Student Affairs

Commencements:

Graduation Forms:

Overview of Commencement Ceremonies

Commencement recognizes and celebrates students’ successful completion of their academic programs. All full-time, campus-based students who are graduating are required to attend this exciting event. On-line students are encouraged to attend. The Senior Awards Dinner Dance is a celebration of our graduates’ achievements. It is a chance for students, family members, faculty and administration to mingle and share in one more important occasion prior to commencement.

Students enrolled in the Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Optometry, Medical Sciences, and Dental Medicine, including programs in Public Health, Medical Informatics, Clinical Vision Research, and Craniofacial Research, will participate in the May Commencement. Students who have successfully completed all their requirements for the bachelor of vision science will not participate in the May commencement, but must fill out the application for degree/diploma by February 27th. Students in the College of Allied Health and Nursing will participate in the August Commencement. These programs include: Anesthesiologist Assistant, Audiology, Health Sciences, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, and Vascular Sonography. Specific information regarding these events can be found on the links below.

Application for Degree/Diploma

During the commencement ceremony, graduates will be called to the stage, announced as candidates for graduation, hooded if in a graduate program, and awarded certificates of congratulations. Diplomas are not distributed at commencement. In order to receive the official diploma, graduates complete in an online Application for Degree/Diploma. Diplomas will be mailed by the Registrar’s office to the graduates’ home address. Graduates should confirm their home addresses via WebStar.

Deadline dates to fill in the Diploma Form are listed on the Web pages for the May and August Commencements. Please have your NSU ID number and pin number with you and click on this link to fill in the Online Application for Degree/Diploma:  https://www.nova.edu/sbin/degreeapp/

Important Instructions:

Please take a moment to review your name, address, and telephone number in WebSTAR to ensure that we have the correct information on file should we need to contact you in the future. Make any corrections to your address and telephone number while in WebSTAR.

While in WebSTAR, it is important that you also view your online transcript (i.e. , degree, major, grades, etc.). Should you find any discrepancies, please notify the registrar’s office immediately by sending an email to nsuregistrar@nsu.nova.edu. As part of this process, you should review your account to ensure there are not holds and/or outstanding balances. This will expedite the degree conferral process.

The last step in the process to apply for your degree is to remit payment. Once you have completed the information on the Application for Degree/Diploma form and press Submit, you will be given a link to go to for payment. Please make note of the fee associated with your degree program:

Health Professions Division

  • Graduates enrolled in full-time on-campus programs - $225.00
  • Graduates enrolled in an online program, or a program that does not require attendance at graduation (see handbook), and who do not intend to participate in the commencement or senior awards dinner dance - $ 75.00
  • Graduates enrolled in post graduate dental programs including Endodontics, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Oral Surgery, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, and Advanced Education for Dental Graduates - $ 125.00
  • Graduates enrolled in online program, a program that does not require attendance at graduation (see handbook), who do plan to attend the commencement and/or the senior awards dinner dance - $ 225.00

Please Note: In order to make the commencement process run smoothly, students in the following programs will be charged for their graduation fee automatically with their last didactic course.

Students in these programs should go into WebSTAR to confirm that the charge has been satisfied (paid) through financial aid or other form of payment. If not, payment should be made during the last semester of coursework.

  • Dr. of Health Science
  • Dr. of Physical Therapy (Entry Level)
  • Part Time Physical Therapy
  • Physician Assistant (Fort Lauderdale)
  • Physician Assistant (Naples)
  • Physician Assistant (Orlando)
  • Master of Occupational Therapy
  • Master of Health Science (Anesthesiologist Assistant)
  • Dr. of Audiology
  • Nursing (Entry Level only)
  • Dr. of Dental Medicine
  • Master of Biomedical Science
  • Dr. of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Dr. of Pharmacy (all programs)

To make the graduation payment in WebSTAR:

  • Log into WebSTAR (Click "Enter Secure Area"), using your NSU ID number and PIN.
  • Click on the link for "Student Services and Registration"
  • Click on the link for "Student Records"
  • Click on the link for "Make a Credit Card Payment"
  • Select the Appropriate Term (i.e. , Summer 2008)
  • Make the payment for $ 225.00 if attending commencement weekend or $ 75.00 if not participating in commencement weekend.

Senior Awards Dinner Dance

A big part of the commencement weekend festivities involves the Senior Awards Dinner Dance. This event, which is sponsored by the administration of the Health Professions Division, is held on the Friday or Saturday night prior to commencement. Information regarding these events can be found on the May and August Webpages.

Graduation Rehearsal

All graduates are required to attend a graduation rehearsal, which is traditionally scheduled for the Thursday prior to graduation. More information can be found on the individual May and August Webpages.

Required Information

There are several online forms that must be submitted for graduation. These forms include:

Hooding

Hooding is a tradition practiced by the Health Professions Division where a new graduate receiving a Master’s Degree or higher is welcomed into the profession by another member of that profession. In general, the Dean will be hooding each of the graduates. However, there are exceptions to this rule. If you have an immediate family member who is a graduate with the same degree that you have received, or if you have an immediate family member who is on faculty at NSU Health Professions Division, that family member may be allowed to hood you. Please note: We define an immediate family member as a spouse, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister, brother, grandparent, son or daughter.

Announcements

Each graduating senior is eligible to receive ten commencement announcements. You may use these to inform your family and guests of your upcoming graduation. Please note that in order to gain entry into the Commencement Exercises, your guests do not need to bring a ticket or announcement. (See Commencement Section). You must order your 10 free announcements by filling in the online announcement order form. Please note that you will not receive the free announcements unless you fill out the attached order form and return it to the NSU bookstore. Anyone wishing to purchase additional announcements may order them on-line at www.herff-jones.com/college. You will be notified by e-mail of specific dates and times when the announcements will be available for pick up. If you cannot pick them up yourself, you may contact the bookstore at (954) 262-4750. If you need the announcements to be mailed to you, additional shipping fees will apply.

The College has contracted with Herff Jones to make available to students a selection of College rings You may view them on line at www.herff-jones.com/college.