Indiana University Northwest will celebrate its recent graduates during special May ceremonies on Thursday May 13, 2021. While in-person Commencement is limited to graduates only, friends and family are invited to attend virtually.
The in-person ceremonies are open to all 2020 graduates and all May and August 2021 graduates.
Graduates are invited to join virtually and celebrate from wherever they are.
All guests, including those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, are invited to celebrate Commencement virtually. 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.
Families are invited to watch the ceremony live on IU's Commencement website. If guests are unable to watch the live stream, a recorded version of the ceremony will be available at the same site hours after the conclusion of each ceremony.
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 to 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.
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.
- IU Northwest: Thursday, May 13, 10 a.m.
Planning ceremonies for early in the day gives us more flexibility in the event of severe weather.
One ticket per graduate.
To ensure the health and safety of our campuses and communities, graduates are invited to attend Commencement in person, while guests can join the celebrations online. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Commencement website, and will also be available to watch after the event.
Tickets are free for all ceremonies.
Master’s and undergraduate students at all campuses will be randomly assigned seats and will not be seated next to their school colleagues.
Your ticket indicates the time you are to arrive to the ceremony location.
IU makes all decisions in consultation with its Medical Response Team. In addition to limiting in-person ceremonies to only graduates, those who participate will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing. All IU public safety protocols, including wearing a mask and physically distancing, must be followed during Commencement.
All graduates must have two negative COVID-19 tests on file with the university in order to attend Commencement. The first required test must be completed within 3-6 days of your Commencement date and can be completed outside of IU, which you will then need to report to us. However, the second required test must be completed 1-2 days before your Commencement date and must be an IU saliva test at the campus in which you are attending Commencement. You will have these results back to you before the morning of your ceremony. For the first test, past graduates who are not currently affiliated with Indiana University must seek a COVID-19 test themselves and submit their negative test results online. Past graduates may not test at an Indiana University mitigation site for the first test. All graduates, regardless of affiliation, are required to provide a second test at their graduating campus’s mitigation site. Faculty and staff participating in Commencement will follow the same testing protocols.
All graduates must have two negative COVID-19 tests on file with the university in order to attend Commencement.
2020 graduates and others who aren't in the vicinity of an IU testing location can submit a result from a non-IU lab for their first test, but must complete a negative test at an IU testing site the day before the Commencement ceremony. If you receive your first test from a non-IU lab, you must submit your result by the submission deadline.
Test 1 May 7 - May 10, Submission Deadline May 12, 4:00 p.m.
Test 2 May 11 - May 12
Currently Enrolled Students, Faculty, and Staff Schedule Your COVID-19 Test
Students who have submitted a sample or have scheduling questions regarding a sample should email C19@IU.EDU
Consistent with IU's mitigation testing procedures, if you've reported your COVID-19 vaccination to IU and you receive your final dose at least two weeks prior to your graduation ceremony, you will be excluded from pre-Commencement COVID-19 testing.
Ceremony Vaccination Deadline, IUN Thursday, April 29
• Currently enrolled IU students, faculty, and staff should report their vaccination status through one.iu.edu and the COVID-19 Vaccine Reporting Form found there.
• Returning graduates planning to attend Commencement must confirm their vaccination status using a special form.
Everyone for whom the vaccines are currently authorized is now eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine in Indiana. The more people we get vaccinated, the better our chances of keeping everyone we love safe. Not to mention getting back to the things we love. COVID-19 vaccines are the best protection we have against the virus, so take your shot now.
If you have tested positive between 11-90 days out from the Commencement ceremony date, you can file an exemption (vaccine submission self-reporting form) for any tests. As long as the positive test comes at least 11 days before the Commencement ceremony date, you will still be allowed to attend Commencement.
90 Days from Ceremony - Friday, February 12
11 Days from Ceremony - Sunday, May 2
Rreserve a ticket for your Commencement.
For those graduating in Spring and Summer 2021, please check with your school recorder on your graduation status.
The only in-person Commencement activities will be the ceremonies for graduates. All other recognition events will be held virtually.
IU 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.
Yes. Reach out to Herff Jones for more information: Patrick Cavazos, pacavazos@herffjones.com.
All 2020 graduates who ordered and paid for official caps, tassels, gowns, hoods, and stoles will receive the complimentary use of 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 the use of complementary apparel.
