We have all had nightmares about tripping and falling down the rickety steps from the stage, accidentally knocking over the decorative palm trees, forgetting the names of your doting professors greeting you with hugs, having your parents, friends, or spouses yell out really embarrassing things, etc. These are all serious risks that accompany graduation.  But you are on your own avoiding those.  

The goal of this article is to immunize you against some other graduation gaffes—gaffes that actually threaten your ability to transform from college student into college graduate.  So let’s begin with two of the most immediate and pressing potential gaffes.

This is huge—and so preventable.  If your degree audit says “Satisfied” from A to Z and your trusty academic advisor has blessed your schedule, and you have double-checked everything yourself, the chances of falling into this pit are nearly zero.  And yet, this fate befalls some students every semester. Completing the 120 minimum academic credits (PHED does not count), including at least 45 upper level credits, is absolutely essential. 

INSIDE TIP:  If you need additional credits, especially upper level credits, you still have time to add  internships and independent study courses through October 1. 

By filing a timely graduation application, you are saying to UMBC:  “I plan to complete my major, minor, certificate, general education program, and all miscellaneous university requirements this semester.  Please review my record and certify that I am indeed eligible to receive a diploma from this fine institution, if I am successful in courses still in progress.” Filing the application means that you expect to complete your degree and want UMBC to set the review wheels in motion.

VITALLY IMPORTANT TIP:   Applying for graduation is essential whether or not you are interested in participating in the commencement ceremony!  

Whether you are planning to graduate in the RAC this December or downtown next May, there are things you can do NOW to make the whole process less stressful.  Here is a checklist of “best practices” for avoiding painful graduation issues and problems. 

•Embrace your degree audit.  Read it, update it, make sure any course substitutions or exceptions agreed to by your major department are reflected there. And if something looks “fishy,” point it out to your academic advisor. If it is still fishy, put in a Help request through myUMBC and the Registrar’s staff will either explain it or fix it. 

•Do not put off your most problematic courses to the end.  You know exactly what I am referring to—Math-phobes avoiding Math, language-phobes avoiding foreign language, and all kinds of students avoiding both English composition and Physical Education.  Lab science is also deferred too often. Putting these courses off to your last semester places your graduation at risk and often delays graduation. 

•If you plan to use transfer courses or test results (AP, IB, CLEP) in fulfillment of requirements for your degree at UMBC, make sure you follow all the steps. This is one of the most common sources of graduation grief—not making sure the course you are taking at a community college near your home over the summer is actually equivalent to the course you need at UMBC. Completing the Verification of Transferability form takes very little time and, once approved, gives you ironclad assurance that the course will count! But you also have to send in the final transcript! 

INSIDE TIP:  If you are nearing graduation, you can bring that official transcript (sealed envelope—you know the ritual) directly to the Registrar’s office for processing. Tell the staff person you are a graduation candidate and this transcript is essential to your degree completion. This will help speed things up!  And be sure to write your full name and Campus ID on the outside of the envelope. 

Also important is sending an Advanced Placement score report to UMBC for an AP test you took years ago but is still valid as a way to earn UMBC academic credit. Finally, if you plan to “CLEP out” of a course, do it sooner rather than later so you will have time to take the course if the CLEP strategy is not successful.  

One of the biggest, ugliest, most horrifying graduation gaffes of all is: 

Participating in the ceremony is the celebration of completing your degree, which is a huge accomplishment.  When you wear your cap and gown, you are a “graduation candidate.” The timing of graduation is such that some things are still “up in the air” at the time of the commencement ceremony—final grades, for example.  

Do you have a question about the graduation process?  If so, ask away in the comment section below and we will get you an answer from an authoritative source.