As seniors near graduation, failure to take care of business could delay their diplomas and consequently their job search.
On April 7, Registrar Douglas McArthur sent out an email saying,“We have reason to believe that not everyone who intends to graduate in May has submitted a graduation application to the Registrar’s office.”
McArthur’s email hinted at a problem with Hillsdale diplomas: sometimes, students don’t get them.
Failing to apply for graduation can delay diplomas, along with obstacles as small as unpaid library fines.
Because many students stay an extra semester, being a senior is not enough for the college to know you will graduate, McArthur said.
“The graduation application is your way of announcing to the college that you are graduating,” he said.
Sometimes, panicked second-semester seniors realize they need one more class to graduate. McArthur said there are a few of these students every year, but the online program evaluation tools have helped with this problem.
“If you don’t pay library fines, it can prevent you from getting what you actually came here to get,” Technical Services Librarian Maurine McCourry said.
When graduating seniors walk across the stage in May, they are not handed their diplomas. The process is actually more complicated.
After grades come in, McArthur personally reviews every graduate’s transcript.
“It’s a good two weeks of what I do all day long,” he said. “Once we have actually conferred the degree, then we place the order for the diplomas with the vendor.”
Once the college receives the diplomas, the diplomas are signed by Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé and President Larry Arnn and then mailed out, usually by mid-June.
The graduation process also involves some email changes for students. Once graduated, students will retain their Hillsdale email addresses for one year. After that, they switch to an alumni email provided by the college.
“We understand that it would be nice to have some continuity in contact information for students as they graduate so they can communicate with prospective employers,” said Coordinator of Alumni Activities and Events Joyce Curby. “So what the college has decided to do is allow you to keep you current email address for a year that way you can transition into the workplace.”
Through these new emails, students can stay updated on college news as well as reunions, through the “e-lumni newsletter.” Alumni can also look up fellow alumni through the college directory.
