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Office of the Registrar

Graduation Information

Graduation vs. Commencement

Graduating is the process of completing degree requirements in order to be awarded the degree. Commencement is the ceremony at which graduates are recognized and diplomas issued. Note there is only one commencement for CLA graduates, one ceremony for Holt graduates, and one ceremony for Crummer Graduates. Attending Commencement does not equate to earning a degree.  

Please visit the Commencement webpage for more information Please send questions to commencement@rollins.edu.

Participation

Graduating seniors participate in an annual Commencement ceremony held each May. The ceremony includes students who graduated the previous December and students who have petitioned to graduate in August (following the May ceremony). 

Students who are on track to graduate the summer after May commencement are eligible to participate in the ceremony, if the following conditions are met:

  1. Has an overall GPA of 2.0 ('C') and a 2.0 ('C') GPA in the major and minor both at the same time of petition and at the time of Commencement, 2.85 for Crummer MBA students, & 3.0 for doctorate students
  2. Presents a viable plan, including documentation of course availability and/or an approved Transfer Pre-approval form, consisting of no more than eight (8) semester hours.

Students who wish to participate but do not meet the above criteria must file an academic appeal no later than April 1 prior to commencement. 

Students may participate in only one (1) graduation ceremony.
CLA students in the College of Liberal Arts ceremony;
Holt students in the Hamilton Holt ceremony;
Crummer students in the Crummer Graduate School ceremony

For other specific graduation information, please visit:

Diploma

Diplomas are issued three times a year. 

  • Spring Graduates - at Commencement in May
  • Summer Graduates - by early September (early October for Crummer)
  • Fall Graduates - by early February 

Graduates who do not attend May Commencement, will have it mailed (via U.S. Postal Service) or have the option to pick up the diploma. The Office of the Registrar will confirm via email, the graduate's preferred method. Timeframe will be at least 2-3 weeks after the ceremony.  International shipping will take longer than domestic mailing.
*At this time, diplomas cannot be mailed through other services such as FedEx, DHL, UPS etc.*

May graduates not attending commencement cannot receive the diploma before the ceremony.