By FHSU University Relations
Fort Hays State University will graduate 4,533 students this year – the total from summer and fall 2017 and spring 2018 – an increase of 11.2 percent from last year’s total of 4,075.
The spring 2017 Commencement was the first time that Fort Hays State had graduated more than 4,000 students in a year. This year’s graduating class will be the first in which doctoral degrees will be awarded.
The recent tradition of two commencement ceremonies will continue. Both ceremonies – Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12, will be in Gross Memorial Coliseum, immediately adjacent to the U.S. 183 Bypass on the south side of the FHSU campus.
“This is the biggest celebration of the year at any institution of higher education, and at Fort Hays State it keeps getting bigger and bigger,” said Registrar Craig Karlin. “The two ceremonies provide time and space for the graduates and their families to fully enjoy the culmination of their hard work.”
The ceremony Friday night, May 11, will feature graduate and undergraduate students from the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the College of Education, and the Peter Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics. It will begin at 6 p.m.
The ceremony Saturday, May 12, will feature graduate and undergraduate students from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. It will begin at 9 a.m.
For Friday’s ceremony, doors open to Gross Memorial Coliseum and Cunningham Hall at 1 p.m. Graduates can pick up name cards, caps, gowns, hoods and tassels at the coliseum’s Gate 1 from 1 to 5:45 p.m. The lineup for students graduating on Friday begins at 5:15 p.m. in Cunningham Hall.
Saturday, doors open at 7 a.m. Name cards, caps, gowns, hoods and tassels can be picked up at Gross Memorial’s Gate 1 from 7 to 8:45 a.m. Lineup in Cunningham Hall begins at 8:15 a.m.
Graduates and faculty will be seated on the main floor of Gross Coliseum.
Both ceremonies are free and open to families of graduates and to all friends of the university. No tickets are required. All seats in Gross Memorial Coliseum are first-come, first-served and are normally filled one hour before the start of the ceremony.
The graduation numbers are 615 from the summer 2017 term; 854 from the fall 2017 semester; and 3,064 from the spring 2018 semester. The overall numbers will change slightly when the degree-verification process concludes, but the total numbers for Commencement are 103 associate degrees; 3,525 bachelor’s degrees; and 905 graduate degrees – doctorates, master’s degrees and education specialist graduates. The doctoral graduates are the first six from the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
Traffic in the Gross Coliseum area is extremely heavy for Commencement. Parking lots adjacent to Gross Coliseum typically fill up quickly, but ample parking is available on the main campus. In the event of rain, unpaved lots near Gross Coliseum will be closed, making it necessary to park on the main campus.
Shuttle bus service will be provided both Friday and Saturday between the campus and Gross Coliseum. The shuttle buses will stop in parking lots and wherever drivers see people walking to or from Gross Coliseum.
Seating arrangements for the disabled are available on the main floor on either side in front of the stage. Drivers will find Gates 2 and 3, at the northwest and southwest corners, most convenient for dropping off passengers with disabilities. There are no reservations for this area. One person, if necessary, will be allowed to accompany an individual in this seating area.
An interpreter for people who are hearing impaired will be near Section C.
Persons other than degree candidates attending Commencement are asked to enter through the four coliseum gates and not through Cunningham Hall.
Commencement will also be broadcast live at https://fhsu.edu/commencement/watch-live.
Maps, directions, and general information, including links to accommodations in Hays, are available from www.fhsu.edu/commencement/. The direct link to a rehearsal video is www.fhsu.edu/commencement/rehearsal/.