Information for Students

In order for you to be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony and your name to appear in the program, you must submit your diploma application before November 1, 2024. After November 1, diploma applications will still be accepted; however, your name will not appear in the program. Please submit your diploma application via email to graduation@oneonta.edu or in-person to the Office of the Registrar, 130 Netzer Administration Building.

Diploma Application

A cap and gown is required to participate in the ceremony. They are available Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Red Dragon Outfitters.

Senior Portrait

Last Chance - Class of 2024 Senior Portraits!
When: Monday – Friday, November 4th – 8th

Where: Hunt Union, Oneonta Room

Schedule your portrait

Portraits will be taken in your own Business Attire and Cap & Gown
Cap/Gown attire will be provided.

Don’t forget that you can use these portraits for your Professional Networking and Job Search sites.

This will be the final opportunity to be photographed for Senior Portraits on campus!

You can access your guest tickets by going to oneonta.universitytickets.com starting on November 11, 2024. Each graduate will be provided with six guest tickets.

1. Log in (upper right corner) with your Oneonta credentials. As long as it is after November 11, 2024 you should see “Fall ’24 Commencement” under the list of upcoming events.
2. Click on “Get Tickets” button.*
   1. * If you see the following message, “These tickets are limited to specific users based on their login. See event details for further information,” then you should check with the Registrar’s Office to check that your diploma/graduation application has been submitted properly and processed. Or come to Grad HQ with questions.
3. On the next screen, you will see the full description and a green bar that says “Ticket Options.” Use the drop down box to select the number of tickets you would like (up to the max). Then click “select seats.”
4. Review your request to make sure it is correct and select “Checkout.”
5. This brings up your confirmation. You can click either of the green buttons at the top of your order details to send all of your tickets electronically via mobile (to yourself or someone else) or to download them as a .pdf to print out. Or, you can click the cell phone icon or .pdf icon next to each ticket in the list to share/download them one by one.
6. It is up to you to distribute your tickets to your guests, either electronically or printed. Each ticket has a unique barcode, so you must distribute a separate ticket to each of your guests. The same ticket cannot be used by more than one person. The barcodes will be scanned at the doors to the ceremony. Once a barcode is scanned, no one else can use that barcode. Anyone who tries to use a ticket with a barcode that has already been scanned will not be able to enter. Guests cannot get tickets from anyone but you. Please confirm with your guests that they have received the ticket(s) you share with them.

The SUNY Oneonta Philanthropy Cord recognizes students who go above and beyond by making their Senior Class Gift to the Fund for Oneonta. Every dollar donated to the Fund for Oneonta is spent to provide students with need-based scholarships and access to professional development programs.

SUNY Oneonta students and alumni have a long history of giving back to help students achieve their own dreams. In the spirit of this tradition, we encourage all graduating seniors to make their Senior Class Gift and earn their Philanthropy Cord.

Make your gift at GradHQ via cash, check or credit/debit card or make your gift now and be a part of the legacy for generations to come.

Alumni Engagement is hosting a "craft your cap" gathering on Thursday, December 5 from 5-7 p.m. in the International Lounge. There will be light refreshments and plenty of crafting supplies to decorate your cap if you choose.

If you have achieved honors, you will be able to pick up your honor medallion at the Hunt Union Information Desk starting November 18. If you have earned cords for LEAD milestones or service hours, you will be able to pick those up at the Hunt Union Information Desk as well.

Students are to arrive in the IRC lobby at 2:30 pm to be lined up for the 3pm Pass Through the Pillars.

As freshmen, you officially joined the Oneonta community by literally following in the footsteps of your predecessors and walking between the historic pillars of Old Main and toward a welcoming crowd. Now, you will walk the opposite way through the pillars --with friends, family and faculty cheering you on -- away from the hub of campus and into the next phase of your life.

Pass Through the Pillars ends with a champagne toast in the Waterfront, Hunt Union.

If you are 21 or older and would like to participate in the Champagne Toast event following Pass Through the Pillars, bring your license or state ID to be checked during line up.

Commencement is an official academic ceremony that celebrate the accomplishments of all students who have completed the requirements of their degrees at SUNY Oneonta. In recognition of the significance of commencement, all SUNY Oneonta commencement ceremony participants are required to wear full academic regalia – gown, cap, and tassel (and hood for those holding or earning master’s or doctoral degrees).

To maintain a professional, consistent, ceremonial academic atmosphere, while respecting the diverse identities and traditions of all graduating students, all commencement participants must wear full University-approved academic regalia. (Special exceptions include religious officials and military service members who may wear traditional/customary ministerial robes and military service dress uniforms, respectively.)

These procedures apply to all ceremony participants including:

• Students/Graduates
• Faculty and Staff
• Vice Presidents and Administrators
• President

Procedures

All ceremony participants are required to wear the appropriate academic regalia in concordance with their degree to participate in commencement ceremonies. (see degree-specific information below)

Wearing and adorning gowns:

• Gowns are to remain formal, with no non-academic embellishments/decorations. Gowns must remain zippered for the duration of the ceremony.
• Graduates can wear honor cords, stoles and medals depicting official university and/or department recognitions, or national organization honors. Award pins from organizations are worn on clothes, not academic robes.

Wearing and decorating caps/mortarboards:

• Graduates may decorate the top of their mortar board.
• Only the top of the mortar board may be decorated. Decorations must remain flat (not increase the height of the cap) so they don’t obstruct the view of other participants.
• Only the traditional tassel may hang down from any sides of the cap.
• It is appropriate for mortarboard decorations to have expressions of well-wishes and gratitude or affiliation with campus sanctioned organizations.
• Decorations should be tasteful and cannot contain advertisements, promote disruptive behavior, reference illegal activities, contain obscenities or slurs, or threaten the safety and welfare of others.
• The cap should be worn flat on the head, so the mortarboard remains parallel to the ground. Do not lean it backwards or sideways – it must not impede the view of those behind you and will be more likely to fall off.

Bachelor’s Academic Regalia

• Includes black academic gown, black mortarboard, and tassel.
• Undergraduate students who are graduating with academic honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude) will receive a special academic honors medallion from the University during Grad HQ.

Master's Academic Regalia

• Includes master's gown, master's hood with identifying discipline color, black mortarboard, and tassel.

Faculty/Staff/Administrator Academic Regalia

• Includes gown, tam, tassel, and hood representing the higher education institution from which they received their highest degree.
• SUNY Oneonta’s official presidential regalia is specific to the president and the University.

All commencement ceremony participants should secure regalia from the Red Dragon Outfitters according to the deadlines listed on their website. Costs for commencement regalia are the responsibility of each graduate. Faculty and staff participants are responsible for securing their own regalia – if needed, gowns, hoods, tams, and more are available for rent or purchase through Red Dragon Outfitters.

The University reserves the right to require ceremony participants remove any adornments or modifications to regalia that are not in alignment with the above procedures before they can participate in the Commencement ceremony.

On Commencement day, Sunday, December 8:

• Arrive to campus early. You will be directed to the nearest open parking lot.
• Graduates check in one-hour prior to each ceremony:
  • Bachelor's degree candidates must check in at the Chase Gymnasium one hour before your ceremony starts. Here you will line up in alphabetical order within your academic department and get ready to process into the ceremony.
  • You must come dressed in your cap and gown. You will not be able to leave any personal items in Chase. Any bags or belongings will have to be carried in with you to the field house. We recommend you only bring essential items.
  • Master's degree candidates must check in at the Dance Studio of Alumni Field House one hour before your ceremony starts. Here you will line up in alphabetical order within your academic department and get ready to process into the ceremony.
• Guests report to the Alumni Field House or IRC:
  • Guests with tickets will be able to enter the Alumni Field House up to one hour before your ceremony begins. Only guests with tickets will be permitted to enter the Alumni Field House.
    • Non-ticketholders will be able to watch a live-stream of the ceremony on campus in IRC, room 3. The live stream will also be accessible from the commencement webpage for any friends or family who want to watch from home.
• Celebrate on social media!

What to Bring

• Your regalia. (see regalia procedures above)
• Comfortable shoes that you can walk, stand and navigate stairs in. You will be walking to Alumni Field House and standing for several minutes at a time before and during the ceremony.

What Not to Bring

• Bags/backpacks, bulky jackets, or other unnecessary items. You cannot leave any items in the area where you line up. We do not recommend you bring bags or other items as these will have to be carried with you during the processional and stored under your chair during the ceremony.
• Signs, banners/flags, selfie sticks or any other objects that might block the view of others or interrupt the ceremony. These are not permitted in the Alumni Field House.
• Noisemakers of any kind or balloons. These are not permitted in the Alumni Field House.
• Alcoholic beverages. Alcohol (including champagne) of any kind is not permitted anywhere on campus.