Office of the Registrar
Commencement
What is Commencement?
Commencement is often referred to as 'graduation'. However, commencement is only the ceremony to celebrate the awarding of your degree. Being awarded your degree is a separate process that involves a degree audit done by Degree Checkout. Students that applied for Spring or Summer graduation are NOT guaranteed their degree will be awarded, unless they are at approved status, even if they walked at commencement. Applying for graduation and registering for commencement are two different processes.Graduation Versus Commencement
- Graduation refers to completion of your degree. Commencement refers to the actual ceremony held by the university to celebrate your class' graduation.
- Participation in commencement ceremonies does not guarantee the awarding of a degree.
- It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all requirements have been met by the established deadlines.
- Degree Checkout refers to a department of the Office of the Registrar which assess a student's fulfillment of University, general education, major, minor and/or teacher certification requirements.
CWU News
CWU helped graduate discover her passion for economics
June 22, 2026 by David Leder
Coaching mindset shines through in Dave Kopczynski’s work at CWU
June 22, 2026 by Staci Sleigh-Layman