Commencement

Grad Finale is the event at the bookstore when graduates pick up their regalia and guest tickets. Remember, even if your regalia is being mailed to you, you must still pick up your guest tickets in person at the bookstore and sign for them. Guest tickets are not sent through the mail. If you cannot attend Grad Finale between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day, please reach out to Lynn Ferro, lferro@ycp.edu, and arrange to pick up your regalia and/or tickets at later time when you can make it to the bookstore.

Each graduate will be issued 5 guest tickets – 2 white tickets and 3 green tickets. All 5 tickets, regardless of color, may be used by guests to gain access to outdoor seating during the commencement ceremony.

The number of extra tickets available will depend in part on how many tickets are donated back to the bookstore. That will, in turn, determine whether each grad who requests extra tickets will receive as many as they want. But there will be enough extra tickets to give at least one to each grad who requests it. Those tickets will be distributed in early May.

Remember, the ceremony will be live-streamed on campus in various locations and over the Internet for anyone to watch on any device, so there are many ways for your family and friends to see you at Commencement.

York College distributes gold honors cords to graduates who have attained a GPA that qualifies for one of the three "Latin honors" distinctions:

• Summa Cum Laude: 3.90 or above
• Magna Cum Laude: 3.70–3.89
• Cum Laude: 3.50–3.69

A graduate's GPA for the purposes of bestowing these honors is taken from the last full semester prior to the semester of graduation. For May graduates, that is the GPA they had achieved by the end of the fall semester. (A graduate's complete transcript after their final semester will reflect their final GPA.)

The gold honors cords are distributed when graduates come to pick up their regalia and guest tickets at the Bookstore. Graduates who are having their regalia mailed to them must still pick up their tickets at the Bookstore, along with any Latin honors cords, if applicable.

Latin honors distinctions are also noted next to the graduate's name in the printed Commencement program.

Some graduates are given cords or stoles based on membership or service in a campus organization, such as the Student Senate, YCP athletic teams, or Greek life organizations. Any such items are distributed to the student directly from that organization. They are not distributed by the Bookstore. Graduates should contact their organization if they have questions about those items and how to collect them.

Decorating the mortarboard, or graduation cap, is a fun and creative tradition at YCP. Students are welcome to decorate their cap with a design related to their major, YCP spirit, or their personal interests. We are proud to say our graduates know how to decorate with flair and good taste. If you can show your cap proudly to your favorite professor, then you have made a good design choice.

Each graduate will be issued 5 guest tickets. The two white tickets will allow guests to gain entry into the M&T Bank Fieldhouse, Grumbacher Sports and Fitness Center, if dangerous weather conditions exist.

Parking is available on West Campus, with shuttles running to the Main Campus commencement site throughout the day. Guests with accommodation requests, including guests who will need to be dropped off at the commencement site, should notify Desiree Kile, dkile1@ycp.edu.

York College is happy to accommodate your guests who use mobility equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs, who need a sign-language interpreter, or who have other special needs. Please notify Desiree Kile, dkile1@ycp.edu, our executive assistant of campus operations. She can give you complete information about what accommodations are available to support your guest, and how to help them when you arrive on campus for commencement. She can also reserve seats under the tent for guests who use equipment to make sure they have enough space.Please reach out to Ms. Kile as soon as you know your guest with these needs will be attending.

Compliments of the York College Women's Auxiliary, continental breakfast will be offered from 8 - 10 a.m., in Johnson Dining Hall in the Iosue Student Union.