Spring Commencement
Friday, May 16, 2025
7:00 p.m. / McVean Student Center Gymnasium
Congratulations! Your commencement is a special time for you and your family. We are excited to celebrate with our December 2024, May 2025 and August 2025 candidates for graduation! Please review the information below to ensure you complete the steps required and know all the details of your big day!
1) Complete the Application for Degree/Certificate
All potential May and August graduates are required to submit an Application for Degree/Certificate to Enrollment Services, Jules Center, building 6, suite 6-010 by Friday, April 25,
2025. If you have any questions about the application or graduation requirements,
please email studentrecords@sunyjefferson.edu, call (315)786-2437 or stop into Enrollment Services.
2) Pick up your cap, gown and tickets
May/August candidates for graduation can pick up your cap and gown in the JCC Bookstore
between April 28 and May 9, 2025 (no need to pay or pre-order). If you are a December
graduate who did not pick up your regalia in December, you may do so between April
28 and May 9. Your regalia includes the cap, gown, hood, and tassel specific to your
program of study. It will also include any special honors you received from the college,
such as Phi Theta Kappa and Honors Program stoles, as well as military cords for active
duty soldiers and veterans. The cost of your cap and gown is included in your student
life fee.
Tickets: If you are participating in the Commencement Ceremony and pick up your regalia by May 9, you can receive up to four (4) guest tickets for McVean Gymnasium seating when picking up your regalia from the Bookstore. There may be limited availability of extra tickets after May 9.
Guests without a ticket are welcome to view the ceremony live via closed circuit telecast in the air-conditioned Sturtz Theater. We also live stream the College's Commencement exercises via www.sunyjefferson.edu.
Note: Children attending the ceremony must have a ticket and be accompanied by an adult. Strollers are not permitted in the McVean Gymnasium or the Sturtz Theater.
3) Reserve seating for special accommodations
We are happy to reserve seats for your guests who need special accommodations (i.e.
difficulty with stairs/bleachers, use of wheelchair or walkers). Graduates must stop
in the JCC Bookstore to complete an accommodative needs seating request form. It
is important that the form is completed and submitted no later than Wednesday, May 14 so that the College may easily accommodate all requests.
4) Sign up for free childcare
Jefferson Campus Care will provide free childcare during the Commencement Ceremony
and reception (6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) for children of both graduates and their guests.
Children must be aged 18 months – 12 years old. Please contact Jefferson Campus Care at (315) 786-2357 by 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 to register. Note: walk-ins will not be permitted.
5) Attend Commencement Rehearsal on Friday, May 16, 2025
A brief commencement rehearsal will take place at 12:30 p.m. (just after Senior Send-off
taking place from 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.). Please meet Faculty Marshals in the McVean
Gymnasium at 12:30 p.m. so we can practice the ceremony and answer any questions you
may have.
6) Enjoy a free lunch at Senior Send-Off: Friday, May 16, 2025
Senior Send-Off, a free luncheon for graduates with music and prizes, begins at 11:30
a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Jules Center Commons.
Your Big Day – when/where to arrive for Commencement
Students: Please be robed and lined up on the Quad, as instructed at rehearsal, by 6:30 p.m. You must pick up your "line-up card" from faculty at the check-in tables located near to the Clock Tower. Robing assistance will be available outside the Gregor Building (#5) lobby and outside the Dulles Building (#3) lobby. Should weather force the processional to line-up inside, updated information will be posted here.
Guests: Your guests may enter the gymnasium at the doors adjacent to Parking Lot D beginning at 6:30 p.m. Handicapped /special needs guests may also disembark at this entrance. Guest seating is available in the bleachers; the first two rows are reserved for special accommodations. Guests must present tickets (for adults and children) to enter the gymnasium. Strollers are not permitted in the gymnasium.
The JCC Bookstore (in the Jules Center), will be open on the evening of commencement from 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Other important details
Flowers and Commemorative T-Shirts
Flowers will be available for purchase at the Commencement Ceremony or can be pre-ordered
by clicking the following link: https://www.thecommencementgroup.com/jefferson/. Flowers should be presented after the ceremony is concluded; participants should
not carry flowers in the processional.
A commemorative Jefferson Community College Class of 2025 t-shirt with the names of graduates on the back will be available for purchase ($30) at the commencement ceremony or can be pre-ordered by clicking on the following link: https://www.thecommencementgroup.com/jefferson/.
Professional Photographs
A professional photographer will be at Commencement to photograph you on stage with
the College President after you receive your diploma. Immediately following the ceremony,
you will have an opportunity to have a second formal photograph of you with your diploma
in a special area inside the Courtyard Cafeteria. Both of these photos will be provided
to you free of charge. The digital images will be sent to the email address in our
records.
Photo Area in Jules Center Commons: There will be an area for you take photos with family and friends (and Boomer!) after the ceremony in the Jules Center Commons. We will have we will have staff on hand to help by taking the pictures for you.
Live webcast of the ceremony
Jefferson will live-stream the College's Commencement exercises via www.sunyjefferson.edu. The link will be available about 15 minutes before the start of the ceremony.
Commencement Video
A video of the ceremony will be available (in segments) for free on YouTube (search
for SUNY Jefferson channel).
Diplomas
Only diploma covers will be handed out at Commencement. Diplomas are mailed mid–June
following a graduation audit of your records.
Questions? Contact Michaela Frederick via email, commencement@sunyjefferson.edu, or by calling 315-786-2404.
FAQs for Graduates and Guests
No, the cost is included in your student life fee.
Your regalia will be available in the JCC Bookstore beginning Monday, April 28, 2025 through Friday, May 9, 2025. Regalia includes the cap, gown, hood, and tassel specific to your program of study. It will also include any special recognition you received from the college, such as Phi Theta Kappa and Honors Program stoles, as well as military cords.
Contact the JCC Bookstore at (315) 786-2260.
Yes. You can pick up your cap, gown and tassel in the Bookstore between April 28 - May 9. If needed, please call the Bookstore at (315) 786-2260 to make alternate arrangements.
You can receive up to four (4) guest tickets when you pick up your cap and gown in the JCC Bookstore beginning Monday, April 28. Tickets will only be given to graduating students. If you are not currently living locally, please call the Bookstore at (315) 786-2260 to make alternate arrangements.
A ticket is required to enter the Commencement Ceremony in the McVean Gymnasium, however, guests without a ticket are welcome to view a live video stream of the ceremony in the College’s air-conditioned Sturtz Theater or on the College's website, www.sunyjefferson.edu.
Yes. All children in attendance must have a ticket and be accompanied by an adult. Please be aware that strollers are not permitted in the McVean Gymnasium.
Free childcare is available for children ages 18 months – 12 years old. Please contact Jefferson Campus Care at (315) 786-2357 by 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 to register. Note: walk-ins will not be permitted.
First, please check-in at the table located near to the Clock Tower on the Quad. This is where you will pick up your "line up card". Then, you will line up with your Academic School at 6:30 p.m.:
School of Arts & Humanities - outside of Gregor Building 5.
School of Business, Hospitality & Tourism - outside of Guthrie Building 2.
School of Education, Behavioral Science and Public Services - outside of Gregor Bldg
5.
School of STEM and Health Professions - outside of Guthrie Building 2.
SUNY Potsdam students - outside of Dulles Building 3.
Marshals will be available to assist with proper line-up. Robing assistance will be available. Please be sure to allow extra time to do this, if needed, as the procession to the gymnasium begins at 5:55 p.m. Representatives from each of the four Schools and from SUNY Potsdam will assist with lining up for the march. It is important that you arrive on time to ensure everyone receives clear instructions for the ceremony.
There will be signs posted in the JCC parking lots directing you and your guests to available parking in Lots C and D.
Yes! Stop in the Bookstore to complete an accommodative needs seating request form. It is important that you complete the form prior to May 14 so that the College may easily accommodate all requests.
The link will be available on the College’s homepage sunyjefferson.edu at 6:45 pm. on May 16.