IU Southeast will celebrate its recent graduates during a special, outdoor May ceremony. While in-person commencement is limited to graduates only, friends and family are invited to attend virtually.

The in-person ceremony is open to December 2019 graduates, all 2020 graduates and all May and August 2021 graduates. Students must reserve a spot ahead of time to attend and will be asked to indicate their interest in attending.

Yes, you are strongly encouraged to attend, and even though you will have been a graduate since 2019 or 2020, your class will receive special recognition and attention at commencement in spring 2021.

Graduates will still be recognized and can participate in commencement celebrations virtually.

Commencement is a cause for celebration, and we understand family and friends want to share in the excitement. Inviting guests to join virtually is the best way to allow a safe, in-person commencement experience for our graduates.

The safety and well-being of the IU community led this decision. It was made in close consultation with our Medical Response Team, which has guided IU's successful COVID-19 response for the past year. CDC guidelines recommend people avoid travel because of the continued pandemic across the U.S. and globe. Each IU campus is making its Commencement plans in coordination with county health departments, and restrictions on events and gatherings vary based on community. IU has been able to successfully manage COVID-19 cases and avoid large outbreaks through routine testing on all of its campuses, allowing us to keep our campuses open safely while some other universities had to suspend classes. Limiting in-person ceremonies to graduates only allows IU to use its proven public health strategy to ensure a safe commencement celebration.

Planning is still underway, but dates for commencement are as follows:
IU Southeast: May 10, 3:00 p.m. at the Caesar’s Foundation of Floyd County Amphitheater on the IU Southeast campus.

Graduates will be asked to indicate their interest in participating, which IU Southeast will use to determine final details of the ceremony.

IU Southeast makes all decisions in consultation with its Medical Response Team. In addition to limiting the in-person ceremony to only graduates, those who participate will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing. All IU Southeast public safety protocols, including wearing a mask and physically distancing, must be followed during commencement.

The only in-person commencement activities will be campus-wide ceremony for graduates. Other recognition events will be held virtually.

IU Southeast is continually monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic, and all plans are subject to change based on the public health outlook in each community. The university is committed to keeping its campuses safe and will communicate directly with graduates if plans change.

All 2020 graduates who ordered and paid for official caps, tassels, gowns, hoods, and stoles will receive rent-free gowns (and hoods if you earned a graduate degree) to wear at commencement. Bring your cap, tassel (and stole if you earned an undergraduate degree). You will be contacted by Herff Jones before commencement to arrange delivery of your rent-free apparel.

Only graduates will be permitted in the parking lot. Tailgating, camping, and accompanying graduates to the ceremony site will be prohibited. Commencement 2021 will be attended by graduates only, and families and friends will be able to watch the ceremony online, at a link that will be provided before commencement weekend. Travel to the IU Southeast campus by graduates’ families and friends is strongly discouraged.

Even if infection rates in communities across Indiana decline, large gatherings on campuses increase the risk of infection for everyone. IU's campuses have been among the safest places in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic because of our robust mitigation testing program, which helps us quickly identify and address any increase in cases among students, faculty and staff. The best way to ensure a safe, in-person commencement celebration for our graduates is to operate within the same, controlled environment that has allowed IU to safely keep its campuses open since the fall.