Georgia Southern announced changes to its 2019 spring semester graduations on Wednesday in an effort to manage the size and recognition for the graduates, the school has decided to have a variety of ceremonies.

Each college will have an individual ceremony so that every graduate can be recognized and honored individually. There will also be a university-wide ceremony, honoring the graduates as a group.

“Creating the college-specific ceremonies allows students and faculty to stay connected, and provides a more appropriate environment for a personal celebration as the university recognizes each graduating student as they walk across the stage,” a press release sent to the student body read.

Individual ceremonies for the College of Education, the Waters College of Health Professions and the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health are scheduled for Savannah. The ceremonies for the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, the Parker College of Business, the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing and the College of Science and Mathematics will be held in Statesboro.

The university-wide ceremony is set for Saturday, May 11 at 9 a.m in Paulson Stadium and the individual ceremonies will be May 10 and 11 across both Statesboro and Armstrong campuses.

For more information on scheduled time and location, read here. https://em.georgiasouthern.edu/registrar/students/graduationinformation/

It is currently unclear whether or not the university consulted the student body prior to making this decision.

There is a Change.org petition to hold separate commencement ceremonies on each of GS’ campuses. The petition currently has over 4,000 signatures. 

McClain Baxley, The George-Anne Daily Managing Editor, gadigital@georgiasouthern.edu