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Fall graduates receive pseudo-diploma at ceremony
by Suzette Breaux
UH-Clear Lake students who are participating in commencement Dec. 14 are looking forward to walking
across the stage and receiving their diplomas. But instead of a diploma, students will receive a
generic certificate of recognition.
Some may not understand why diplomas are distributed after commencement. After all, students met
their requirements and paid the $50 application fee.
The delay results because students' grades are not processed before graduation.
In order to give students diplomas at commencement, the students' grades would have to be
submitted earlier or the ceremony would have to occur at a later date.
The Office of Enrollment Services cannot process students' final grades in time for graduation
because grades are due from faculty at noon on graduation day.
According to Sandy Sowa, university records specialist, the date to submit grades is set by the
amount of time teachers and students are required to be present per semester.
Because UH-Clear Lake is a public university, the legislature sets the time period for the
attendance requirements, Sowa said. Another factor is that the ceremony is held at Hofheinz Pavilion,
which is only available on limited dates. "We are given a few days to pick from,"Sowa said.
"We cannot change the ceremony around grades." Fall diplomas are mailed in January, spring diplomas are mailed in June and summer diplomas are
mailed in August. Because summer graduates participate in commencement with fall graduates, summer
graduates receive their diplomas before commencement.
Also, UH-Clear Lake uses Jostens, a company in Red Wing, Minn., to print the diplomas. The
printing process takes approximately six to eight weeks.
The Office of Enrollment Services issues new certificates every semester, which are placed in a
green tube with gold lettering.
Some universities and colleges distribute diplomas at commencement, while others distribute them
afterward. The University of St. Thomas in Houston issues diplomas after graduation because grades
are due Thursday before graduation
"We have no way of verifying who's graduating,"said Mary Patsatzis, registrar at the University
of St. Thomas.
Like UH-Clear Lake, the University of St. Thomas also uses a printing company that is out of state;
therefore, the process takes approximately nine weeks, according to Patsatzis.
Alvin Community College in Alvin processes its students' diplomas similarly to UH-Clear Lake.
"Once grades have come in and GPAs are done, then we mail out the diplomas,"said Sharmeal Archie,
graduation specialist.
On the other hand, Houston Baptist University processes its students' diplomas differently from
UH-Clear Lake.
"We get everything in one week before graduation,"said Carolyn Albritton, acting
registrar .
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, like HBU, hands out diplomas at commencement.
"The student population is relatively small,"said Lisa Chebret, Baylor registrar. According to
Chebret, there are fewer than 200 students who graduate each semester.
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