Events

The 55th Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at noon in the gymnasium located in the Donald Shook Student Center (DSSC).

Rehearsal

Commencement Rehearsal will be Friday morning, May 16th at 11:00am. Check-in will take place in the Library/Learning Center in Buescher Hall in Union. Graduates will line up and run through the processional, abbreviated ceremony, and recessional. The rehearsal should take approximately 45 minutes. The commencement rehearsal is optional but recommended.

Graduate Check-In

Graduates will check in and line up in the Library/Learning Center in Buescher Hall by 11am on May 17th. Graduates will not be able to return to the Library after the ceremony. Valuables should be left with guests. Tickets should be given to guests prior to checking in.

Guests

Gymnasium Seating (Ticketed)

The 2025 Commencement Ceremony is anticipated to be the largest in ECC’s history. To ensure each graduate will have guests in the gym with them, tickets will be required for entry into the gym. Each graduate had the opportunity to request up to 6 tickets. Please check with your graduate regarding tickets prior to the ceremony. Due to the large number of participants, there will not be any additional tickets available beyond the initial tickets requested per graduate.

Doors will open to the gymnasium in the Donald Shook Student Center at 11:00 a.m. The ceremony will last approximately 1.5 hours. Guests in the gym should be at their seats and keep the walkways clear during both the processional and recessional of graduates and faculty. Please be aware that there will be confetti cannons at the end of the ceremony to celebrate the graduates. These cannons will make noise which may startle some guests.

There are separate tickets for floor and bleacher seating. Floor seating is for guests who cannot sit in bleachers. Graduates indicated the need for this type of seating when submitting their RSVP. Please check with your graduate regarding tickets prior to the ceremony. Small children who will be sitting on the lap of a ticketed adult will not require a ticket.

Please prearrange a meeting location outside the building in order to find your graduate after the ceremony.

Overflow Seating (No Tickets Required)

Guests without tickets will be invited to overflow seating with live-streaming. There will be three overflow seating options on campus: the cafeteria on the first floor of the Donald Shook Student Center, the reception tent just outside the Donald Shook Student Center, and inside the John Edson Anglin Performing Arts Center (Theatre) located in Hansen Hall. All guests will be invited to celebrate with their graduate at the reception tent following the ceremony.

More information can be found at the Graduation page.

The High School Equivalency Ceremony will be held at 3:00 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Donald Shook Student Center (DSSC). Students completing the HiSET or GED exam successfully in the past 12 months are eligible to participate in the ceremony and formally receive their certificate of completion.

For more information, contact the Adult Education and Literacy Department:

By email: ael@eastcentral.edu

By phone: 636-584-6533