Is a commencement deferred a commencement denied? A GSU students thinks so.
Under a new policy, GSU students who graduate in December will have to wait until May for their commencement ceremony. Here is the May, 2010, GSU commencement at the Dome. (Hyosub Shin / hshin@ajc.com)
I received this letter from GSU student Kiana Nicholas, a film/video and journalism/public relations double major. Proving that she has learned something about effective PR, Kiana is taking her disagreement with Georgia State University to the public square. (She is president of the Public Relations Student Society of America. )
Her issue: She will graduate in the fall, and Georgia State has decided against a college-wide commencement ceremony for students graduating mid-year. Instead, fall 2012 graduates will have to wait and walk with spring 2013 grads in a joint ceremony. (Students will still graduate; it is the commencement that is delayed.)
A Georgia State spokeswoman told me this morning that the university’s goal was to raise the profile and fanfare of the spring event. The school is also hamstrung because it has no facility large enough for a commencement crowd so it had been forced to secure massive venues for ceremonies twice a year, not an easy task in downtown Atlanta.
The official statement from GSU is:
The decision to go to one commencement ceremony was given significant consideration. It is our sincere hope that the plan will make our spring commencement an even bigger and more exciting affair. Our commencement office is currently reaching out to students who will be affected by the change and offering them alternative solutions.
Degrees will continue to be conferred three times during an academic year. The academic colleges hold individual convocations prior to the end of a term for their degree candidates, which most students prefer to attend. The college ceremonies are more personalized and intimate, with students celebrating with other students in their academic discipline and with faculty and staff from their college.
As someone who didn’t attend her college or grad school commencements, I am probably in the minority here. I have little enthusiasm for the pomp and circumstance of stadium-size gatherings. This decision would not faze me. But I know that many graduates love the commencement extravaganza and invite dozens of relatives.
Is it fair to ask GSU grads to wait five months since many of them may be elsewhere by then and miss the big event?
Here is Kiana’s letter:
Did you hear that Georgia State University has cancelled its fall commencement ceremonies? This has left thousands of future fall graduates like me without a proper graduation ceremony celebrating his or her four years of success. And how did students find out: a message on the commencement website and a story by WSB-TV.
Students, parents and even alumni cannot believe it and are outraged by the university’s decision and secrecy. According to WSB-TV, university officials refused to comment fully, only saying that the decision was because of the difficulty of scheduling a ceremony around the Falcons football schedule at the dome (and the subsequent $500,000 price tag). But aren’t the fall ceremonies held on Wednesdays?
And isn’t Atlanta filled with alternative, less expensive venues? Even the GSU Sports Arena can hold 3,500 plus in the stands and even more when you count the floor (which I read in an AJC article)!
After four years or more of paying almost $8,000 a semester in tuition, housing, fees and more, students are absolutely entitled to a graduation ceremony and should not be forced to wait five months to walk. Do you know where you will be five months from now?
Students can easily be out-of-state or even the country (just ask the international students). Besides providing a quality education, a commencement ceremony should be at the top of any university’s priority list. Just ask UGA, Georgia Tech and any other Georgia university which offers Fall, Spring and even Summer commencement ceremonies.
With over 33,000 students attending Georgia State University, it is hard to imagine having one commencement. The university says that students can go to the individual college convocation instead. There is no comparison between the two. One is small, not as formal and not as memorable. The other brings together all students, faculty, alumni and university to celebrate years of hard work and accomplishment. All students want is a commencement where the president and university leaders stand on the stage, look at each student in his or her cap and gown, and say “thank you” and “congratulations for all your hard work and success.”
This is especially true for Fall 2012 graduates. When we entered school in 2008-09, it was right before the economic downturn and the recession that rocked this nation to its core. Throughout the years, fall 2012 graduates saw parents lose their jobs, tuition and fees increase and fewer courses offered. We even saw friends drop out left and right due to the financial hardship.
However, we did not waver. We continued with our education and are less than a year away from earning our degrees. Instead of looking forward to receiving our diplomas and celebrating our accomplishments, our university informs us that we will not have a commencement; that the university will not bring all graduates together and recognize our achievements.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
117 comments Add your comment
crusher
January 27th, 2012
2:37 pm
Be glad that you have a chance to walk in a graduation ceremony. In 1983 I graduated in December and had to wait until June to graduate. We were in the quarter system and they didn’t have graduation in May. Quit fussing.
Marino
January 27th, 2012
2:38 pm
I am a student at Georgia State, and i support the university’s decision.
catlady
January 27th, 2012
2:42 pm
Maybe each student could be assessed a seperate, $250 fee for a “special” graduation.
hey PR gal!
January 27th, 2012
2:49 pm
“waver” vs. “waiver,” Kiena. In PR, you’ll want to re-read your copy. Then read it again.
Congrats on your degree.
@ Neil
January 27th, 2012
2:52 pm
The student body should have no say in how many graduations the university has. The university needs to cut expenses and this is one of the ways that they have chosen to do it. Students can still attend a graduation and you don’t have to wait until May to get your diploma, so there is nothing really to complain about. There are many universities in this country with one graduation per year. The students need to get over themselves, and spend this energy looking for a job.
Thomas Jefferson
January 27th, 2012
2:52 pm
Just remember how they treated you when they start calling you as an alum asking for money. Of the 3 schools I attended, State, Georgia Tech, and Mercer, State is the only one I never contribute to because of they way they treated their students. What goes around comes around.
Tori
January 27th, 2012
2:55 pm
Georgia State is not reaching out to the students, I have contacted my adviser not once, twice BUT THREE times to speak about graduating. Only to receive an explanation of, “not accepting appointments until February.” This is extremely frustrating; had I known a ceremony would not take place in December I would have taken 18hrs this semester to finish up by Maymester. And to Teacher Reader, Georgia State actually did pull this last minute. January may not seem like it, but for the students who were 2 classes away from finishing, it really did affect us tremendously. As for Georgia State, the students have a saying when they pull a stunt like this, “Oh, it’s just the way Georgia State is.”
Reality
January 27th, 2012
2:55 pm
I will complete my MBA at GSU this fall, and to be honest, I couldn’t care less about attending the graduation ceremony. In fact, when I applied to graduate earlier I declined the option of attending the ceremony. At this point in my life all I care about is just getting the degree. Although, I guess I could understand why it might mean more to an undergraduate student, but I can tell you from experience, the commencement ceremony is highly over rated and completely impersonal. Truthfully, if I had not attended my undergraduate commencement, I would not have missed anything.
Reality
January 27th, 2012
2:59 pm
Though, I did have a beef with the $50 dollar fee they charger you to apply to graduate. Universities are becoming worse then the airlines in terms of trying to find any way to charge you fees for basic services that should already be built into your normal tuition and egregious fees. I mean 50 bucks to apply to graduate? Come on, the diploma itself only costs them a few bucks to print out and mail. Just another example of a school using any reason or excuse to fleece you.
Devil's Advocate
January 27th, 2012
3:01 pm
Mom of 3,
Don’t worry, I was just poking fun at your tone and name. I’m sure you and your hubby reward each other as any married couple should do.
Ian Kahn
January 27th, 2012
3:01 pm
When I graduated from the University of Georgia in 1993, we only had one undergraduate commencement ceremony per year. It was in June. Everyone knew it, and nobody cared. It wasn’t that big a deal. While I understand why Ms. Nichols is upset, I believe her logic falls apart when she claims
“Besides providing a quality education, a commencement ceremony should be at the top of any university’s priority list.”
I can think of many, significantly more important, uses for $500,000. Going by Ms. Nichols’ own numbers, that money equals roughly ten scholarships for deserving students without the financial means to pay for college. Or, how about endowing research into how technology can improve the educational process in developing countries? Or maybe research into efforts to turn economically distressed neighborhoods into thriving, successful areas.
In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think this is all that big a deal. And just for the record, I graduated in August, 1993, after my commencement.
Still and all, congratulations to Ms. Nichols on her fine accomplishments. If she enters the work world with the fire and passion she demonstrates here, she will go far in this world.
JenSmyrna
January 27th, 2012
3:03 pm
I am very disappointed with the decision by GSU to stop Fall Commencement ceremonies. I will be personally affected by this decision, which is a bummer because I never walked in my high school graduation due to alternative schooling. Therefore, I was looking forward to walking this December to celebrate with my family in an official manner. GSU has been making a lot of good decisions for the betterment of their students and this to say the least is not one of them. What a let-down!
claytondawg
January 27th, 2012
3:03 pm
@Mom of 3…great statement “get over yourself.” I agree. So many of us think that “it’s all about me and no one else.” To all of you Kiana’s in the world, just move on.
another comment
January 27th, 2012
3:05 pm
I graduated from two Universities one for my Bachlors and one for my Masters Degree. Neither had a mid- year ceremony. I went to my undergraduate one, but did not stick around for the Grad. school one. They will send the diploma in the mail. You can still have your parents throw you a Party.
My Nephew graduated from NorthEastern a year ago at mid year. My sister and her whole family went back up to Boston in May to watch him walk with the rest of his class.
Jerry
January 27th, 2012
3:06 pm
I had similar thing(s) happen to me. I had got out of sequence because of a helth issue in my freshman year. When I had completed all the requirements for my BS I was tol that there were so few of us graduating that we would be combined with the fall graduation. about 3 weeks later I got my degree in the mail. So much for a comencement. I went to another institution for my masters. I was still out of sequence and sure enough I get told I would be combined with the major commencement exercise. You guessed it – the dgree came in the mail. I solved the problem thoug. I didn’t go for any more degrees. Still feel like I’ve been cheated. These institutions were in Maryland also.
Just A Teacher
January 27th, 2012
3:07 pm
As I see it, GSU has the right to hold commencement exercises when they want. The college should give those students graduating in the fall a break on their tuition, though, if they aren’t giving them the opportunity to walk. Why should these students be forced to help subsidize an event for students who are graduating in May? Georgia State should write each of these students a check and mail it along with their degrees.
Not a big deal
January 27th, 2012
3:30 pm
Really? You got your degree in Film. You won’t need to worry about what you’ll be doing in five months. You won’t have a job so I am sure you can attend the spring ceremony. Now stop crying about the ceremony and start crying about getting a worthless degree.
Big Al
January 27th, 2012
3:41 pm
Is there no end to the trival stuff that young people will complain about. No wonder my generation won’t hire them.
JustGraduated
January 27th, 2012
3:48 pm
I just graduated from a private college in Georgia and they only have one ceremony a year and it was great. Granted I can’t remember hearing my named called or remember walking across the stage but, I was proud to see my parents there. At GA State you can’t even walk across the stage to shake the hand of the Dean or President. They call your school, you stand up and that’s it. Big Whoop! Also all colleges mail their degrees now. They have to make sure you really earned them before they send them out. GSU has to do cutbacks right now and that is understandable. What I don’t understand is how they have their employees retire and then come back a month later in their old positions. Some people are getting three paychecks…. Now that is frustrating!!!
SF
January 27th, 2012
3:52 pm
She really doesn’t care. She’s just trying to organize the community.
GSU Student
January 27th, 2012
3:54 pm
To begin, it is absolutely embarrassing as a GSU student that there are people moaning and groaning about the unfairness of not having a mid-year graduation. Like most people stated above, not only is there a large majority of people who do not go to their own graduation, but most major universities dont even offer mid-year ceremonies. So I am with the majority and say SUCK IT UP.
Tori,
I am student graduating in May. Please do not smear the university’s advisors because you are ill-prepared. You probably called them three times in the same week and probably at the end of november. If you were prepared you would have called them in August to dicuss your class schedule and make sure that you had all of the necessary credits to graduate. In the real world you have to plan ahead.
P.S. not all students say, “Oh, it’s just the way Georgia State is.”, only ones who expect the university to drop everything to accomodate their lack of preparedness.
urmissingthepoint
January 27th, 2012
3:57 pm
I went through commencement at GSU over 10 years ago, when it was a much smaller school. It was a joke. If it weren’t for my family insisting on attending, I would have spent that time at work, or drinking and getting free lap dances at the Cheetah! Commencement ceremonies are just the school spending more of the money YOU GAVE THEM on nothing! Skip the ceremony and give me a refund!
Mom of 3
January 27th, 2012
3:57 pm
Devil’s Advocate…….Ha! I like you. And you are correct.
who cares
January 27th, 2012
3:59 pm
I was hammered at my UGA graduation. it’s all a blur but I loved it
UGA Grad
January 27th, 2012
4:00 pm
Participation in a graduation ceremony is optional.
High schools hold only one graduation ceremony per year regardless of when the student satisfies their graduation requirements. Students wishing to participate in the ceremony have the option to come back and participate in the spring.
I graduated in December and chose not to go through Graduation ceremonies in the spring because I had received my diploma and started my 1st job.
It is unfair to ask the colleges and universities to take on the extra expense for multiple ceremonies in one year.
Like I said before...
January 27th, 2012
4:03 pm
have it at half time of one of the football games. their will be plenty of seats and it’ll give people something to look at. just saying.
Alana
January 27th, 2012
4:08 pm
I too have absolutely no issue with this policy. I graduated from GSU in Dec 2008 and attended our commencement ceremony. I also attended my husbands ceremony in the following Spring. I personally would have preferred to do the one Spring ceremony, as we had families traveling in from out of town for 2 seperate commencements. While I understand that students want to walk the stage to celebrate their achievements, the university is doing it’s best to combat rising tuition costs, which is exactly what will happen if they continue 2 commencement ceremonies a year (GSU is one of the top educational values in the country!!). Many colleges & universities have only 1 ceremony, and I believe this would make sense for GSU. .
GSU Grad-To-Be
January 27th, 2012
4:15 pm
I earned several degrees prior to attending GA State. When I learned about the impersonal nature of the graduation (i.e. your name is NOT called), I decided I would not participate in the ceremony. The one mass graduation will make the cattle call even more impersonal. I am happy I had the opportunity to enjoy my first college graduation. I was a FALL graduate. There was an awesome speaker, fellowship with classmates, and plenty the pomp and circumstance. I have never walked in another ceremony; however, it was my decision. The memories from the first were sufficient.
Many GA State Students are the first in their family to graduate from college. It is often an achievement that the entire family is proud. For these graduates, a ceremony is symbolic for future generations. Had Georgia State shared this information with students as they were applying to the school, many might have made different choice of school or arranged their class schedules differently. It is inconsiderate on the University’s part. How much does it cost for the school to rent out Georgia Dome 5-6 times a year for football? Academics at the expense of Athletics.
GSU Grad-To-Be
#1 rule during arguments: if you’re losing start correcting grammar -Katt Williams
GSU Grad-To-Be
January 27th, 2012
4:19 pm
Before the correction Gestapo comes out, the last line should read Athletics at the expense of Academics.
Maureen Downey
January 27th, 2012
4:19 pm
@Beatings, I have never heard anyone cite “trust fund babies” at GSU. In fact, I often hear the opposite.
Also, one of the longstanding rules of this blog is that students are off limits for go-for-the-jugular comments. Please keep that in mind. I will take such comments down.
Also, I thought the student writer made good points, particularly about the impact of delayed commencements on international students.
Maureen
Old Dawg
January 27th, 2012
4:23 pm
I attended my high school and undergraduate commencement programs, though neither was life changing. When I received my master’s there wasn’t a ceremony, which was fine by me.
But I have those degrees, which are very important to me. Long term, the friendships, knowledge and contacts I made in school have always been more important. If universities are to continue to provide quality degrees, they need to cut expenses in non-academic areas and enhance their basic products: education and research.
I don’t want to sound like the Grinch Who Stole Graduation, but the celebration is actually developing a career, making a positive impact on family and community and giving back the best way you can.
That’s the real party.
Beatings will continue until morale improves
January 27th, 2012
4:32 pm
Maureen,
@Maureen
did I say the media calls these kids “trust fund babies?” No.
These kids who claim they are “poor” and disrespected are the ones who have their ipod earphones in, their iphones, and $300 dollar clothing on while living on a mountain of debt.
Go to another school such as GCSU and see how they deal with once a year graduation for a little contrast.
By the way, most faculty members dont give a hoot about graduation. Another excuse to hear some idiotic talking head to preach their agenda.
Hillbilly D
January 27th, 2012
4:35 pm
Just save a bunch of money and send everybody their diploma in the mail. Of course, the people who make money giving commencement speeches will be up in arms about that.
Maureen Downey
January 27th, 2012
4:39 pm
@Beatings, I didn’t mean media. I have never heard anyone comment that GSU had a tony patina. I always had a sense that it was considered a school where working class Georgians sent their kids. I know that is changing.
Maureen
Natasha
January 27th, 2012
4:40 pm
I am a ‘92 and 96′ graduate of GSU. GSU didn’t start having space problems with their graduation ceremonies until they started to combine everyone into 1 massive graduation ceremony that was too large to be held on campus, and decided they wanted to do it big and move it to the dome.
You could skip this whole exercise by just simply going back to dividing the 6 colleges into 2 ceremonies representing 3 colleges each. It will give you a number that is easily managed and able to be accomodated on the GSU campus.
There, problem solved.
A reader
January 27th, 2012
4:40 pm
This is standard at many schools. It is not a big deal and this issue does not deserve a place in the Get Schooled blog when there are so many other important issues that are not even mentioned on the blog.
Brian30101
January 27th, 2012
4:47 pm
Every spring their are near riots at certain high schools because not everybody can fit into the space available. Is this what you want Kiana?
anonymous
January 27th, 2012
4:49 pm
And we’re missing the fact that students CAN be part of the Spring Graduation. Just be patient aobut it for crying out loud.
A little inconvenience and folks need to start writing to the newspapers about it!
Grow UP!
I'Joni
January 27th, 2012
4:58 pm
Kiana made some good points. No one knows where they’ll be 5 months from now. Also, they could have chosen a better way of letting their class know about the delay in the commencement ceremony. If most of the fall students don’t show up, then obtaining a larger venue for a combined ceremony really wouldn’t be worth it anyway.
Maureen Downey
January 27th, 2012
5:15 pm
@Who cares, But UGA does still maintain midyear and end-of-the-year commencements.
Maureen
Jonas Stalter
January 27th, 2012
5:24 pm
The commencement speakers should be paid a lot to come talk to these ungrateful, entitled babies.
Josh
January 27th, 2012
5:27 pm
Many schools only hold one commencement a year.
Wasted on the young
January 27th, 2012
5:30 pm
I am old school, and think that cereomonies serve meaningful purposes — whether they be bar mitzvahs or burials. Marking beginnings, endings, new undertakings, etc. gives everyone involved a moment to pause and reflect. Ritual has its place. I do not believe that the cattle call that passes for mass conferring of degrees is particularly appealing. I’ve attended ceremonies in the Dome, as well as the Arena — and am glad that I was a spectator and not a participant.
I do believe, however, that a separate hooding ceremony is a move in the right direction.
P.S. In this horrific economy, no group of employees is doing more with less than state workers and college employees. If you want to gripe about salaries and fees, start with athletics coaches and work your way down… . Go Alma Mater!
Mahopinion
January 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
To those saying “get over it, it’s not all about you”, think about this. You are right, it’s not all about the graduate, it’s also about the fa I,IRS who worked hard to make sure their student got to that point. Why should they be punished because GSU decided to pull the p,ug on the mid-year ceremony to save money and their student can’t come back in May?
Mahopinion
January 27th, 2012
5:40 pm
Stupid iPad spell checker! That second line should have been “it’s also about the families…”
tom
January 27th, 2012
8:45 pm
It is even worse for those who graduate in the summer who instead of having to wait until the end of the fall have to wait until the following spring – almost a year later.
bootney farnsworth
January 27th, 2012
8:51 pm
of all the crap going on right now, the biggest thing on her mind is she can’t attend a graduation ceremony when she wants it?
dollars to donuts she votes for Obama
bootney farnsworth
January 27th, 2012
8:58 pm
here’s a simple fact of life:
graduation ceremonies are stinkin’ expensive. they are major logistical challenges, tie up a large amount of college personnel,
and are dramatically underattended unless the school in question
is a “name school”
in short, they are fiscally ineffective to do once. fiscal disasters
to do twice
‘course, if State did away with the film program they might be able to gin up the cash to do it twice a year.
bootney farnsworth
January 27th, 2012
8:59 pm
can’t help but wonder if she’ll demand input on the guest speaker.
bootney farnsworth
January 27th, 2012
9:02 pm
its crap like this while lead us to a broke and broken regents system