Before the Ceremony

Reserve Your Spot

Participating in commencement is a memorable event for all students. We’ve made reserving your space and ordering your gown for commencement quick and easy! To ensure you are registered and ready to go, complete the Commencement Ceremony Entry Form in BRUIN, or come to a cap and gown measurement session and submit your entry form in person.

Commencement Entry Deadline

Please submit your Commencement Ceremony Entry Form either in person or online, by April 1, 2013.

We understand that sometimes things come up. If you miss the deadline date, you may still enter the ceremony and order your cap and gown for a late fee of $50, but your name may not appear in the commencement ceremony program. You also have the option of participating in the January 25, 2014 Winter Commencement Ceremony instead.

Degree Conferral

Participation in the commencement ceremony does not mean your degree has been conferred. We confer degrees daily, effective the last day of each month. Once the Registrar’s Office has verified that your degree program is 100% complete, we will notify you via your student email and ask you to order your diploma online. Your diploma will arrive approximately eight weeks after the conferral date. At the commencement ceremony, you will receive your diploma cover, but not your diploma.

If you have not yet received notification from the Registrar’s Office, you may check your Advisement Report in BRUIN under My Info. If it indicates your degree is 100% complete, you may complete the Diploma Order Form. Please do not complete the Diploma Order Form if your report indicates an incomplete degree, as early submission of the form may delay conferring your degree. We ask that you clear all obligations to the University so we can release your diploma.

If your Advisement Report does not indicate you have reached 100% completion when you believe it should, please contact your Academic Advisor. If you have questions regarding your diploma, please contact Student Records at sssstudentrecordsteam@bellevue.edu or 800-756-7920, ext. 557-7386.

Commencement Regalia

We are pleased to provide your regalia which includes a cap and tassel for you to keep, and lend you a gown and hood (if applicable) to participate in the commencement ceremony.

The approved regalia consists of a black cap, a black gown for both men and women, and a tassel. PhD students will wear a doctoral hood and regalia and there will be a formal hooding during the ceremony. Graduates receiving a master’s degree wear a master’s hood. Undergraduate participants meeting the criteria wear stoles designating honors, if applicable. Those who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces wear red, white, and blue cords in addition to their commencement regalia. If you wish to wear items other than the approved regalia, you will need to submit a written request to the Chief Academic Officer 60 days prior to the commencement ceremony. If you fail to comply with standards for regalia, you will not be allowed to participate in commencement exercises.

To make it easy for you, we have set up a couple of options for you to submit your Commencement Ceremony Entry Form, either online or in person. You can submit your entry form online and measure yourself for your cap and gown. Instructions for measuring are located on the Commencement Ceremony Entry Form. You also may call the Commencement Coordinator’s office at 800-756-7920, ext. 557-7012 for help with self measurement. If you choose to be measured in person, please stop by at any of the following dates, times, and locations. No appointments are necessary.

Date	Main Campus/Student Center	West Omaha/Lozier
Monday, March 25, 2013	5 - 6:30 PM	4:30 - 6 PM
Tuesday, March 26, 2013	11 AM - 1 PM	4:30 - 6 PM
Wednesday, March 27, 2013	5 - 6:30 PM	4:30 - 6 PM
Thursday, March 28, 2013	11 AM - 1 PM	4:30 - 6 PM

• The Main Campus is located at 1000 Galvin Road South, Bellevue, Nebraska 68005.
• The West Omaha/Lozier Campus is located at 2810 North 118th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68164.

Tassels

For all academic purposes, including trimmings of doctoral gowns, edging of hoods, and tassels of caps, these colors are associated with the different disciplines.

Tassel Color	Degree Earned
Metallic Gold	Doctor of Philosophy
Salmon Pink	Master of Healthcare
Peacock Blue	Master of Public Administration
Drab	Master of Business Administration Master of Project Management
White	Master of Arts Bachelor of Arts
Gold	Master of Science Bachelor of Science
Brown	Bachelor of Fine Arts

Cap and Gown Pick Up

Please pick up your cap and gown during the following dates and times. No appointment is necessary.

Our graduates who have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces will be recognized during commencement. Please bring proof of service when picking up your cap and gown to receive your military service recognition cords.

Bellevue University Main Campus (Quiet Lounge in the Margre H. Durham Student Center):

• Tuesday, May 28, 2013
• Wednesday, May 29, 2013
• Thursday, May 30, 2013
• 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM and 4:30 – 6:30 PM on all days

All caps and gowns not picked up by 6:30 PM, Thursday, May 30, will be available at the Mid-America Center when you arrive at 8 AM on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

If you pick up your cap and gown and are unable to attend the commencement ceremony, please return the gown, honor stole, and/or hood to the Commencement Coordinator in the Freeman/Lozier Library, Rm. 452, so you will not be charged and your diploma can be released. The cap and tassel are yours to keep.

Honors - Undergraduate

If you have completed a minimum of 60 credit hours here at the University, you may be eligible for honors at graduation. Credit hours earned with grades of pass/fail, CLEP/DSST, ELA, New York University Foreign Language Proficiency Exams and other transfer credits do not count toward graduation honors.

You will receive a degree with honors if your cumulative grade point average in courses taken at Bellevue University falls within the following limits:

Red Stole	Summa Cum Laude	3.95 to 4.00
Gold Stole	Magna Cum Laude	3.88 to 3.94
Green Stole	Cum Laude	3.76 to 3.87
White Stole	With Distinction	3.60 to 3.75

Honors - Graduate

Graduate honors are not awarded for master’s or doctoral degrees. Rigorous academic standards must be maintained in all graduate programs. In the academic tradition, there is no higher honor than to be admitted as a graduate student and ultimately receive a graduate degree.

Graduation Open House

May 31, 2013 — 4:30 - 7 PM

Campus Map
RSVP form

Margre H. Durham Student Center – Main Campus

You and your guests are invited to attend this fun opportunity to connect with your instructors, classmates, and Academic Advisor. The event will include hors d’oeuvres and guided campus tours. You will also have opportunities to record a “Shout Out” and pose for professional photographs in your Commencement regalia. If you would like to attend this event please complete the Graduation Open House RSVP form.

Nominate a Student Speaker

You have the opportunity to nominate the Student Speaker for the June 1, 2013 Spring Commencement Ceremony. Candidates may be nominated from the senior undergraduate and graduate class. Nominations will be accepted until 5 PM March 15, 2013. The nomination form is located in BRUIN, Student Resources, Commencement, Student Speaker Nomination Form.

Qualifications

• Nominees must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
• Nominees must be in good academic standing with the University.
• Students can nominate themselves or be nominated by faculty, staff, or fellow students.

Nominees

Nominees must submit brief answers to the questions on the nomination form. If nominated by someone other than themselves, the questions will be sent to the nominee to complete and return by the deadline date of March 15, 2013. Selected nominees will be asked to deliver a 2-3 minute “preview” speech before the Student Speaker Selection Committee.

The speech will be judged on the content (unique perspective, motivational aspects, relevant quotations, and anecdotes), presentation style, and delivery.

The commencement Student Speaker will receive:

• Participation in the platform party processional and stage seating
• Photograph and bio information printed in the Commencement Program
• Bouquet of flowers

For more information please visit bellevue.edu/thebigday or call 800-756-7920, ext. 557-7013.

Announcements

Bellevue University does not supply announcements for your graduation, but we welcome you to order announcements and/or class rings if you wish. The following company can meet these needs for you:

Signature AnnouncementsTM – www.signaturea.com

Graduation Photography

If you wish to have photos taken commemorating this special occasion, we encourage you to have an individual portrait taken during cap and gown pick up in the Student Center Quiet Lounge on the Main Campus. Kim Photography is extending an exceptional price for graduation photos and no reservations are necessary.

Kim Photography also will be set up and available immediately following the graduation ceremony in the Exhibition Hall at the Mid-America Center.

Shout Outs and Tweets

You will have opportunities during your cap and gown pick up and the graduation open house to record a video “Shout Out.” We will play the video “Shout Outs” and Tweets on the big screens at commencement before the ceremony. They also will be included if you order a commencement ceremony DVD.

“Shout Outs” are brief video clips or tweets of graduating students sending out messages to family and friends, thanking them for their love and support. An example of a video Shout Out: “Hi, Mom and Dad. Thanks so much for your love and support during my time at Bellevue University. It has been a great experience and I could never have made it without you.”

A Tweet example: Adam L. @along1013

• Thanks to my parents - Aaron & Liane for guiding me to this day. Thanks for your support, motivation, and love! Proud BUGrad #BUGrads

If you can’t make it to campus to record a Shout Out, you can still join the party on Twitter! Starting on Friday, May 31, 2013:

• Follow @BellevueU on Twitter.
• Use the hashtag #BUGrads when composing your Tweet.
• Tweet it! Your Tweet will appear on the big screens at graduation and on bellevue.edu/thebigday.

If you’re not a Twitter user, join us on Facebook at facebook.com/BellevueUniversity. For information on how to sign up for Twitter, check out: http://support.twitter.com.

Lodging

The following metro-area hotels are located very close to the Mid-America Center, where the commencement ceremony is held, and within 20 minutes of the University. Please mention Bellevue University when booking your reservation.

• Springhill Suites
• 3216 Plaza View Drive,
• Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501
• 712-256-6500

• Country Inn & Suites by Carlson
• 17 Arena Way,
• Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501
• 712-322-8282
• (Connected to the Mid-America Center via Skywalk)

• Hilton Garden Inn
• 2702 Mid America Drive,
• Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501
• 712-309-9000

• Holiday Inn Express
• 2211 South 32nd St,
• Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501
• 712-352-1300