Proposal For A Policy Change For Alverno Summer Graduates

***I have taken out some names and locations to remain private and respectful***

Dear Ms. Wagner:
In light of my recent experience and conversations with other Alverno students, I have enclosed a proposal to change the Alverno policy regarding summer graduates and when the graduates will participate in graduation ceremonies. This has recently become a concern of mine due to the fact that I will be graduating this coming August. I thought that I would be able to participate in the spring ceremony after speaking with my advisor last semester. However, I was misinformed and my letter of request to participate before completion of my program was denied. I believe participation in graduation is a very important step and a major milestone for every graduating student. Therefore, I have written a proposal for you and the committee to review, consider, and make an educated, informed decision to change this policy. I would be happy to meet with you and discuss my concerns, as well as the concerns of my peers, and to answer any questions you may have regarding this proposal. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Molly Lewis


Abstract

Many college students must take summer courses in order to graduate on time or early. More so, many transfer students must take summer courses because of the time they transferred in and the way their courses transferred. Alverno is one of the only colleges that makes summer graduates wait to participate in the commencement ceremonies until the following December when the next graduation ceremony is held.

Scope and Sequence

This proposal is to bring awareness to the Alverno policy on summer graduates and change the policy. This proposal includes the statement of the problem, proposed action to change or modify the policy for summer graduates, and a summary of the entire proposal so that an informed and appropriate decision can be made regarding the schools’ policy on summer graduates.

Statement of Problem

College students often end up having to take summer courses for many reasons: transferring into a college, falling behind, scheduling conflicts, and many more. In most other colleges and universities across the world the summer graduates participate in the spring commencement ceremonies, take their summer courses, and then receive their diploma and college transcripts in the mail. Alverno’s policy states:


Alverno College believes in the value of participation in the commencement ceremony and the value of students sharing in the event with their colleagues. In order to accommodate this practice, the August graduates march in the following December Commencement. The diploma and college transcript is mailed to the graduate. The name of the graduate appears on the commencement program with a footnote indicating the official graduation date. If for some reason, a graduate is not able to participate in the commencement ceremony, a general permit from the Registrar’s Office must be completed.


Summer graduates should not have to wait another four months to participate in the following December graduation. Most students move out of the area after graduation and many have big debts so they cannot afford to fly back to walk in graduation.

Proposed Action

I propose that Alverno take a closer look at this policy and use this proposal to understand why students think not being able to participate in graduation ceremonies until the following December as a problem, and to make the necessary changes to the policy so that students and the college are satisfied with the outcome. As of now, students may write a letter to the Dean of Students who meets with a committee and together they make a decision as to whether or not the student will be allowed to participate in the ceremony before completion of her program. Usually the decision is no, the student may not participate in the spring ceremonies.

I have most recently had a personal experience with this. I went to my advisor last fall to make sure that I was on track for graduating and that I would be able to walk in the spring ceremony. I was told that would be just fine and I would be mailed materials regarding graduation. I became concerned when I was not mailed any information so I met with my advisor again. After she made some phone calls she informed me that I needed to write a letter to the Dean of Students and explain why I wanted to participate in the graduation ceremony in May. She said given my reasoning and situation as I am moving after the summer, that I would most likely be allowed to participate. My request was denied and there was not enough time to present my situation further.

Not only have I experienced this, but many of my fellow peers have informed me that they will not be able to walk in graduation until December because they’re requests have also been denied or they didn’t even know to make a request to participate early. Most students and even faculty don’t know that a letter can be written and by the time they do know, it is often too late for anything to be done.

I understand policies have been made for reasons, but that doesn’t mean they are always right for the times and that they are concrete. I propose that the Alverno administration get students and professors’ input and feedback on this policy so that they may see how frustrated people are with it. After Alverno gets feedback about this policy they should take the steps to change this policy and enforce it.

Students who will be completing their programs in the summer should be given the option to participate early in the spring commencement and then finish their programs, or finish their programs in the summer and walk in the December graduation. They should be given this option because many students move out of the area immediately after completing summer courses, are not able to have family travel to celebrate the graduation in December, or are too busy with their new careers and families four months after completing their programs at Alverno that they cannot make it back to the college in December.

If this policy is changed, students who wish to walk early in the spring ceremonies will not receive their diploma during graduation, they must pass and complete their program and the diploma will be mailed to them upon completion.

Participating in the ceremony early isn’t right for everyone. However, students who meet certain criteria and above should be allowed to participate without hassle. Some of the criteria Alverno could choose to use when considering these students:

· The student must have received a satisfactory code in all of her coursework at Alverno including all external assessments.
· The student must not have any outstanding fines or balances with Alverno College prior to the May ceremony.
· The student may only participate in the May graduation ceremony if she has six (6) or less credits for the summer term to complete her program at Alverno.
· If the student participates in the ceremony prior to completing her program and does not pass her summer courses, she may be subject to a fine by the college.

Summary

Alverno’s policy states that students who will be completing their programs in the summer will walk in the December graduation ceremonies. Alverno is one of the only colleges that does not allow summer graduates to participate in the spring ceremonies and then finish their programs in the summer. Many students see this as a problem and are very frustrated with it. Many students end up never participating in graduation because they weren’t allowed to walk early in the spring and have since moved away from the area to come back in December. Alverno needs to update this policy to alleviate student frustration with the school.

The Alverno registrar’s office confirmed that there were 29 summer graduates (Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees) in August of 2007 along with eight graduating with a certificate. The summer of 2008 had 13 summer graduates and five receiving a certificate. Reports for students graduating in the summer of 2009 have not been released yet. However, I spoke with 25 current Alverno students and out of those 25 students, 16 plan to graduate in August of this year (2009) and four plan on graduating in the summer of 2010.

Celebrating graduation and all that it took to get that far is a major milestone. If a student meets the required criteria, she should be eligible, if she so chooses, to participate in the spring ceremony rather than wait until December. Each student that I spoke to about graduating said that she would love to participate in graduation. However, of the 16 who plan on graduating this summer, only four said that they would most likely participate in the December ceremony. This means that 12 summer graduates will not participate in any sort of graduation ceremony; mostly due to career and location changes that would not allow the time or resources to come back in December.