All you need to know about Convocation 2022

Graduation is one of the greatest day’s in a person’s life. Receiving your diploma is a reward for all those long nights studying for exams and trying to meet assignment deadlines. But many students are unaware of all the requirements for graduation, some of the rules of the convocation ceremony, and what a student needs to prepare for before convocation.

Let’s start off with some of the requirements of graduation. Obviously, for a student to graduate, they need to complete and pass all the courses in their program, but students also need a GPA above 60 per cent to be considered for graduation. Other programs may require work placement hours to be fulfilled in order to graduate. Students can use a tool called My Academic Progress (MAP), which is in MyMohawk, to keep track of their academic progress.

“Students are responsible for being aware of all program requirements and their progress through the program and we try to equip them with the tools to do this by providing the MAP tool which provides students with a centralized place to find important academic information as they move through their program,” said Joicelin Muis, Student Service Representative at Mohawk College. “Keeping an eye on MAP provides a visual for students to know that they are on the right track and that at the time of grad clearance there will not be any outstanding program requirements.”

Once you meet the academic requirements, graduands need to make sure that they have no outstanding debts with the college. Students will not be able to receive their diploma/degree without paying off any money they owe. Graduands also need to make sure that their name is on the grad list as the college will not do this automatically. Your department will have until the end of May to make corrections to the grad list.

It’s now time for convocation ceremony. This year’s ceremony will take place during the week of June 20-24 and the official schedule will be posted by mid-April. Students need to show up at the right time and day because different schools at the college have different ceremonies on the same days.  Graduands are prohibited from wearing hats and carrying anything into the theatre at the time of the ceremony with exceptions for Indigenous students, military personnel, or religious reasons. COVID-19 has made this year’s convocation different.

“While the COVID-19 health and safety protocols that are currently in place will be suspended as of April 18, there will be a number of safety precautions in place,” said Bill Steinburg, Communications Advisor at Mohawk College. “Should circumstances change with regard to COVID-19 in the community and Public Health authorities recommend any additional guidelines, the college will continue to ensure that the convocation, and all college activities, are in compliance.”