Commencement

All graduates are required to complete several simple tasks in order to receive their cap and gown.

1. Complete an Alumni Entrance Survey. This survey will be emailed to your Flagler College email address in April by the Career Development Center. 
2. You must attend Graduate Clearance. This is where you will receive your cap and gown and graduation tickets. The clearance procedure only takes about 5-10 minutes, and you must stop by during one of the below time frames: 

  
Tuesday, April 23rd 
10am-2pm 
Location: Alumni House 
  
Wednesday, April 24th 
2pm-5pm 
Location: Alumni House

Thursday, April 25th
10am-2pm 
Location: Alumni House

Pick up for cap and gown will occur during Graduate Clearance. Your Application for Graduation includes a space for height and weight. We will use this information to order your regalia. A $100 graduation fee will be charged to your Flagler College Student Account and covers cap and gown, printing of your diploma and other graduation expenses. Official transcripts and diplomas will not be issued until all holds are cleared with the Office of Student Accounts and the Office of Financial Aid.

Each graduate will receive 7 admission tickets when they attend their Graduation Clearance session. Seating is limited and no guest will be admitted without a ticket. Guests under the age of 2 will not require a ticket, as long as they seated in a lap. Graduates do not need a ticket.

We will have a limited amount of extra tickets for the Commencement ceremony. To be fair to all graduates, we will hold a lottery to distribute those tickets to students who request extras. Please send an email to Margo Thomas at MThomas@flagler.edu with your requested amount of tickets (up to 4 additional tickets) by 5:00 pm Monday, March 25^th. Those emails will be placed into a lottery and will be randomly chosen until the extra tickets are gone. We will notify you on Wednesday, March 27th. Lottery tickets are not intended for resale. Flagler College does not sell tickets and will not have extra tickets other than this lottery.

Rehearsal will be held on Wednesday, May 1st at 4 pm at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. All prospective graduates are required to attend rehearsal unless you have a final exam at that time. Do not miss a final exam in order to attend rehearsal. Rehearsal is casual and lasts for approximately 1 hour. Please consider car-pooling from Flagler to the Amphitheatre. Questions regarding rehearsal may be directed to Dr. Yvan Kelly.

Flagler will host complimentary receptions for each academic department on Friday, May 3^rd from 3-5pm. Invitations will be sent to parents and graduates in early April, and family and friends are encouraged to attend and meet with faculty.

All graduates are required to participate in the Commencement Ceremony unless officially excused by Dr. Art Vanden Houten in the Office of Academic Affairs.

Students graduating with honors will wear an Honor Cord.  If you are graduating with honors, you will be notified the afternoon prior to the ceremony.  Your Honor Cord will be given to you on the morning of commencement by your line leader. According to the level of academic achievement, the degree may be awarded:

• Summa cum laud (3.9 – 4.0)
• Magna cum laude (3.7 – 3.89)
• Cum laude (3.5 – 3.69)

To qualify for graduation with honors, a student must complete at least 56 credit hours of graded academic work at Flagler College.  Pass/fail courses are not applicable.  All courses for which no quality points are assigned are included in this pass/fail category, (for example:  internships, field experiences, and practicum).  Only courses taken at Flagler College are computed in determining honors. The grade point average will be rounded to the hundredth decimal place.

Please dress appropriately for this special occasion. No sneakers, jeans, flip-flops, or bare feet. If a student has any questions, please contact Dr. Kelly at 819-6219.

There are no reserved seats in the Amphitheater except for graduates, faculty, administration, official College guests, and mobility or hearing impaired guests. The Amphitheater will be opened at 7:45 am on Saturday and seating is on a first-come basis.

If a student has guests in need of special accommodations, he/she must advise the Alumni Office when obtaining tickets. Special seating arrangements are available for those who require the use of wheelchairs or who cannot otherwise navigate the stairs.  An interpreter will be available for hearing impaired persons, and special seating is provided for those requiring interpreter services.

Limited parking for graduation is available at the Amphitheater.  We anticipate that overflow spaces will be reserved for Flagler College graduate guests.  Free parking and shuttle service will be available at the following locations:

• R.B. Hunt Elementary School – with Trolley service to the Amphitheatre
• Elks Lodge – walking distance to the Amphitheater
• Anastasia Baptist Church – with Trolley service to the Amphitheatre
• Anastasia State Park – with shuttle bus to the Amphitheatre

Trolley and shuttle service from 7:30 am – 9:00 am

Return Trolley and shuttle service from 10:30 am-noon

There will be police cars at the entrance of the Amphitheatre directing traffic, please advise your guests that the flashing lights do not indicate a car accident – just police directing traffic. Traffic will be heavy, please give yourself plenty of time to park and find your seat.   

Graduates may contact and order on their own from the following companies for graduation announcements:

• Jostens at www.jostens.com or 1-800-488-2173
• Signature A:  www.signaturea.com

Professional photographers will be at the ceremony to take photos of graduates accepting their diplomas. Proofs will be sent to your Flagler College email address within a few days. You are under no obligation to purchase photos.