Commencement

The 2008 Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 10:30am at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St, N.E., Grand Rapids, MI. Graduates of December 2007, May 2008 and August 2008 will be participating in this ceremony. A reception will be held at the college immediately following the ceremony. There will be a mandatory rehearsal on Friday, May 9 at 10:00 at the church. All candidates are encouraged to be a part of the ceremony. If this is not possible for you, please notify the Registrar’s Office in writing.

You will need to order your cap and gown for the ceremony. Please download and fill out the Cap/Gown Request Form (pdf, 57kb). Once completed, return it to the Student Services Office no later than March 15, 2008. You will receive ten Commencement announcements, available in mid-April, free of charge, and can be picked up in the Student Services Office. Honor cords, if applicable, will be distributed at rehearsal. Honor cords are given to graduates with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. PLEASE DISREGARD any information regarding cap/gown and announcements from the main campus at Ferris in Big Rapids.

In order to receive your diploma (late January for December graduates, mid-to-late May for May graduates and late August for those completing in summer), the following requirements must be met:

Successful completion of all required courses.
No outstanding tuition, fines, unreturned books, etc.
Direct Loan Exit Counseling, if applicable, and Perkins Loan Paperwork must be completed. PLEASE DO NOT DISREGARD information you receive from the main campus regarding this information. Direct Loan Exit Counseling is done online at www.ferris.edu. Click on Financial Aid on the homepage, then Loans and proceed from there.
A high resolution digital image (jpg) is a GRADUATION REQUIREMENT for the BFA and MFA degrees. These images become a part of Kendall’s permanent collection and will not be returned. It should be representational of your best work from your major. It will also be shown at Commencement when you walk across the stage to receive your diploma. If for some reason you do not participate in Commencement, your work will not be shown at the ceremony. Art History majors receive a BS degree and do not have this requirement. CDs are preferred but you can email Mary Kolenda at marykolenda@ferris.edu.

IMPORTANT DATES to remember:

Cap and gown order due no later than March 15
Digital image due no later than April 15 for the Commencement ceremony
Annual Student Exhibition – Tuesday, May 6 through May 10, opening reception Tuesday, May 6 from 4-7pm.
Rehearsal – Friday, May 9, 10:00am, Fountain Street Church
Commencement – Saturday, May 10, 10:30am, reception at the College immediately following.

Any questions or concerns, please contact Mary Kolenda, Assistant to the Registrar, 616-451-2787, ext. 1104; or Sally Sauer, Registrar, ext. 1141. Fax: 616-831-9689