Graduation & Convocation

The Office of the Registrar is the sole authority responsible for evaluating student academic records to ensure all program completion and graduation requirements are met as approved by Education Council. This includes validating all courses completed, residency requirements, and minimum grades achieved.
 

Application for Graduation

Each degree, diploma, or certificate candidate must formally apply to graduate by completing the Application for Graduation available on myCamosun. Students who are not eligible to graduate will submit another application by the appropriate future deadline.

Application Deadlines

All dates and deadlines regarding graduation application periods and convocation ceremonies are located in Important Dates & Notices  .

Outstanding Accounts

Students owing fee, fines, or other charges will not be eligible to receive their parchment or official Camosun College transcript.
 

Credentials

A credential is evidence of program completion and is represented as a notation on the academic transcript. A parchment is a document that recognizes the credential. See Academic Regulations  for more information on credential standards.

Academic Transcripts

After official verification and after completion of the conferral process, the Registrar’s Office includes an official notation on all academic transcripts of graduated students that the degree, diploma, or certificate has been awarded. This notation includes the major(s) and any specialization, as well as any academic distinction, Internship, or Co-operative Education designations.

Conferral

The conferral of degrees, diplomas, and certificates occurs three times per year to correspond to the Fall, Winter and Summer semesters for those who have completed all program requirements in the previous term and applied to graduate by the posted deadlines. Once produced, parchments are mailed to the address indicated on the application to graduate.

Parchments

Name on Parchments

Typically, the full legal name of the graduate will appear on the parchment. However, the College recognizes and supports that many members of its community may choose to use a first name other than their legal name to identify themselves. In such cases, a student may wish to have their ‘chosen’ first name on their parchment. Students are encouraged to carefully consider, as once conferred a credential cannot be altered.

However, the full legal name of the graduate will appear on the transcript.

Issuing of Parchments

The original parchment is provided to the graduate as part of the credentialing process.

The Office of the Registrar will maintain a standard for parchments, including naming conventions, design, and signatures, ensuring consistency with commonly accepted practices. 

Certificates of Completion are prepared and issued by the offering school/unit, using a standardized template provided and maintained by the Office of the Registrar. 

Parchment(s) will be issued only after all graduation requirements are met, the student has applied for graduation, and the graduation audit has been conducted and verified. 

Upon formal request, the Registrar’s Office will issue a replacement credential to a graduate whose name has changed or whose credential has been lost/destroyed.

Note: Credentials will not be issued for a student whose file has a restriction/hold.
 

Convocation

Graduates

Graduates include only those whose degrees, diplomas, or certificates have been approved and who have no outstanding accounts with the College. The list of graduates is compiled and maintained by the Registrar’s Office.

The graduates process as a discrete group, sit in an area reserved for graduates, and proceed to the platform to have their credential conferred under the guidance of the Marshals of the Graduates. Unless a graduate can demonstrate a special need (e.g. service dog), no one except approved graduates will process and sit with the graduates, or appear on the platform for conferral.

Guests

Guest seating at Convocation is open to the general public subject to availability of seats within prescribed safety limits of the venue. However, the first priority for guest seating is assigned to invited guests of Camosun College graduates.

Platform Party

The Platform Party includes the Registrar, the President, the Chair of the Board of Governors, Deans, Vice-Presidents, and all those distinguished guests invited to Convocation by the President. The Platform Party processes as a discrete group and sits according to a seating plan in a reserved area of the platform.

Academic Staff Party

The Academic Staff Party is restricted to current and retired faculty members. The Academic Staff process as a discrete group and sit on the platform.

Academic Dress

At Convocation, graduates wear celebratory regalia associated with the credential conferred, as described below.

Gown

Bachelor’s degree graduates wear a black gown.

Diploma and certificate graduates wear a blue gown.

If graduates are members of an Indigenous nation, the military, or wish to honour their cultural heritage, they may wear their regalia, uniform, or national dress in place of the traditional graduation gown.

Hood

Hoods are worn by those who graduate with Bachelor’s degree or Post-Degree credential. The colours of each hood are established by the Registrar in accordance with standards of practice at post-secondary institutions in Canada.

Cap

Graduates in the academic procession will be provided with the approved academic headwear which is worn at the Convocation ceremony.

Graduates may opt to wear religious headwear or cultural Indigenous headwear in place of the academic cap provided.