Survey Says: Graduation ceremony will be postponed

March 22, 2020

Graduation is the most sacred event at Santa Fe College, where we celebrate the momentous accomplishments of our students. It has been heartbreaking for our staff, with each passing announcement of elevated concern for our community's and everyone's safety, to realize that we cannot celebrate our graduates this spring as we had hoped and planned to.

Research was conducted to determine our options and the college was prepared to offer a virtual graduation ceremony. But before making that decision, which needed to be made quickly, students were polled to see what their preferences were. Graduation belongs to our students.

Polls were conducted over a 24-hour period on Twitter and Instagram Stories, as well as a Qualtrics survey sent by email to the list of 1781 students who will be graduating April. In every poll, the clear majority of our students wanted to wait until such a time that they can walk across the stage – which will hopefully be in July or August.

The Office of Student Affairs is exploring possible dates and will post them on the graduation website as soon as more information is available.

Regardless of when we celebrate in person, it is hard work and the completion of classes and requirements that earns our students the distinction of being graduates, and no matter when the ceremony, diplomas will be sent out on time.