Summer commencement ceremonies will soon become a thing of the past at all three of Iowa’s Regents universities because of budget cuts. Officials at I.S.U. say they will discontinue summer commencement after the ceremony scheduled for this August. I.S.U. Associate Provost
David Holger says the decision followed this year’s budget reductions. "Summer was the least well-attended," Holger explained. "Only 31-percent of the undergrads who are eligible to attend summer commencement typically do – so that’s quite a bit poorer than spring or fall commencement."
The University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa discontinued summer ceremonies in past years, also because of budget reductions. Holger says officials at I.S.U. wanted to hold on to the tradition. But, they decided it made sense to end summer commencement after talking with officials at the U-I and U.N.I.
The universities have always allowed summer grads to participate in the following fall commencement. Now, I.S.U. will develop criteria for students to be recognized in spring ceremonies, if they are expecting to meet graduation requirements by the end of summer.