Frequently Asked Questions - Christopher Newport University

Caps and gown information will become available in 2025. Please contact the Captains Locker at captainslocker@bkstr.com or (757) 599-5170. Additionally, you may contact CNU's Herff Jones representative, John Shewmaker, directly at jtshewmaker@herffjones.com or 434-326-0344.

There is no limit to the number of guests a graduate may bring with them on Commencement Day.

Be sure to make travel arrangements well in advance to ensure availability at local hotels. Unsure where to stay for your visit to Newport News? Check out these suggestions in the local area.

Handicap permit parking is available in Lot B, located in front of the Trible Library.

The entire campus experience is handicap accessible.

Guests with limited mobility should make arrangements for assistance around campus and bring any necessary equipment. There will be no golf cart shuttles or wheelchairs available. Guests may bring any items with them during the day that will benefit their experience such as umbrellas, walkers, folding chairs, bags, etc.

A sign language interpreter can be available upon request. Please contact the Office of University Events at cnuevents@cnu.edu.

A first-aid station will be available on the Great Lawn to provide basic first-aid support and triage medical incidents.

Everyone should plan to wear comfortable shoes – there will be a LOT of walking and we suggest that graduates wear lightweight business or business casual attire under their robes.

There is not a specific dress code for guests. We encourage Christopher Newport colors or spirit gear!

Please wear sunscreen and bring water bottles to be refilled at indoor filling stations located across campus.

  • Your regalia, to include your robe, hood, cap with its tassel and, if you have them already, any stoles or cords you earned.
    • If something didn't arrive for your regalia, you don't have it, lost something, etc., the Captains Locker is open Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Please call them at (757) 599-5170.
  • If you received Latin Honors, but were unable to attend the ceremony on Friday morning, Latin Honors and Honors Programs medallions will be available for pick up at the Information Tent on the Great Lawn, located next to the First Aid Tent.
  • Bring your penny, but don't worry, if you can't find it, we'll have more at the fountain.
  • A water bottle.
  • Your name card can be picked up at Commencement Rehearsal or at the entrance to the Grad Walk Queue. 

Please do not bring:

  • Pets – no matter what size, unless they are a service animal.
  • Things that are heavy/bulky, there's a lot of walking and that would make for a lot of carrying.
  • Drones.
  • Outside food, alcohol, firearms or weapons.

If you are planning to participate in the processional and conferral ceremony, please arrive at the Potomac Residence Hall lawn to check in by 7:45 a.m.

Please note: If you do not wish to participate in the processional, you will need to arrive to campus at least 15-20 mins prior to your Grad Walk appointment time (the time you signed up for).*

If you have to pick up any honor cords, stoles or medallions, we suggest you arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your appointment time.

*The Grad Walk time that graduates select during Commencement Registration is the time they should enter the Grad Walk Queue and not necessarily the time they will walk across the stage. Depending on how quickly the overall line is moving, graduates may find themselves crossing the stage within 8-10 minutes of entering the Grad Walk Queue.

You can complete any of the experiences on the lawn and throughout campus in whichever order you choose, but you must arrive at the Grad Walk queue at your scheduled appointment. Choose your own adventure!

Please give your guests who are joining via the livestream the link provided on the homepage at www.cnu.edu and advise them of what time your College will be on stage for the Grad Walk. From the time of your scheduled Grad Walk appointment, it should take you approximately 8-10 minutes to get to the stage, depending on how quickly the parties in front of you move through. You may want to have someone in your on-campus party text your guests watching from afar when you reach the Great Lawn so they know to watch for you. This link will be active on Saturday, May 17 beginning at 8:00 a.m.

The graduation fee offsets costs associated with Commencement.

Commencement Terms

Regalia, also referred to as a cap and gown, are what graduates wear on Commencement day. The parts of the graduate’s regalia include the gown, cap with it’s tassel, and hood.

The Baccalaureate Conferral Ceremony is a short ceremonial acknowledgement of a graduate’s completion of all practical and academic degree requirements. The President and the Provost officially confer the degrees and graduates turn their tassel from the right side of their cap to the left side, signifying the conclusion of their undergraduate degree.

A cord represents a graduate’s academic achievements such as graduating as a member of an academic honor society. A stole can represent a multitude of possibilities, such as involvement in a campus club or student organization, a cultural identity, professional organizations, and beyond. Graduates are allowed to wear any stoles they want to at commencement, however, cords are limited to official academic honors only. Graduates should connect with their departments for questions about specific cords.

Knowledge, truth, eternal wisdom,

Alma Mater we adore.

Your sons and daughters walk the pathway

Trod by those who came before.

 

With passion, loyalty, and courage,

We wave the silver and the blue.

Our Alma Mater shining brightly,

Hail, all hail, to CNU.

A tradition that is part of the recessional, the faculty depart first and then form a line on either side of the pathway that the graduates then walk through.

The formal march of the faculty, graduates and administration onto and off the Great Lawn. CNU tradition has bagpipers that lead in the faculty, Pomp & Circumstance (the graduation march) that leads in the graduates and ‘Sea Songs’ that plays during the recessional. Guests are welcomed and encouraged to line the processional/recessional route.

At a station in the Grad Walk queue line, a person of the graduate’s choosing (family, friend, faculty, etc.) will place their hood over their head and onto their shoulders. This tradition symbolizes the graduate’s attainments of an advanced degree. The hood is a component of the graduate’s regalia.

At an appointed time, each graduate joins the Grad Walk Queue with their guests, they proceed through graduate hooding and arrive at the stage to have their name read and receive their diploma cover. As the graduate goes onto the stage, their guests are ushered immediately in front of the stage to witness and be a part of this important moment. As the graduate comes off the stage and follows the path out, the guests are reunited with their graduate.

Latin honors indicate the level of academic achievement with which an academic degree has been earned:

-cum laude (3.5 GPA)

-magna cum laude (3.7 GPA)

-summa cum laude (3.9 GPA).

Graduates who have earned these grade point averages will be awarded with a medal that signifies their accomplishment. Medals are distributed at a formal ceremony on Friday, May 10, 2024. Graduates will be notified of their participation at this event via email in the days prior. Why is this invitation not communicated sooner? This is because the Office of the Registrar must wait for all final exams to be completed and final grades submitted before determining which members of the graduating class will qualify for Latin Honors.

Questions? Please contact the Office of University Events at cnuevents@cnu.edu.
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