Students should wear comfortable attire under their gowns.
Caps, gowns, and announcements are sold by the Georgia Highlands College Bookstore. You can order online at Herff Jones. The web address is https://www.herffjones.com/college/georgiahighlands. For additional information, please visit bookstore@highlands.edu or phone 706-295-6359.
Students with 1-6 credits remaining who will complete those degree requirements the summer following the May ceremony may request to participate in that commencement ceremony by emailing gfloyd@highlands.edu to complete the Summer Grads Request to Participate form by March 1st. Students must file a petition to graduate application prior to submitting this form.
Students may only have 1-6 credits outstanding at the end of the Spring semester in order to participate. If approved by the Registrar, the student will walk and their name will be called, but they are not receiving a degree and their name will not appear in the commencement program. The student’s name will appear in the following commencement program once they have earned their degree.
Students who graduate in the Summer or Fall immediate prior to the May ceremony are eligible to participate. For example, Summer 2024 and Fall 2024 graduates are eligible to participate in the May 2025 Commencement ceremony.
Students who graduate in the Summer or Fall immediately prior to the May ceremony and those who have applied for May graduation receive an initial email in late January before the ceremony with ceremony and RSVP details. Additional email communication as well as announcements around campus and in D2L are continued throughout the Spring semester. The Commencement website is also updated in late January.
Graduates should check their GHC email for these important details. The GHC email address remains accessible even after graduating.
Students should plan to arrive one hour prior to the start of the ceremony in order to check-in. Details about graduation check-in are provided in the email sent to all graduates and a reminder will be sent closer to ceremony time.
You should return the diploma to the Registrar’s Office at Georgia Highlands College on the Rome Campus and the correction will be made. The $25 replacement fee will be charged if the error was yours rather than the College’s.
Diplomas are mailed out 6-8 weeks after final grades post for the graduate's last semester. Students are encouraged to review and update their address in the GHC system no later than May 1 if an August graduate and September 1 if a December graduate.
All diplomas for May graduates will be mailed to the address in the Charger Portal 6-8 weeks after the commencement ceremony. Please make sure your mailing address is updated in the Charger Portal no later than February 1.
All diplomas are mailed. Please make sure your mailing address is updated in the Charger Portal by May 1 if graduating in August, September 1 if graduating in December, and February 1 if graduating in May. Students also receive a digital diploma via email when the diploma mailing notice is sent.
There is no graduation fee.
All fines, library fees, and traffic tickets must be cleared before you receive a diploma. If you participated in a financial aid loan program, you must have an exit counseling interview, as well. It is the graduate’s responsibility to determine if financial obligations are assessed on their accounts.
Honors are calculated on the institutional GPA which includes all credit hours earned at Georgia Highlands College. Honors status for the graduation commencement program are determined by grades posted as of the prior Fall semester.
- Cum Laude – 3.50 – 3.69 GPA
- Magna Cum Laude – 3.70 – 3.89 GPA
- Summa Cum Laude – 3.90 – 4.00 GPA
Students desiring their name to display differently than currently shown in the Charger Portal must submit the Student Record Change (Name Change Form) with proper documentation prior to printing. The deadline for diplomas is May 1 for August graduates, September 1 for December graduates, and February 1 for May graduates. The deadline for the commencement program is April 1.
Students who need special accommodations (Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA) for the commencement ceremony must submit the online Commencement RSVP reservation and indicate the need on the form.
Yes. Each graduate will be given four guest tickets for their designated ceremony. Commencement ceremonies will also be live streamed to accommodate greater guest celebrations.
All students who plan to attend the commencement ceremony must submit the online Commencement RSVP form by the deadline in order to receive tickets.