Important Dates
Moraine Valley will celebrate commencement with in-person ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday, May 19, 2023.
On Monday, March 20, 2023, commencement registration begins here.
On Monday, April 3, 2023, graduation regalia will become available for purchase here and in the Moraine Valley Bookstore Building D.
Each graduate can bring four guests to the ceremony. Guests will arrive with the graduate. Tickets will not be distributed.
Additional Information
Guests
The ceremonies will be in the Cyclone Center inside the Health, Fitness & Recreation Center (Building H) at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Your graduate will choose one ceremony to attend. Doors to Building H will open one hour before each ceremony.
You must arrive with your graduate to gain entrance into the building. You then will proceed into the Cyclone Center to find your seats while your graduate checks in and lines up for the processional. After the ceremony, you can meet your graduate outside the building.
IMPORTANT: Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of your ceremony to allow for enough time to find your seats. Entrance to the building will stop when the ceremony begins, and late graduates/guests will be let into the Cyclone Center following the national anthem.
Building H is located on the west side of the Palos Hills campus. Parking is available in any of the campus parking lots (except for the Building H lot). Signs will direct you to these locations. The lots closest to the ceremony are C1, C2, D3 and F.
Handicapped guests can be dropped off at the front door of the Health, Fitness & Recreation Center. Parking for handicapped guests is located in the small lot south of Building H, adjacent to the building.
Seating in the Cyclone Center will be in the bleachers. Guests using wheelchairs or walkers will have access to limited floor seating. Guests with other physical limitations can sit in reserved seating in the first few rows of the bleachers. All other guests will need to move up the bleachers.
Note: The back section of the west bleachers will be reserved for late guests.
Moraine Valley will stream commencement live for family and friends who are unable to attend the ceremony. You can view the livestream on the college’s Facebook page or online.
Gifts
As an additional service, the Moraine Valley Bookstore will sell graduation gifts near the entrance to the Cyclone Center, while supplies last. Flower bouquets also will be sold at campus entrances, outside the Health, Fitness & Recreation Center, and near the reception. Flowers can be pre-ordered. Balloons are not allowed inside the Cyclone Center.
Shakespeare Garden Engravable Brick
Honor your graduation from Moraine Valley with an engravable brick to go in the Shakespeare Garden. Bricks are $100 and can be purchased online.
Photos
Photographs are not allowed to be taken from the aisles in the Cyclone Center. Guests must take all photographs and video from their seats.
Note: All photographs and video taken by Moraine Valley during the commencement ceremony are the property of Moraine Valley Community College and may be used for its promotional purposes.
Graduates
All graduates must register to attend a ceremony. Registration begins March 20. When you arrive to Building H, you will check in by last name at the tables in the lobby of the building. You will be given a reader’s card at check-in that you will bring with you to the stage. You then will proceed to the second floor and line up in your degree section. If you want to sit next to a friend in your degree, line up behind one another, not next to each other.
Each ceremony will be approximately one hour. Graduates will be called to the stage by degree and will receive their diploma cover and an alumni gift from the Moraine Valley Foundation. Note: You must stay for the whole ceremony. After exiting the stage, you must return to your seat. You will not be allowed to leave the Cyclone Center until the recessional. When the ceremony is over, graduates will recess out of the building. You can meet your guests outside.
IMPORTANT: Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of your ceremony to allow for enough time to check in and line up. Entrance to the building will stop when the ceremony begins, and late graduates/guests will be let into the Cyclone Center following the national anthem.
Graduates must wear Moraine Valley regalia at the ceremony. The package for graduates earning an associate degree costs $37 (tax included), which includes a cap, gown, tassel and stole. The package for graduates earning an occupational certificate costs $29 (tax included), which includes a cap, gown and tassel. Additional tassels will be sold for $5.45. Honor cords are $9.99 plus tax. These items can be purchased in the Bookstore or online or in the Bookstore from April 3 to May 19.
If you are graduating with honors, you will wear a cord at graduation to designate academic honors. The colored cords represent the following honors:
Associate Degree
Summa cum laude: 3.9-4.0 GPA, gold cord
Magna cum laude: 3.75-3.89 GPA, silver cord
Cum laude: 3.5-3.74 GPA, white cord
Certificate
With high honors: 3.75-4.0 GPA, silver and green cord
With honors: 3.5-3.74 GPA, white and green cord
Grade point averages for honor cords are calculated based on grades through the fall 2022 semester. Spring 2023 semester grades are not used in calculating grade point averages for honor cords.
Phi Theta Kappa graduates are encouraged to wear an honor stole ($26) and/or tassel ($10) that can be purchased online. Phi Theta Kappa members are listed separately in the graduation program. To ensure your name is included, notify Kayla Bucci before Friday, April 14.
Help Us Celebrate the Class of 2023!
We need your help to celebrate the Class of 2023! Before graduates cross the stage, a presentation will be played in the gymnasium. Family and friends of Moraine Valley graduates are encouraged to share a congratulatory message that will be displayed ahead of each commencement ceremony in recognition of this year's graduating class. Fill out the form below and add to the excitement of commencement season.
Graduation Messages
Submit a message you want to share with a Moraine Valley graduate! These will be featured at the commencement ceremonies.
