Graduation

Diploma/Certificate

Certificates and Diplomas are considered ceremonial documents. Therefore, we will print your preferred name on your certificate or diploma, but you must indicate as such on your graduation application. We will not automatically print your preferred name on your certificate/diploma. However, please be aware that using a preferred name on your certificate/diploma may result in rejection, delay, scrutiny, and/or requirements for additional proof of identification associated with your application for employment, licensure, credentialing, visa application, and/or other processes that require verification of your education records. Your legal name will appear on your transcript as that is a legal document.

Some examples of preferred name options for a certificate/diploma can include:

• First name, initial, or an alternate form of first name
  • First name “preferred name” last name - Michael “Mike” Smith
  • First name (preferred name) last name - Michael (Mike) Smith
  • Preferred name last name - Mike Smith
• First name which conforms with the graduates genuine expression of gender identity
• Middle name, initial, or omission of middle name all together
• If graduate has multiple last names or a hyphenated last name, graduates can choose to only list one last name

We will not print additional last names or an entirely different last name than what is in our system unless you complete a legal name change form. The deadline for submitting these forms in order to have the correct name printed on your certificate/diploma is April 30.

Commencement and Honors Program

If you have a preferred name on your MyWCC account we will automatically print your preferred name in the Commencement and Honors programs where applicable. If you need to add a preferred name to your MyWCC account please visit our preferred name page.

To be eligible for graduation with an associate degree from Washtenaw Community College you must meet all of the following requirements:

1. Fulfill all prescribed course and credit hour requirements of your specific program. (See Programs of Study Section for specific requirements.) A minimum of 60 credits is required for a degree. Courses numbered below 100 do not count toward degree completion.
2. Complete a minimum of 15 residence credits (Washtenaw Community College credits) toward completion of each degree pursued. Credit for prior learning, including credit by exam and transfer credit, may not be used as residence credit.
3. Complete the General Education Requirements as specified for the type of degree for which you are applying. See General Education Requirements in the Curriculum section for details.
4. Earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 and if applicable, any minimum GPA specified in your program.
5. Meet all financial and library obligations to the College.
6. File an Application for Graduation form.
7. To be eligible for an additional associates degree, students must have an applicable 15 additional in residence (taken at WCC) credits that were not used in any previous degree(s).

To be eligible for graduation with a Certificate from Washtenaw Community College you must meet all of the following requirements:

1. Fulfill the prescribed requirements of your specific certificate program including courses, credit hours, and/or hours of attendance. (See Programs of Study Section for specific requirements.) Courses numbered below 100 do not count toward graduation for the Certificate. Courses numbered 051 and below do not count toward graduation for the Certificate of Completion.
2. Complete a minimum of 50% of the total credits required in "residence" (meaning they must be taken at WCC) for each certificate pursued except for the Certificates of Completion, which requires that all credit hours be completed as residence credit. Credit for prior learning, including credit by exam and transfer credit, may not be used as residence credit.
3. Earn a minimum cumulative and program grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 and, if applicable, any minimum GPA specified in your program.
4. Meet all financial and library obligations to the College.
5. File an Application for Graduation form.
6. To be eligible for an additional certificate, students must have an applicable 9 additional in residence (taken at WCC) credits that were not used in any previous certificate(s).

We are excited to announce that we will be holding our 2025 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 9:20 a.m., at the George Gervin GameAbove Center (formerly the EMU Convocation Center).

All students who will be completing their degree or certificate must submit an application for graduation to be able to participate in the commencement ceremony. To ensure your name appears in the printed commencement program, you must submit your application by April 25, 2025. Please be sure to apply for the semester in which you plan to finish your courses. June and August candidates will still be invited to commencement as long as their application is submitted by the deadline.

The conferring of degrees and certificates and the awarding of honors highlight the commencement exercises. Students receiving an associate degree or certificate of 15 credits or more are invited to participate.

Key Dates

April 18: Deadline to purchase cap and gown at the WCC Bookstore and receive 10% discount

May 15: Honors Convocation Ceremony

May 16: Last day to purchase your cap and gown at the WCC Bookstore

May 16: Commencement rehearsal starts at 6:00 p.m. at the EMU George Gervin GameAbove Center. Directly after rehearsal, graduates (no guests, please) are invited to stay and enjoy a complimentary catered dinner.

May 17: Commencement Ceremony starts at 9:20 a.m. at the EMU George Gervin GameAbove Center.

Cap/Gown and Honor Cords

A cap and gown is the required graduation attire and can be purchased from the bookstore. Honor cords (for those with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher) can be purchased at the Welcome Center beginning March 31, 2025.

Veteran Cords

Veteran Cords are available for veteran students. Please contact Carol Osborne at 734-973-3616 or calosborne@wccnet.edu.

Washtenaw Community College will host its annual Honors Convocation Ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the EMU George Gervin GameAbove Center (formerly the EMU Convocation Center).

2024 Honors Convocation Program (2025 Program will be available the week of the ceremony)

The Honors Convocation Ceremony will recognize:

• Full-time(12 or more credits per semester) WCC students who achieved high honors (3.8+ GPA) or honors (3.5-3.79 GPA) during the Summer 2024, Fall 2024 and/or Winter 2025 semesters
• Part-time students who achieved high honors (3.8+ GPA) while completing at least 15 credits over three semesters
• Graduates and graduate candidates who achieved high honors (3.8+ GPA) or honors (3.5-3.79 GPA) based on their cumulative GPA at the time of graduation

Note: Only grades that count in your GPA will be used to determine honors status.  "P" and "S" grades are not used in the GPA calculation.

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Course substitutions

Courses required for a program of study may be substituted by other courses only with the approval of your academic advisor and the appropriate division dean. If you are seeking a course substitution, please make an appointment with your academic advisor to begin the process. Once your advisor and the dean have signed off, the form will be filed with the Student Records Office and the requirement will be updated in your DegreeWorks.

Waiver of program requirements

Under extreme circumstances, a required course may be waived with the approval of your academic advisor, the division dean, and the vice president for instruction. Please meet with your academic advisor to see if you meet the qualifications.

In meeting program requirements for graduation, you must complete your program based on the requirements in effect for a particular academic year. You can find these requirements in the catalog. You may use one of the following:

1. The program requirements in effect during the academic year in which you initially enrolled in your program (if the program is still active).
2. The program requirements in effect during the academic year that you complete your program.
3. The program requirements in effect during the academic year when you changed your program.
4. The program requirements in effect during the academic year you started taking classes.

Note: Returning students who have not taken classes at WCC for two or more academic years must meet the program requirements in effect at the time they are readmitted.

Discontinued programs

When a program is discontinued, you are given 3 years to complete the program , after which you must change to a different program. If you change programs, you should see an academic advisor to select appropriate courses and make course substitutions as necessary.

You’re proud and you’ve worked hard. Now it’s time to celebrate your achievement, thank those who matter to you most, and let your credentials go to work for you.

Washtenaw Community College has teamed with Parchment to offer an official digital version of your diploma or certificate.

It’s fast, free, and sharable

Celebrate your accomplishment with those who supported you along the way — your family, friends, and colleagues.

Share with potential employers to kick-start the next step in your journey or career.

How to Get It

Approximately 6-8 weeks after the end of the semester, graduates will receive an email to their WCC email with instructions for creating a Parchment account to electronically claim their diploma.

Please make sure to create an account in a timely manner after receiving the email as if you do not do it before you lose access to your WCC account (2 years after graduation) you will be unable to access your digital diploma.

You will always be able to log into your Parchment account with your WCC email address, even after you lose access to that email account. However, we do recommend adding a secondary personal email address to your Parchment account so that way you have a back up account to retrieve your password should you ever forget it.

Your digital diploma will always be accessible through your Parchment account. You can login and download or share it again and again -- at no cost to you.

What You Can Do with It

Share your Achievements

• Easily share your digital diploma with employers with a secure and verified link
• Share with family and friends on Facebook and LinkedIn

View or Download

• View your digital diploma online at any time with permanent access
• Download your digital diploma and save as a PDF

Serve as an Alternative to the Apostille

• Many countries recognize digital diplomas. Parchment Award diplomas are supporting the needs of inter-national credentials.

Questions about digital diplomas? Email studrec@wccnet.edu.

Questions about the digital diploma once you have received it? Email congratulations@parchment.com.

We recommend submitting your application for Graduation once you are registered for your final classes to complete your degree or certificate. For example, if you register for your final classes in March, you could then apply for Spring/Summer (June/August) or Fall (December) Graduation (depending on the semester you are taking them and/or when the last day of class is).

After you submit your application you will receive a confirmation email letting you know that the Student Records team has received it. Once your application is processed and reviewed you will receive a status update to your WCC email account. Processing time is typically 1-3 weeks, it varies based on time of year.

If you did not receive a confirmation email within 30 min after you applied for graduation then your application did not go through. When submitting your app please ensure that you read ALL instructions and type your WCC Student ID in the following format @00XXXXXX. Please contact degreeworks@wccnet.edu with the last name and student ID number you used to apply if you have questions about whether your app was submitted successfully or not.

Degrees are awarded once the final audit process is complete, usually within 4-6 weeks after final grades are posted at the end of each semester. To determine the semester end dates, please view our academic dates. You will receive an email update once degree/certificates have been posted to your transcript.

Degrees/Certificates are NOT distributed at the Commencement Ceremony.

Degrees/Certificates will be mailed once the award process is complete, typically 4-8 weeks after the semester ends. Please make sure the address listed in your MyWCC account (click on personal information) is correct to avoid delays. 

Auto award is a process in which the Student Records Office runs a report at the end of each semester and identifies students who have completed their program of study on file and did not apply for graduation. The Student Records Office then emails these students and notifies them that they will be awarded the degree or certificate they have on file at the completion of the semester unless they change their program by a given date. 

The Student Records Office also runs reports on some certificate programs to see if students have completed them and have not applied to receive them. Often we look at certificates that feed into associate degree programs. For instance we will check to see if Business Admin Transfer students have completed the Core Business Skills Certificate or if Accounting students have completed the Accounting for Business Certificate.

Rule of thumb though is if you want to be sure that you are earning a certificate or associate degree you should always apply for it by the appropriate deadline!

Commencement is a ceremony held once a year that honors students who just have or will soon graduate, which means completing all requirements of their degree program. In order to graduate, a student must complete all requirements of their degree program and fill out an official online graduation application or fall into our auto award process. Participating in Commencement does not automatically mean that a student has graduated.

No, WCC holds one Commencement Ceremony a year in May.

At Eastern Michigan University’s George Gervin GameAbove Center (formerly known as the Convocation Center). It is typically the 3rd Saturday of May at 9:20am, please check the Commencement section above for the exact day for the next ceremony.

All information regarding Commencement is sent to eligible graduates once they have submitted their application for graduation. Communications start going out in early March, beginning with a mailing (which includes a cap and gown discount coupon) and then moves to email as we get closer. If you apply for graduation after mid March you will likely only receive emails. 

Students receiving an associate degree or certificate of 15 credits or more are invited to participate. All Fall (December) graduates, Winter (May) and Spring/Summer (June/August) graduation candidates in an academic year will be invited to attend the ceremony in May. Meaning that if you plan to finish your program in June or August, you should submit your graduation application, for your corresponding anticipated graduation date, no later than the end of April if you wish to be invited to and participate in that year’s May Commencement. June/August graduates who apply after their respective ceremony will be invited to the ceremony held the following May.

Example: Graduates for Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Summer 2027 who apply by 4/23/27 will all be invited to participate in the May 2027 Commencement Ceremony. Summer 2027 graduates that applied after 4/23/27 will be invited to the May 2028 Commencement Ceremony.

The link to the Commencement Speaker applications will be emailed to eligible graduates (students who graduated the fall prior or who have a pending graduation application for winter or spring/summer of that year) in March. It can also be found in Water Cooler emails after it is mailed out. Only eligible graduates will be considered though. A committee made up of WCC staff will conduct interviews for 3-5 finalists and select the speaker.

Yes, RSVPing is just a courtesy that we ask of you so that we can ensure that we have enough programs and seats.

WCC’s Commencement is not a ticketed event. You can invite as many guests as you would like, just encourage them to get there early as seats are first come first serve. The rehearsal dinner is intended for graduates who will be attending the Commencement Ceremony, guests are not invited to attend the rehearsal dinner.

No, however we highly recommend you attend if possible. During rehearsal, we will go over the flow of commencement, provide a cap decorating opportunity and serve a delicious dinner - so please RSVP for accurate numbers! This is a special evening to celebrate the graduates, so please remember guests are not invited.

Yes, the link will be sent out via email and posted on the website the week leading up to the ceremony.

The ceremony will last approximately 2-2.5 hours.

Please contact degreeworks@wccnet.edu to discuss alternative options.

Yes, WCC does have some specific cords/stoles available, however you can also wear any other cords/stoles that you have as long as they are professional and appropriate.

Veterans: You may wear a red, white, and blue honorary cord. Complimentary cords for anyone with proof of veteran status are available at the Veterans Center during April and May. 

Honors Students: You may wear a gold honor cord if you have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. These are available for purchase at the bookstore starting April 1.

Phi Theta Kappa Members: You may wear a gold honors tassel and gold honors stole. You can purchase a gold honors tassel and stole from ptk.org/store/graduation. (Consider delivery time when ordering!)

For guests needing seating accommodations during the ceremony, please note there is ADA accessible seating available on the same level as you enter (concourse level) throughout the Arena. ADA seating is available on a first arrive, first seated basis in sections 122, 125, 126, 101, 102, 105, or 106 (see map). Once inside the Arena, please let a staff member or graduation volunteer know of your needs and they will work with you to accommodate your party.

Yes! There will be ASL interpreters in a reserved section at the ceremony. If you or another member of your party is in need of ASL interpretation services, please contact degreeworks@wccnet.edu and we will work with you and your party to provide you with information for your seating.