Graduation

• 2025 MCC Commencement Ceremony

Commencement Regalia

It is required that all attending graduates purchase a cap, tassel, and gown through the MCC Tiger Shop. Candidates for commencement may purchase regalia (including cap, tassel, and gown) for $40 at the MCC Tiger Shop (located in the BJ Harrison Library) starting April 29. Store hours are Monday – Thursday, 7:30 am to 8:00 pm, and Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. All sales on commencement regalia are final.

Please wear appropriate attire under your gown. Shoes and clothing should be appropriate for the occasion.

Graduates may wear only stoles that have been approved by the Commencement Committee.
A stole is a decorative sash worn over the shoulders as part of academic regalia. Any stole worn during the ceremony must be officially approved.

May 15 Instructions for Graduates

Graduate check-in will be open from 5:30 until 6:30 in the 200 Hallway. Graduates should park outside door #1 and enter by Student Services. There will be signage to direct parents to the ceremony location. 

Graduates will be given instructions for the procession at check in. There is not assigned seating for graduates during the ceremony and they may sit with whomever they would like. Staff members will assist the graduates during the lineup process. Students arriving late will be seated as space allows.

Designated staff will lead graduates through Babe Harder and into the Student Activities Center promptly at 7 pm and direct them to their seats. Students should continue to stand after the processional music stops. Men should remove their caps and keep them off during the address to the graduates, putting them back on before the scholastic awards.

During the processional and ceremony, tassels should be worn on the right side of the mortarboard. At the appropriate time, graduates will be directed to the right side of the stage, where each graduate will hand their name card to the reader and wait for their name to be read before crossing the stage.

Event Seating

Commencement is a ticketed event. Each student who has applied for graduation will receive four (4) tickets for guests to be seated in the Student Activity Center (SAC). Seating in the SAC is limited to ticketed guests only. Guests without tickets will be directed to the overflow viewing area in the Babe Harder Gymnasium, where the ceremony will be live-streamed.

All guests must enter through Door 6. Guests with tickets will be admitted to the Student Activity Center, and guests without tickets will be escorted to the Babe Harder Gymnasium.

Doors will open at 5:45 pm. All guests should be seated by 6:50 pm.

Graduates will process through the Babe Harder Gymnasium at the beginning and conclusion of the ceremony, allowing guests in the overflow area the opportunity to see their graduate in person as they enter and exit.

Reception

A reception for all graduates, their families, and friends will be held immediately following the ceremony outside of the Faust Student Union (weather permitting). Please ask all family members and guests to celebrate with you there.

Commencement Photos

The College Marketing Office staff will be taking photos before, during, and after the ceremony for use in College publications and advertising, and on our website. If you do not want to be photographed, just let our photographer(s) know.

Event Parking

See the map for specifics on where to park.

OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you have any questions, please contact the Registrar’s office at 641-844-5706 or by email.