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For those students who will finish their studies at the University of Maine in December instead of May, walking across stage to get their diploma will no longer be an option after the December 2001 ceremony.
UMaine will be discontinuing its December commencement, beginning December of 2002.
The number of December graduates has been steadily decreasing over the last few years. This year only 174 graduates plan to attend, Janice Williams, assistant director of Student Records, said.
“The set up is the same if you have 1,200 students,” she said.
The ceremony, currently held in the Alfond Arena, has the many of the same costs and is financially equivalent to the much larger ceremony in May.
Students who complete their degree requirements in December will be able to attend a reception instead, which their families will be invited to and UMaine President Peter S. Hoff will attend. They will also have the option of attending the following May graduation ceremony or the ceremony the previous May. Williams said Doctoral Candidates will have to complete their studies before they participate in graduation.
UMaine is the last of New England Land Grant Schools to offer a December graduation ceremony, Williams said. The number of students who have participated in the December commencement has fluctuated but steadily decreased over the past few years. In December 1997, 272 students participated, in 1998, 302; in 1999, 244 and 2000, 288 students.
Carole Gardner, assistant to the executive vice president and provost, said a planning committee will plan the contents of the reception for the students completing their graduation requirements. They plan to have a photographer present to take photos of graduates with Hoff or with their families.
Bangor Daily News