The College of Charleston Commencement Participation Portal will open on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, to allow members of the Class of 2020 to select their participation in commencement exercises this fall. Commencement exercises scheduled for May 2020 were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Oct. 9-11, with storm make-up dates of Oct. 23-25. Graduates may choose one of three options through the Commencement Participation Portal:
Participation Choices:
- In Person
- Virtual
- Not Participating
Graduating students must visit the Participation Portal to make their selection. The portal opens on Monday, Aug. 10, at 9 a.m. and closes at noon on Monday, Aug. 31. Graduates have only one chance to select their type of participation, so they should wait until they know their plans for certain before making a selection. Complete instructions are listed on the commencement site.
The timeline for commencement is as follows:
Timeline:
- Aug. 10 Participation Portal opens
- Aug. 31 Participation Portal closes
- Sept. 4 ceremony dates, times and which schools participate on which date and which ceremony announced. Dates and times for school award ceremonies and multicultural graduation ceremony announced.
- TBD release of tickets (number dependent on city, state and federal guidelines)
- Oct. 9-11 Commencement Weekend
- Oct. 23-25 storm make-up date for Commencement Weekend
The College of Charleston Commencement Committee is dedicated to providing graduating students with the safest and most meaningful celebration of their academic accomplishments. The scope of commencement exercises will be based on the allowable size of gatherings mandated by city, state and/or federal authorities. The committee has been working on multiple plans simultaneously to enable the College to adapt to situations as they change. The goal is to allow the greatest amount of participants and in-person audience members as possible.
The College will follow the most current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and South Carolina Department of Health and Control (SCDHEC) guidelines, at the lowest risk factor possible, to produce the final weekend plans.
The ceremony or ceremonies will be live streamed and available for future viewing on the commencement website. The name and earned honors of every eligible spring and summer 2020 graduate and undergraduate candidate will be listed in the commencement program. The program will be available electronically and hard copies will be mailed to all graduates using the mailing addresses supplied for diplomas. Each student’s name will be called during the appropriate ceremony regardless of the participation option chosen. If an in-person audience is allowed, video walls or screens will be installed in Cistern Yard to allow virtual participants to be seen. If students choose to either not participate or to participate virtually, they will be eligible to participate in a future ceremony. If students select to participate in person or virtually, they will receive a video of the portion of the ceremony when their name is called.
For complete details and instructions, visit the commencement website. If you have additional questions, please send an email to rsvp3@cofc.edu.
