Please limit your guests to five (5) individuals. No tickets will be issued. Gates will open at 7:45 a.m. We strongly recommend that your guests arrive early, as the doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will be closed when the arena reaches maximum capacity.

Balloons and strollers are not allowed into the arena for safety reasons. Also, advise your guests that photographs and videos may be taken from their seats only.

All campus parking will be free, and all parking areas, except the area near the ROTC buildings will be open to the public. Please note that the road leading from the Wai‘alae entrance will be closed. The road will reopen following the ceremony for exiting only. Plan to arrive early, as there will be considerable congestion surrounding the campus entrances. Those needing disability parking are especially encouraged to arrive early.

You must wear your cap and gown in order to participate in the ceremony. Tassels on your caps should hang on the right of your cap until after the symbolic conferring of degrees. The front of the cap, which has the shorter point, should be centered directly over your nose. The cap should be worn squarely on the top of the head. Please refrain from decorating your caps with any items that may obstruct the view of your fellow candidates seated behind you. Please also be advised that backpacks, purses, and other bags will not be allowed on the arena floor. Please have your guests hold your personal items for you.

Complete the 3x5 name card, which you received with your cap and gown, in large, legible print about 1/2 inch high, and bring to the ceremony. Include pronunciation hints, if necessary, for the reader.

Plan to arrive early, as considerable congestion surrounding the campus is expected. Campus parking is free and all parking areas will be open to the public except the area near the ROTC buildings. The road leading from the Wai‘alae entrance to the Stan Sheriff Center will be closed before and during the ceremony. For disability access information for your guests, please call 956-GRAD. Candidates needing disability accommodations are required to contact the KOKUA program at 956-7511.

Assemble at the Stan Sheriff Center Security Entrance by 8:00 a.m. Line up behind your college sign. Friends who wish to sit side by side during the ceremony must line up one behind the other or they will be separated.

Traditionally, flower lei are not presented or worn until after the ceremony. No balloons are allowed into the Stan Sheriff Center.

Bring the printed confirmation from your online commencement registration, and fold the confirmation in half. Please present the confirmation, to the name reader as you cross the stage.

The Procession begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. under the direction of your college student marshals.

Caps should be worn at all times except during the playing of Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi, the Alma Mater and the National Anthem, when men should remove their caps.

Rise with your college when instructed to do so by your dean. Student marshals will direct candidates to the stage.

Present your printed commencement confirmation to the name reader (ensure that it is folded in half) as you cross the stage. As your name is read, move to stage center to receive diploma cover and congratulations, exit the stage and return to your original seat. Remain standing until you are instructed to be seated.

When all candidates have returned to their original seats, the Chancellor will direct you to shift your tassels to the left as a symbol of graduation and then instruct you to be seated.

Please honor your fellow candidates, who have also worked hard for this moment, by treating them with dignity and respect.

Meet your guests by the appropriate alphabetical sign on the athletic fields (A-L meet at the football practice field, M-Z meet at the soccer field). You should consider meeting guests with physical disabilities at a location closer to the Stan Sheriff Center.

Because semester records will not be available by the date of commencement, the conferring of degrees at the ceremony is provisional, pending verification that degree requirements have been met. Diplomas will be available for pickup 10 weeks after the ceremony at the Office of the Registrar, Queen Liliʻuokalani Center for Student Services 010. To receive your diploma by mail, complete a "Request to Mail Diploma" card at that office (be sure to check on postal costs for mailing outside the United States). For further information, call 956-8010.

Audience members can take photographs from their seats only. A photographer will take a photograph of each candidate receiving his/her diploma. A proof of your photograph will be sent to you via email after commencement. You may order additional photographs at that time. If you do not wish to have your contact information forwarded to the photographer so that he may send your proof, please submit your request in writing by December 3, 2012, to the Commencement Coordinator, 2500 Campus Road, Hawaiʻi Hall 209, Honolulu, HI 96822.

For further information, contact the Commencement Coordinator at graduate@hawaii.edu,
or by phone at 956-GRAD.