Students

Commencement

Steps to graduation

For undergraduate & professional students

To be eligible to graduate and receive your diploma, complete these steps.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

One: Apply to graduate

To be eligible to apply, you must have completed 70 hours and be certified in your major and option.

To graduate, you must first apply for graduation by completing an undergraduate and professional degree application available from your academic department or the Student Affairs office (Academic Center 130).

To complete the application:

  • Write in your name (see below) and degree program information,
  • Obtain the required signature of your department or program chair, and
  • Submit the degree application and pay the undergraduate degree application fee at the Student Affairs office.

Name on your diploma

Be sure to complete the application with your name as you wish it to appear on your diploma. Your last name (surname) must match the last name on your official record. If you request any change to your name after filing your degree application, you also need to change your name with the Undergraduate Degrees Office.

Once your diploma is printed, your name cannot be changed or your diploma reprinted. An official name change is made through the University Name and Address File support unit of Payroll Services.

Degree and date on your diploma

Be sure to notify the Undergraduate Degrees Office if you change your degree or your major, so that your to-do list may be revised. Also be sure to notify the Undergraduate Degree office (509.335.9506) if you change your graduation date. Dates are changed by completing a date change card. It is not necessary to complete another application to change your date.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Two: Review your degree audit

After applying for graduation, review your degree audit in zzusis and report any diescrepancies to your academic advisor.

Please check your degee audit carefully. If you have questions about university or General Education requirements, contact Jane Kinkel (kinkel@wsu.edu or 509.358.7537). For Honors requirements, contact the Honors College. If you have questions about the departmental requirements, contact your department.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Three: Meet graduation requirements

All requirements must be completed at the time of graduation. This includes University, General Education or Honors, and degree program requirements.

Remember to complete the Writing Portfolio, which is a university requirement for graduation. Contact the Student Affairs office, Academic Center 130, 509.358.7537 or kinkel@wsu.edu for more information.

Make sure that you have registered for all the courses you need to graduate and have submitted any work for courses with incomplete grades and any work for correspondence courses in time for grades to appear on your transcript. Also be sure to have your transcripts sent to the Office of Admissions for any courses taken at another institution.

If your department will be waiving or substituting any requirements, check to make sure that your department has filed these changes, in writing, with the Undergraduate Degrees Office.

If you will be requesting the waiving or substituting of a university or General Education requirement, you need to request a senior petition or a college petition through the Undergraduate Degrees Office.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Four: Review student account

Review your Student Account in zzusis and verify that you do not have any outstanding charges that could result in a diploma hold. It is suggested that you should check your account 30 days after graduation, as there is a possibility that you may have incurred a charge that has not been billed to your Student Account as of Graduation Day. Any balance due on your Student Account will hold your diploma.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Five: Name & address

Name change

Please inform the Undergraduate Degrees Office (509.335.9506) if you have changed your name since applying for a degree. You will also need to submit a Request for Name Change form to the Student Affairs office.

The last name (surname) on your degree application must be the same as the last name (surname) on your transcript. Your diploma is prepared from the information on your application.

Contact the Student Affairs office, Academic Center 130, 509.358.7978 or mlwest@wsu.edu if you have any questions about updating your address or changing your name in university records.

Update home & permanent addresses

Update your address in zzusis. Your diploma will be mailed to your permanent home mailing address after degrees have been conferred, approximately two months following your graduation date. Make sure that you notify the Registrar’s office immediately if your address changes during that time.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Six: Complete your student loan exit counseling

Students who have borrowed Federal Stafford and/or Federal Perkins loan funds are required to complete an exit counseling session before graduating.

Federal loans

Students with Stafford loans need to complete exit loan counseling. Two live sessions will be held on the Spokane campus. (Check important dates links for more information. Those who do not wish to attend the session in person may complete the required session on-line at www.studentloans.gov.

Students who have borrowed a Perkins, nursing or Health Professions loan will be emailed exit counseling information.

Students who have decided to postpone graduation should change their graduation date with the Registrar's Office to postpone their exit counseling requirements.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Seven: Degree verification & clearance

Candidate clearance

The Undergraduate Degrees Office will review your degree audit report and your academic records (including transcript and transfer credit report) when grades are available following your last term of enrollment. If you are cleared for graduation, your degree will be posted to your transcript approximately four to six weeks after your graduation date.

If you are not cleared for graduation, a deficiency letter will be sent to your permanent address by certified mail to notify you of remaining graduation requirements. You will have approximately two weeks to clear any requirements and remain in the graduating class.

Otherwise, you will need to change your graduation date or have your application classified as inactive. If your application is placed in the inactive file, you will have three years to complete remaining requirements. After three years, the file is destroyed and you would need to apply again.

Verify your degree

The best way to verify your degree for potential employers or graduate schools is to submit an official transcript of your academic record. Your degree will be posted to your transcript approximately two weeks following your graduation date (if all degree requirements are complete), then on a weekly basis until that class is closed. You may request a transcript before the end of the term and request that it be held until your degree is posted.

Letter of completion

If you need to verify the completion of your degree before it is posted to your transcript, you may request a letter from Lisa Hoveskeland (509.358.7530 or lisa.hoveskeland@wsu.edu), indicating that you have fulfilled all requirements. The letter will refer to you as a candidate for a degree who has completed all requirements.

Contact

Contact Lisa Hoveskeland in the WSU Spokane Student Affairs office at 509.358.7530 or lisa.hoveskeland@wsu.edu if you have any questions about degree verification or clearance.

Contact Us: spokanestudents@wsu.edu, 509-358-7978 | Student Affairs
Mailing: PO Box 1495, Spokane WA 99210-1495. Shipping: 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane WA 99202