PROGRAM COMPLETION/ADVANCEMENT CEREMONY GUIDELINES
Many students in allied health and occupational programs choose to celebrate their accomplishments with a formal event separate from the college commencement ceremony. For example, Nursing and Dental Programs recognize their students at a pinning ceremony. All programs are welcome to celebrate in such a fashion following the guidelines below. If a program has questions that are not addressed by this document, those questions must be submitted to the Commencement and Special Events Committee for clarification.
It is important to note this ceremony/event is by no means an official graduation from a program that awards a degree or certificate and that participating in this ceremony does not automatically result in the award of an official MCC degree or certificate. MCC certificates and degrees are only awarded after the student applies for graduation and the registrar verifies satisfactory completion of all requirements of the program. Degrees and certificates can only be conferred by the college president, with the approval of the MCC Governing Board.
LOGISTICS OF A COMPLETION/ ADVANCEMENT CEREMONY
The location, date and time will be coordinated by the program director or designee and the Office of the President by the end of the third week of the semester in which the ceremony will occur. Length of ceremony time is approximately 60 – 90 minutes.
LOCATION, ROOM ARRANGEMENT AND AV EQUIPMENT
The event should be held on college property whenever possible. Only with the
Commencement and Special Events Committee recommendation (and final approval by the President’s Office) may an off-site location be used. No rental agreements may be executed without the approval of the Office of the President. Since the Committee generally meets monthly, they will need time to review and discuss the special request. Please allow enough time for a recommendation to be made, including enough time to find an alternate location if the request is denied by either the Commencement and Special Events Committee or by the President’s Office.
All locations requested will be reviewed to determine if participation will bring negative attention to MCC or give the appearance of association with the group that owns/manages the location. No religious establishments will be considered to avoid the appearance of preference or affiliation with the College.
The program director or designee and students will schedule the site (only after approval is given for a non-college location), assure proper room set-up and secure assistance from Information Technology for any audio visual equipment. Sound system must be checked at the location one hour before the start of the event. It is
responsibility of program to arrange sound technology with the facility if an off-campus location is used.
SPEAKER NOTIFICATION
The program director or designee must notify the Office of the President by email a month in advance of who the keynote speaker will be. Notification must include a brief background of the speaker and reason they are being recommended to be part of the pinning ceremony.
SUGGESTED ORDER OF THE CEREMONY
Processional music
Students enter in alphabetical order
Welcome by Master of Ceremony – introduces the MCC President or his designee Welcome by MCC President and anyone else he asks to speak
Keynote Speaker – Optional (5 minutes max) Student Speaker – Optional (5 minutes max)
Awards – Presented by faculty and/or program director or designee
Meaning of Pinning Ceremony and the Pin (if applicable) by assigned faculty member
Pinning (if applicable)
Pledge or Oath (if applicable)
Introduction of the Class – program director or designee
Student Slide Show (optional – suggested 5 minutes max) All slide shows must be approved by the program director or designee IN ADVANCE. Slide shows may run prior to and after the ceremony if desired
Recessional Music
DRESS CODE FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE ADVANCING
Students are representing both their new profession and the College. Uniforms, scrubs or professional attire is recommended. The uniforms are to be of a professional nature. If attire is determined by the program director or designee to be inappropriate, students will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony.
BUDGET FOR EXPENSES
Donations may only be sought with the assistance and guidance of College
Advancement. Contact the College Advancement office for a copy of the MCC Policy. Graduates may also donate funds. Any funds raised for the ceremony in excess of the cost will be maintained in a program/club’s designated fund. A list of donors should be included in the program. Funds may also be solicited from the campus Student
Activities Council.
In addition to the funding described above, MCC has limited funds in the graduation budget to support pinning ceremonies (MCC does not pay for the program pins). Please contact the college registrar (registrar acts as graduation budget manager) for the per student amount that is available to assist with the cost of the event. These limited funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis to support pinning ceremonies. Making a request to the registrar does not ensure that the Commencement and Special Events Committee can/will provide funding through the graduation budget.
REFRESHMENTS
The students and faculty should decide together on the refreshments. Cake, punch, coffee, tea, water are common.
ORDERING OF PINS
The program director or designee and student representatives, when applicable, will coordinate ordering of pins. Funding for pins is decided by the program director or designee – college funding is unavailable, thus alternate sources will need to be utilized. Please see the “Budget for Expenses” category for suggestions.
INVITATION DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
A draft of the invitation copy will be completed by program staff and student representatives six to eight weeks prior to the ceremony and then forwarded to the Marketing and Public Information Office for final editing, production and duplication.
INVITATIONS
The program will send invitations to the following individuals:
1. MCC Board of Governors – All invitations must be sent to the Office of the President for mailing. (See Protocol For Inviting MCC Trustees to Attend a College Event )
3. MCC Foundation and Chapter Boards through College Advancement 4. Student Services on each campus
5. All program faculty as well as other faculty members.
6. Key community facility administrators, officials and advisory committee members.
7. Graduates may also suggest special invitees.
8. Include Announcement of Accommodation on invitations: “For disability related accommodations, please contact the MCC Compliance Office at least 72 hours in advance.”
9. Graduates will mail their own invitations. Invitations produced by Marketing and Public Information will be available for student use.
NOTE: MPIO will provide an email version of the invitation for staff to utilize.
Attendance of College Administration/Campus Dean
If the program would like college administration and/or the campus dean to attend and/or speak at the pinning ceremony, the program director or designee must contact and confirm their attendance at least a month in advance of the event.
Protocol for Inviting MCC Trustees to Attend a College Event
To avoid the perception of impropriety and inspire public trust and confidence, Mohave Community College posts a Notice of Attendance for events to which a quorum of the Governing Board has been invited. To ensure the proper
notification of the public and the Board, the following steps must be followed by every unit:
All requests will be considered an invitation to be a guest. If it is the intent of the event organizers for a Trustee to participate in any other capacity (speaker, ribbon-cutting, distribution of awards, etc.) a memorandum outlining that intention must be sent to the president from the appropriate dean prior to asking the Trustee. (See: “Protocol for inviting MCC Trustees to participate in a College Event”)
1. All five district Trustees must be invited to the event.Five unaddressed invitations in envelopes must be delivered to Office of the President no later than two weeks prior to the event.
2. A brief description of the event should be included.
3. The President of Mohave Community College must be invited to all events to which any Trustee is invited. This invitation should be sent to the Office of the President with the Boards’ invitations.
4. One invitation without an envelope should be included so the executive assistant to the president will have the information necessary for the Notice.
5. A contact person should be identified to answer any questions about the event.
6. Upon receipt, the Office of the President will determine the most
appropriate method of delivering the invitations, be it U.S. mail or hand-delivery at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board.
7. Upon delivery, the Office of the President will post a Notice of Attendance (A.R.S. 38-431.02) to the legally defined location (Office of the President, Bldg. 100, Neal Campus Kingman, 1971 E. Jagerson Ave., Kingman, AZ 86409)
8. The Notice of Attendance will also be posted online at: http://www.mohave.edu/pages/1860.asp
9. If an RSVP is requested directly on the invitation, the Office of President must be notified of any acceptance by a Trustee. If an RSVP is not requested, the Office of the President will request one upon delivery and notify the event organizers of any acceptance by a Trustee. A
PUBLIC INFORMATION AND PHOTOGRAPHY
The program will contact the Marketing and Public Information Office for pre-publicity and photographic coverage of the event at least three weeks before the event. “If
desired, the program/students may arrange for a private photographer for individual shots at their own expense.”
PROGRAM
Verbiage for the program will be prepared by program and student representatives 4-5 weeks prior to the event and forwarded to Marketing and Public Information for final production and duplication. It may include the pledge or oath so it is available for graduates and faculty.
FLOWERS
The program staff and student representatives determine whether flowers will be ordered. The nursing program traditionally purchases corsages/boutonnieres for nursing faculty and VIPS. It is permissible for graduates to carry a flower during the ceremony.
MUSIC
Students may choose music to play while people are being seated, during the
processional and the recessional. A person should be designated to play the music. The technology being used to deliver the music must be tested at the location one hour before the event begins.
PERSON PINNING THE CANDIDATE (Allied Health Programs)
Program and student representatives will decide who will do the actual pinning (family member, program faculty, etc.)
AFTER THE CEREMONY
SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Program Director or Designee Oversees: Students make the following decisions:
Determine Site/Location Keynote speaker
Schedule/Reserve Site Student speaker
Date Slide show
Time Music – enter, leave and secure it
Program for pinning sequence Their own invitations
Refreshments Special invites
Room arrangement Who pins them
AV Equipment and technical support Writing personal message for program
Dress Code Ordering and paying for pin
Securing volunteers from other classes for assistance with clean up, etc.
Personal photographer Distribute any pin orders and direct students
Event Program PR coverage
Administration invitations
Assist students with seeking donations for refreshments, flowers and supplies and see that same all arrive.
