Over the past two months, universities and colleges around the country have been working on ways to hold their graduation ceremonies amid a pandemic.
Many institutions have decided to host commencement online, some have decided to postpone it until crowd restrictions are lifted in states and others have decided to hold both a virtual ceremony and, at a later date, an in-person one.
Wesley College, the University of Maryland (UMD), Montana State University (MSU), and the University of Hawai’i Maui College (UHMC), for example, plan to host a virtual graduation as well as a traditional ceremony later this year. Dillard University’s virtual commencement took place on May 9.
What will a virtual commencement ceremony look like?
At UMD, its virtual celebration aims to recognize the Class of 2020’s accomplishments “while still creating a unique and engaging experience to cap off this milestone,” according to Dr. Brooke Lecky Supple, assistant vice president and chief of staff in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at the school.
UMD’s commencement ceremony will be streamed across multiple platforms May 22. It will be student-focused and will include videos, messages and images from the graduates as well as a student speaker. Students can interact with the event live on social media.
Individual schools and colleges will also each host their own ceremonies and students’ names will be listed across the screen.
