach the stage.