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.
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.
All decisions about events on IU's campuses are based on recommendations from our Medical Response Team. IU will only allow up to 500 spectators for games played at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. This includes immediate family members of participating players and staff, and a limited number of seats for vaccinated medical personnel and first responders in Monroe County.
IUPUI hosts its home games at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum through an agreement with the Indiana State Fair, which operates the venue and worked directly with the NCAA to determine the capacity for spectators at the tournament.
Commencement ceremonies involve thousands of graduates alone. The scale of these events makes hosting in-person ceremonies for graduates only, while guests join virtually, the best way to ensure the safety of our students and campuses. Travel to IU's campuses is strongly discouraged to minimize the risks of COVID-19.
- 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. 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 Thursday May 13, 2021 Commencement ceremony.
TEST 1 May 7 - May 10
TEST 2 May 11 - May 12
More information about where to get tested, and how to submit non-IU test results, will be shared in the coming weeks.
Students who have submitted a sample or have scheduling questions regarding a sample should email C19@IU.EDU
More information about testing requirements for those who've been vaccinated will be shared soon.
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.
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.
