Information for Commencement Coordinators

Thank you for joining us for the commencement coordinators meeting. A recording of the meeting for anyone unable to attend may be found below. Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 6 at 10 a.m. via Teams.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions by contacting us at UI-commencement@uiowa.edu.

Upcoming Deadlines

Stay on track with these important upcoming deadlines:

• April 14 (8:00 a.m.): Names submitted for program printing by registrar’s office (late submissions will not appear in the printed program)
• April 14–17: RSVP extension open
• April 16: GradFest – regalia available for student pickup
• April 17:
  • First day to pick up regalia at the Iowa Hawk Shop
  • Last day to order regalia for home delivery (shipping fee applies)
  • Faculty regalia orders due
• April 18: Special population data sent to coordinators
• April 22 (Noon): Graduate lists due to commencement team
• April 28:
  • Student slide photo deadline
  • Scripts due to commencement team (please use the scripts template)
• May 1: Collegiate deadline to approve student slide pictures
• May 2: Slide photos published
• May 5: Run of show due (please use the run of show template)
• May 12:
  • Order of events due (please use the order of events template)
  • Platform party list due (Carver ceremonies only)

Mark these dates on your calendar to ensure everything is on track for a smooth commencement process.

Templates and Resources for Commencement

To help streamline your preparations and ensure consistency, templates for commencement scripts, run of show, and order of events are available on the commencement website.

As a reminder, the additional information templates are available for ceremony and venue-specific details (e.g., attire, arrival locations). 

Please submit the completed templates to the commencement team by the deadlines above.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena Parking & Traffic Information

Construction Alert

Ongoing construction near UI Hospitals & Clinics and Newton Road may cause delays when traveling to and from ceremonies. Please remind graduates and guests to allow extra time for their arrival.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena Updates

• Construction on the new arena ramp in Lot 40 begins May 5 and the lot will be closed.

• A small number of spaces remain available in Lot 33.

• For the latest parking updates, visit Carver Parking Info.

Free Parking (first-come, first-served)

• Lot 33 (Dental Visitor)

• Lot 43 (Kinnick)

• Lot 65 (Finkbine)

• Lot 75 (Arena Commuter)

Accessible Parking

• Lot 46 is available for guests with ADA placards or license plates (first-come, first-served).

• Once full, drop-offs will be permitted in Lot 46; drivers will be directed to overflow accessible parking in Lot 75.

• Guests using accessible parking should enter through the west or south doors. 

  • The north entrance is not open to the public.

Paid Parking

• The Hawkeye Parking Ramp (located north of Kinnick Stadium) is open for hourly paid parking.

Ceremony Updates

Pre-Ceremony Content

Each ceremony will include:

• Disruption announcement
• Celebrating Iowa video

Note: Including the National Anthem is optional.

Hugging on Stage

• There is no directive from the president's office regarding hugging on stage.
• This is left to the discretion of individual ceremonies and collegiate commencement coordinators.

Commencement Coordinator Resources

Please visit our coordinator resources webpage on the commencement website.

• Apparel timeline
• Deadlines
• Communications timeline
• Commencement attendance management information
• Details about livestreams and closed captioning
• Regalia pricing