Commencement
COMMENCEMENT 2020 CEREMONY SCHEDULE - AUGUST 1, 2020
School of Business: 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
School of Communication, School of Education (undergrad and grad), School of Music, and Individualized Majors: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
School of Arts & Humanities and School of Social Sciences: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
School of Life & Health Sciences and School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Outdoor Location, Tickets, and Facial Coverings
Commencement will be held on Weisel Senior Terrace, with graduates and guests physically distanced across the quad. Four ceremonies will be held across the morning and early afternoon, organized by school in order to comply with the Commonwealth’s guideline that events can have no more than 250 people present. Graduates and guests will be seated under tents, so all ceremonies will be held outdoors—rain or shine. In the event of rain, umbrellas are encouraged for walking to the quad and across Senior Terrace.
Due to the Commonwealth restrictions on large gatherings, only ticketed guests will be admitted to the ceremonies. Ticketed guests will be randomly assigned to seats on the quad, allowing for contact tracing should that become necessary. Guests will be seated in adjacent chairs, though they will be six feet apart. All guests must bring and wear a cloth facial covering at all times, unless they have a medical condition that makes wearing a facial covering unsafe. All ceremonies will be livestreamed. Guests without tickets will not be permitted to stand/sit elsewhere on the quad.
All ceremonies will be livestreamed. Guests without tickets will not be permitted to stand/sit elsewhere on the quad.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OUT-OF-STATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has issued a 14-day quarantine recommendation for anyone traveling from areas where there are high numbers of COVID-19 cases. Please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health website for the list of states included in the quarantine recommendation.
HEALTH Self-Screening
Prior to arrival on campus or entry into any campus building, all graduates and guests must self-screen for the following symptoms:
- Fever (100.4° F [38.0° C] or greater), using an oral thermometer
- Symptoms of acute respiratory illness (i.e., dry cough, shortness of breath)
- New loss of taste and/or smell
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Sore throat
- Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting
Graduates or guests who have any of these symptoms should not come to campus or participate in Commencement. Instead, they should view Commencement via livestream, available on the College’s website.
Parking
Parking will be available in the lots for Admissions, Shaw/McKelvey, and Patterson. Handicap parking will be available in the Old Main if the ceremony is outside, and the Shaw/McKelvey lot if it is inside. Shuttles will not be available.
Please note: College Drive, the road between Berlin Village and Brittain Lake, is closed for construction on the Titan Corridor. Westminster Drive, the traffic circle near Hoyt, and the bridges near the Field House remain open.
commencement ceremony uPDATEs
This page will be updated with the latest information about Commencement, including outside versus inside locations. The College must comply with all current federal, Commonwealth, and local guidelines and mandates about physical distancing, crowd size, and facial coverings. As those guidelines and mandates may change prior to August 1, all graduates and guests are encouraged to consult this page before traveling to campus.