Graduate Ceremony

Every reasonable effort will be made to hold commencement ceremonies as planned on Friday. However, inclement weather is a possibility.

If the weather is severe enough – heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning, a tornado watch or tornado warning – to require a delay in the ceremony’s start, instructions will be announced at Memorial Stadium and posted at:

Campus parking Lots 1, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 in the general vicinity of Memorial Stadium have been reserved for commencement and are available without charge. Lot numbers will be posted. Please see the commencement parking map for further reference. Lot 12 will not be reserved for Friday commencement, but if you have a qualifying campus parking permit, you may use that lot. Disabled parking is available with a government-issued sticker, plate or placard in Stadium Lot #8 adjacent to Memorial Stadium. 

Guest Parking is available at the following locations:

Handicapped Parking: (Stadium Lot #4) (approximately 130 spots)

Faculty/Dignitary Parking: (Stadium Lot #8) (approx. 350 spots)

Your family and friends are cordially invited to attend and are encouraged to be seated the East Stadium area surrounding those seats reserved for graduates. Stadium gates 3 and 11 will be open for commencement guests. See Stadium seating map. Tickets are not required for the ceremony. Football season ticket holders should not plan to sit in their reserved football seats. Graduates and their guests may enter the stadium with a jacket and their commencement regalia. Small-sized purses and camera bags are also allowed in the stadium, but must be screened in the security check points. Commencement guests may bring individual seatbacks into the Stadium. Seatbacks will not be available for rental at the ceremony, and graduating students will not be allowed to carry in seatbacks. The East Stadium area opposite the ceremony stage is reserved for the graduates, faculty, and dignitaries. Any guest with disabilities, accompanied by one person, may sit in a designated area on the hard surface apron adjacent to the football field. Aisle seats are available in the stadium seats for guests who are ambulatory restricted. The commencement ceremony will be streamed live on the UNL website at www.unl.edu.

You must legibly complete and return the purple Commencement Attendance form and the white Graduate Statistical Information form you will receive by mail in April. You must return the two forms to the Graduation Services Office, 109 Canfield Administration Building South, no later than Friday, April 19, 2013, (refers to May Graduation) to advise us of your plans.

If you are participating in the ceremony, legibly write your name phonetically as it is pronounced in English on the second line at the top of the form, (for example, the name Jennifer Verhein would be phonetically Jenn-eh-fur Vurr-hine). Your name pronunciation will be confirmed when you check in before your ceremony.

Return the forms whether or not you are participating in commencement. Doctoral graduates return the forms even if you have already responded to Eva Bachman. These forms let us know what to do with your diploma.

All participants are required to wear academic caps and gowns at Commencement. Graduates must wear the regalia appropriate to the degree they are being awarded at this ceremony. Participants are encouraged to wear flat shoes for the ceremony as they will be walking on field turf and climbing stairs. You may order regalia in person or by mail from the University Bookstore, City Campus Union, or you may simply pick it up at the Wick Center during the Grad Fest celebration April 16 and 17, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Direct your regalia questions to the Bookstore (402) 472-7300. You may order announcements or ceremony invitations from the vendor of your choice.

Both the Hawks Center where students will assemble before commencement and the Memorial Stadium field are covered in commercial field turf, which is an uneven walking surface. Graduates are encouraged to wear flat shoes for their commencement ceremony as they will be traversing field turf and climbing stairs. Graduates with mobility concerns should notify Graduation Services of their need for special accommodation on the Commencement Attendance Form due Friday, April 19, 2013, or by calling (402) 472-3636.

Graduate with disabilities are entirely welcome and should notify us several days before Commencement to allow time to establish reasonable accommodations.  Please report any special needs to Dr. Patrice Berger, Head Marshal, at (402) 472-8203. He will advise you regarding procedures to be followed. Also please note your need for accommodations on your purple Commencement Attendance Form. Disabled parking is available in Stadium Lot #8 adjacent to Memorial Stadium.

Each candidate participating in Commencement will receive their diploma as they cross the ceremony stage. All candidates will proceed to the stage alphabetically by degree from their seats as directed by the Marshals. The only way to receive your diploma on Friday is to participate in the Commencement ceremony. A professional photographer will take your picture as you are hooded, when you are handed your diploma, and as you walk down the ramp to exit the stage. All financial obligations to the University must be satisfied before your diploma will be released. If you are uncertain about your financial obligation, check with the Office of Student Accounts, 124 Canfield Administration Building North, (402) 472-2887.

Candidates who choose not to participate in the Commencement ceremony may receive their diploma as follows:

Please call the Graduation Services Office at (402) 472-3636 as soon as you determine you are unable to complete your requirements for graduation this semester, or if you change your mind about participating in the Commencement ceremony.  Because your commencement is an outdoor ceremony, before arriving at Memorial Stadium, please check www.unl.edu and local media outlets for possible weather-related delays or cancellation.

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