Commencement Details

Caps & Gowns will be available at the DACC Follett Bookstore starting in April. An email will go out to all students letting you know when they are ready for pick up.

Danville Area Community College pays for all students' caps & gowns. After you apply to graduate with the Records Office, we will give you a receipt you can take to the bookstore for your cap & gown.

Guests this year do not need a ticket to attend the ceremony.

You must complete an Application to Graduate form before receiving a cap & gown:

1. Associate Degree form
2. Certificate Degree form

Graduation pictures will be taken at Commencement and will be available to all students for download at no cost.

Here are some details for the 2024 Commencement Ceremony:

• Our ceremony will be held on Friday, May 17th at 6:00 p.m. in the Mary Miller Gym on the east side of campus
• The ceremony will be live streamed for anyone who cannot attend.
• We will hold a graduation practice the morning of Commencement in the gym at 11:00 a.m.
• Graduation letters will be sent out in late April. If you have not received yours by Friday, May 12th, please let Mary Jo Gentrup know at m.gentrup@dacc.edu or (217) 443-8797.

If for any reason you have decided not to participate, please contact Mary Jo in the Records Office, Records@dacc.edu or (217) 443-8797 so we can keep our list up to date.

Commencement Instructions

Commencement will be Friday night, May 17, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the Mary Miller Gymnasium. Your guest should be seated prior to 5:45 p.m.

Apparel: Please come by the Records Office and pick up your receipt to take to the DACC Follett Bookstore to pick up your cap and gown. Tassels should be on the right until the Tassel Ceremony following the awarding of the diplomas and certificates. Caps & Gowns do NOT need to be returned…They are yours to keep. You will also be happy to know that they are made from 100% recycled materials.

Processional: Graduates will start lining up at 5:30 p.m. at the North West corner of the Mary Miller Gymnasium in the hallway. Graduates will pick up a card with their name on it and line up. Board members, faculty and staff will precede graduates in the processional. Student Marshals will lead the graduates into the gym. After marching into the gym, members of the processional will remain standing until instructed to be seated by Dr. Stephen Nacco, President of DACC.

Pledge to the Flag: On direction from the Summa Cum Laude candidates, Board Members, faculty, staff, graduates, audience, etc., will rise.

Presentation of Candidates and Conferring of Degrees & Certificates: All candidates for an associate degree and/or certificate will rise for recognition to be given by the Vice President Dr. Carl Bridges. Candidates will remain standing to accept conferring of the degree/certificate by President Nacco. All candidates will be seated after Dr. Nacco confers the degree.

Awarding of Diplomas/Certificates: The Summa Cum Laude candidates will be recognized by Dr. Bridges and receive their diplomas first. Then, a row at a time, graduates will approach the ramp, and one-at-a-time, hand their card to the dean, as their names are called, cross the stage to receive their diploma cover. You will continue across the stage and return to your chairs and be seated in unison by row. After all the DACC students are finished receiving their diploma or certificate, we will have the awarding of 2 Bachelor Degree students from Franklin University.

Response from Class: A Summa Cum Laude candidate will give the response. Graduates will remain seated.

Tassel Ceremony: After the class response, graduates will be asked to stand and change their tassels from the right to the left side of their caps. They will be seated in unison on direction.

Recessional: Student Marshals will lead the recessional, followed by others seated on the stage, followed by the graduates. The student route will be through the back door of the gym and will come out through the east middle doors. The faculty route will be through the back door of the gym and will come out through the east middle doors.

Diplomas: During the Commencement ceremony, you will receive a diploma cover. The actual diploma will be sent to you approximately four weeks after final grades are turned in to the Records Office. Please make sure that the Records Office (217-443-8797) has your correct address. Also, please note your DACC transcript will reflect your degree and/or certificate approximately two weeks after the term ends.

Graduation Pictures: A photographer from Memory Lane Photography will be taking live shots on-stage as you’re receiving your diploma, then you will pause for a picture and then a headshot after you walk off the stage. He will have a photo station set up that night for you and your family. There will be graduation pictures for sale through his website. Website for students will be:  www.cuphotog.com  click on the graduation icon then on "View my Pics" Password will be: DACC 24.

Degrees with Distinction

Degrees with distinction are based on 2 major qualifications: 

1. the student must be a “degree” completer; certificate completers are not eligible and 
2. the student’s cumulative grade point average at the end of the Fall 2016 semester.  

Graduation dress for students graduating with honors is as follows:

GPA	Title	Tassel
3.500 – 3.749	Cum Laude	Gold Tassel
3.750 – 3.999	Magna Cum Laude	Gold Tassel and Gold Cord
4.000*	Summa Cum Laude	Gold Tassel, Gold Cord, and Medallion

*Due to the “highest distinction,” summa cum laude candidates’ cumulative grade point averages are calculated using the grades earned at Danville Area Community College as well as any grades transferred in from another college that are used for degree completion.

Students’ ability to be recognized at the graduation ceremony is based on the cumulative grade-point average calculated at the end of the fall semester prior to the spring ceremony.  Transcript notations of cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude are based on the total grade-point average, including the final semester prior to graduation.

DACC would like to honor United States’ veterans and those who are currently serving in one of the United States’ armed forces with a red, white, and blue cord.  Please notify the Records Office if you fall into one of these categories.  We will distribute the cords on May 21 at your filming session.

DACC also distinguishes graduates who have participated in the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and the DACC Scholars Program.  The gold stole represents membership in Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, minimum G.P.A. 3.50.  The white honors cord signifies successful completion of DACC Scholars Program requirements, minimum G.P.A. 3.50 and four independent study projects.