Commencement Ceremony

Aims Commencement Ceremony 2020

Friday, May 8, 5 p.m.
Budweiser Event Center
5290 Arena Circle - Loveland, CO

Aims Graduates

CAP & GOWN ORDERING
Order your FREE Cap & Gown by March 19, 2020

Aims Grad Fair – Aims Bookstore
College Center, Greeley Campus
February 13, 2020 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Online – www.herffjones.com/college/aims starting February 1
Orders placed after March 19, 2020 must be ordered in-person at the Aims Bookstore. Late orders are on a first come, first served basis.

CAP & GOWN DISTRIBUTION

Aims Bookstore, Greeley Campus
April 27 - April 30, 2020
from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
May 1, 2020 from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
By Special Arrangement
Contact the Aims Bookstore at
970-339-6580
Accessories
Gold Honor Cords may be picked up at Cap & Gown Distribution if you meet the requirements for Graduation Honors.

If you have questions about your eligibility to graduate, walk at commencement, and/or receive honors-related regalia, please contact the Student Enrollment & Records Office at records@aims.edu.

INFORMATION FOR FACULTY

Please be at the Budweiser Events Center (BEC) on Friday, May 80, 2020 by 4:15 p.m. for check-in.
Enter through the main door on the southwest corner of the BEC, then take the set of stairs to your right, past the box office windows, down to the lower level. There is also an elevator on the west side of the lobby that will take you to the lower level. Volunteers will be there to direct you to the faculty staging area. Please wait in this area for further instructions.
The ceremony will begin promptly at 5 p.m.
Please do not leave anything of value in the room as it will not be secured.
All faculty will sit in a special section on the floor behind the graduates and will participate in the processional and recessional.
For faculty who rented regalia, please make sure you return all regalia (including cap/tassel), at the close of the ceremony at the regalia return table on the lower level of the BEC before leaving. The regalia is picked up at the BEC by the rental company following the ceremony.

INFORMATION FOR GUESTS

The Budweiser Events Center will follow their regular procedures for those entering the venue therefore, purses/bags will be searched and noise makers or helium balloons will not be allowed into the venue. The concession stands will not be open for this event. Following the ceremony, please make arrangements to meet graduates outside of the event center or on the concourse level of the event center, NOT in the lobby area, which is the area you first entered the event center.

For more information about the Commencement Ceremony, stop by the Student Activities, Inclusion & Leadership office in Room 131 of the College Center, call (970) 339-6450 or email student.activities@aims.edu.

Special/Disability Accommodations:
Please contact the Student Activities, Inclusion & Leadership office to arrange any special accommodations needed at the Commencement Ceremony.

INFORMATION FOR GRADUATES

Ceremony Conduct Agreement
By participating in the Commencement Ceremony, you agree to observe the following guidelines:

Commencement is intended to be a festive occasion celebrating the accomplishments of our students. However, it is also ceremonial. Students are expected to remain in their seats during the entire ceremony, unless utilizing the restrooms (inside the staging area). Students are required to be in their seats for the address by our Commencement speaker. Wandering around the floor of the event center and visiting with guests in the stands is prohibited.
It is particularly important that students respect their fellow students and the faculty, administrators and guests who have come to witness and participate in the conferring of their degrees. For this reason, graduates are expected to return to their seats after they walk and remain there until all students have walked and the members of the stage party have exited the stage. Please plan post-ceremony activities accordingly.

Student Check-in Between 3 - 4:15 p.m.

Please have your cap and gown on at check-in.
All graduates will line up in the staging area in the lower level of the Budweiser Event Center. No family or friends will be allowed in the graduate check-in area.
Be prepared to open your gowns for visual inspection. No backpacks allowed. Students are encouraged to not bring bags, purses, etc., as there is no secure location to store them and they are not allowed on the floor.

Regalia Approved Regalia (see drop-down menu below for allowed regalia)

Aims welcomes the tasteful decorating of your mortar board. Please be respectful of other graduates that may be sitting behind you. All decorations must be flat to the top of the mortar board. Any decorations that raise the height will not be allowed and will be asked to be removed.
Students keep their regalia.

Photography

Photos will be taken at the ceremony by a professional photographer. You will receive sample photos and information for ordering photos by mail or e-mail, depending on the information you provide on your card. You are not obligated to purchase any photo packages. Selfies will not be allowed to be taken on the stage area during the ceremony.

Sign language interpreting services provided by 24 Hour Sign Language Services.

For guests who are not able to attend in person,the ceremony will be live-streamed at https://www.ustream.tv/channel/aims-student-radio

Items Graduates are Allowed to Wear During the Commencement Ceremony

Graduation Honors
Graduation honors recognize outstanding academic achievement throughout a student’s academic career. Honors are based on a student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA) for all grades earned at the 100-level or above at Aims Community College.

Students graduating with a degree who complete at least thirty letter graded (A-F) credits at Aims Community College, and whose grades qualify, will be granted the following designations:
Students graduating with a certificate who complete at least fifteen letter graded (A-F) credits at Aims Community College, and whose grades qualify, will be granted the following designations:
In order to be recognized at the Commencement Ceremony, students must meet the graduation honors GPA requirements at the conclusion of the term immediately preceding the ceremony. Spring enrolled hours will count towards the credit requirements.

Graduates participating at the ceremony will receive gold honor cords. If eligible, gold cords will be included in your regalia when you pick it up at the Bookstore. Graduation honors will be noted in the commencement program by the student’s name.

Graduation honors will be recorded on the academic transcript if a student meets the requirements at the completion of the term for which they are certified for graduation.
Gold Stoles and Gold Tassels

Worn by students who are members of the Beta Kappa Lambda Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, International Honor Society of the Two-Year College.

Purchase online at PTK.org – must have been inducted into the society to purchase.
Green and Gold Cords

Worn by students who are members of Sigma Kappa Delta English Honor Society.

Contact Megan Friesen
megan.friesen@aims.edu
(970) 339-6351

Must be member of the society.
Light Gray Stoles

Worn by students who are members of the National Society of Leadership and Success.

Available for purchase online at NSLS website https://www.societyleadership.org

Must have been inducted into the society.
Intertwined Red, White and Blue Cords

To be worn by veteran graduates. Request at Aims Bookstore when gown is picked-up. Must have served in one of the armed services.
Red, White and Blue Honor Cords

Worn by students who are members of SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society.

Contact Jon Dechant
jon.dechant@aims.edu
(970) 339-6530

Must be a member of the society.
Tassel

Graduates are NOT allowed to wear the souvenir tassel for the ceremony.

You may wear the black tassel that came with your regalia or the gold PTK tassel only. You must choose one or the other - you will not be allowed to wear more than one tassel.

Student Activities, Inclusion & Leadership (SAIL)