Convocation Ceremony
Convocation is a ceremony held in recognition of the accomplishments of our nursing graduates. It is an opportunity for nursing graduates to celebrate their success with friends, family, and College of Nursing faculty and staff.
Following the May 2025 ceremony, the College of Nursing will be making changes to the format of our celebrations for candidates for graduation.
Upcoming Convocation Dates
Fall 2024
The College of Nursing Convocation ceremony for all Fall 2024 nursing graduates, Post Graduate certificate completers and Summer 2024 DNP graduates will be held on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. in the USA Mitchell Center.
Students who plan to participate in the Fall 2024 Convocation should RSVP by completing the Convocation Participation Form.
Frequently Asked Questions
The USA Commencement ceremony is hosted by the Registrar to recognize not only College of Nursing graduates, but graduates from other USA colleges, as well. Conferral of degrees will take place during Commencement. Degree recipients will be recognized individually and walk the stage to receive a diploma cover.
Post-graduate certificate recipients are not recognized at the University Commencement Ceremony because they already hold a degree. For more information regarding Commencement, please visit the Registrar’s graduation website.
The USA College of Nursing Convocation is a separate, special recognition ceremony hosted by the College to exclusively honor Nursing graduates. During this ceremony, Nursing graduates and Post- graduate Certificate completers are recognized for a variety of honors and awards related to the college. The event has a similar format to the University Commencement/Graduation but is not the official graduation ceremony. Academic regalia (cap and gown) is required. Graduates process in much like at the graduation ceremony. However, degrees are not conferred at Nursing Convocation but at the University ceremony. All graduates will receive a special pin from the Dean of the College of Nursing as you cross the stage to be recognized. DNP graduates will also be hooded by a faculty member on stage at Convocation.
Ceremony Information
Yes. DNP graduates will be hooded on stage during the Convocation ceremony. See information below regarding hooding and procession with the hood over one arm.
DNP Graduates: Please follow this to view a short video with instructions for the hooding process.
If you have any issues with the link, try to copy and paste the link into a different browser as the video format may not be compatible with some browsers.
DNP graduates may also like to view the hooding process from a previous Convocation as a demonstration. This is a link to the Fall 2022 ceremony. DNP recognitions begin at approximately the 1:43:00 mark in the video.
Parking
Convocation Registration/Check-In
Registration allows the college to anticipate the number of graduates to expect for the ceremony, ensuring the venue is large enough to hold all graduates and their guests.
Check-in confirms the graduate is participating in the ceremony. At check-in, graduates will go directly to the registration table to receive a card with their name and line-up number. This card will be carried during the processional and presented to the reader for the graduate’s name to be announced during the ceremony. Do not misplace this card. Graduates who arrive late will be placed at the end of the recognition processional.
Information for Guests
Yes. Handicap parking will be available and clearly marked at the venue. The venue will have wheelchair accessibility. Once inside the venue, ushers will direct guests to handicap accessible seating areas.
Venue staff and student volunteers will be available to direct guests to available seating areas. Guests will not be allowed in the graduate registration/check-in area. No strollers, balloons, signs, confetti, silly string, streamer pops, air horns, laser pointers, weapons, alcohol, tobacco products, vaping, or noisemakers are allowed.
Guest Behavior: To ensure all guests are able to hear and see the recognition of their graduate, guests are asked to be courteous to all by not making excessive noise when their graduate’s name is called.
Personal Belongings
Information about the Mobile Area
Live Stream
The Spring 2024 CON Convocation Live Stream Link for the event on May 3, 2024.
Location/Contact Information
Our mailing address is (for US postal delivery):
University of South Alabama
College of Nursing
5721 USA Drive N. Room 3068
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
Telephone: (251) 445-9400
FAX: (251) 445-9416
THE NURSING CONVOCATION PROGRAM IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GRADUATION LIST. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy in the Convocation program, printing deadlines may result in omission of some names and include the names of persons not completing graduation requirements as expected. Therefore, the Nursing Convocation program should not be used to determine a student’s academic or degree status. The university’s official registry for conferral of degrees is the student’s permanent academic record which is maintained by the Office of the Registrar.