Spring 2020 Commencement Update and FAQ

President Steven H. Kaplan, Ph.D., and the Board of Governors will officially confer degrees on the original Commencement date of May 17, 2020. Graduates should use this as their official date of completion.

Diplomas will be mailed once final exams and degree audits are completed. Please note that diplomas are printed and signed on campus, and the timing for mailing diplomas will depend on when on-campus University operations resume. Students should confirm that their physical mailing address information in their Banner student record is up to date.

To confirm a mailing address, students should view their degree application on SSB through myCharger. If an address needs to be corrected, please email assistant registrar Taritha Middleton at tmiddleton@newhaven.edu.

The University will hold in-person Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2020 on Sunday, December 13. The ceremony times and details will be provided early this fall. The December in-person Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020 will be separate from the Winter 2020 Commencement that is scheduled to be held on a different date in December.

A virtual celebration for the Class of 2020 will take place on Saturday, July 25. Students will receive an email from GradImages with their personal link to upload an image of their choice. Students’ images, their names, degrees and any earned honors will be shared as part of the virtual celebration. Students must opt-in to be included in this online presentation. Students should check their spam and junk folders if their do not see an email. Students who don’t receive an email by Friday, May 22, should email Commencement@newhaven.edu.

The feasibility of hosting these activities is being explored. Details will be forthcoming once they have been confirmed.

The University will be sending the Class of 2020 caps, gowns, tassels, hoods for graduate students, and Latin honor cords, at no cost. All students registered for May commencement will receive an email from the Commencement Committee with a link to order their gowns by size. This information must be completed by June 12 in order to ensure that supplies can be appropriately packed and shipped to students to arrive in advance of the virtual ceremony. Regalia cannot be sent to students that do not provide this information. Only students on the registrar’s list of approved May graduates will be eligible to receive regalia at this time.

Students who have qualified for one of the University experiential stoles will have the opportunity to order that directly from the bookstore in advance of the December in-person event. Students who are interested in receiving affinity stoles (Greek life or clubs or organizations) should reach out to the organizations’ respective presidents or advisers for further guidance on if or how those can be distributed.

Please note that all students will need to bring their official regalia to the December event in order to participate in the procession and ceremony. No additional caps, gowns, hoods, or honor cords will be available on site.

Commencement participants will be notified via their student email. You should continue to monitor your University student email account after the completion of your coursework.

Your student email address will remain active forever, provided you use it at least once per year. Microsoft will terminate any mailbox that is inactive for a year, and there is no way for the University to reactivate the account. If you experience any issues accessing your University email, please contact the student support office at studenttechsupport@newhaven.edu. Please have your student ID available to verify your identity when contacting support. For more information, visit the Office 365 page on the Student Support website.

Students and parents with questions can email commencement@newhaven.edu.