Planning Commencement Events

This page contains information for representatives (“Event Hosts”) planning school celebrations, receptions, and Commencement Week activities and events. It will be updated as more information becomes available.  

If you have any questions, please contact Cattleya Wongkongkatap, Director, University Events, at cattleyagwu [dot] edu.

Jump to a section:

Banner Bearers | Catering and Other Services | Livestream and Recording | Musicians | NROTC | Photography | Printed Programs | Regalia | Registration | Requesting Campus Spaces |  School Celebration Package Pricing | School Celebration Planning Checklist |  School Celebration Reception Pricing | School Celebration and Reception Venue Set-Ups | Scripts, Captioning, and ASL Interpreters | Student Speaker Competition | Student Staff

Banner Bearers

Schools will submit names for their banner bearers in the spring semester (after spring break). When selecting banner bearers, keep in mind the following:

• Select 5 students per school
• Identify one student to be the lead banner bearer
• Students must attend an on-campus rehearsal the week of Commencement and arrive by 8 a.m. on the National Mall for an onsite rehearsal. 
• Students must provide their own regalia.

Catering and Other Services

When reviewing your catering options, please remember that the university:

• requires caterers doing business with GW to sign a Master Services Agreement (MSA),
• has a commitment to eliminate single-use plastics such as plastic utensils and plastic water bottles,
• is a tax-exempt organization,
• requires at least 3 bids for contracts at, or above, $25,000.  If you choose not to select the lowest bid, you should complete the Supplier Selection Memo.

Contact the Procurement Office for more information about caterers with an MSA on file at GW.  If you need vendors for other services such as promotional items or awards, please click here.

Livestream and Recording

All school celebrations will be livestreamed, with captioning, on your school’s Commencement website.  About one day after the celebration, a recording, with captioning,  will be posted to the same page.

Commencement on the National Mall will be livestreamed and recorded.  The video will be available on the main Commencement website.

Musicians

Musicians can be made available to perform at your school celebration.  The music department will bill you directly using the oracle code you provide when you sign up for services. 

Requests for musicians will open in the spring semester.

NROTC

If needed, request NROTC for your school celebration.

Photography

The university has an agreement with GradImages to provide photography services at school celebrations. Event hosts should contact Lynn Papapetrou, Regional Account Driector, at lynn [dot] papapetroubalfour [dot] com (lynn[dot]papapetrou[at]balfour[dot]com) or 850-906-3572 to secure photographers at your event. Be sure to indicate:

• date, time, and location of your celebration
• number of graduate lines that will process
• number of graduates expected and how they will be individually recognized (e.g., reader card, list in a program)
• whether your celebration includes hooding of students
• number of photographers needed
• contact information for someone who will be onsite at the celebration
• special photography requests

Students may order pictures within 72 hours of the event through a link they will receive by email. They may also order through the GradImages website.

Printed Programs

To order printed programs for your school celebration, please submit a project request with Marketing and Creative Services (MCS).

You must exclude from your list of student names anyone who has a Confidentiality Indicator value of "Y" (Yes).

If you need more information about printed programs, contact Reese Rackets, associate director of marketing, at racketsgwu [dot] edu.  The timeline to submit information for the programs will be available early in the spring semester.
 

Regalia

Students

Online sales will begin in November and end in April (exact dates will be posted soon).  

If graduates have issues with their order, or if a size they need is not listed, they should contact our sales representative, Chris J. Blaum, at Chris [dot] Blaumjostens [dot] com (Chris[dot]Blaum[at]jostens[dot]com) or 804-929-0283.

When online sales end, graduates may purchase regalia from the Campus Store (2125 Eye Street, NW, in-person only).  Quantities are limited and not guaranteed.

Faculty

Faculty may purchase or rent regalia online.  The regalia should represent the university where they received their last, or your highest, degree. They should order from the “Fine Quality Regalia” section.  

Faculty purchases will be reimbursed up to $200.00.  Click on the link below for reimbursement instructions.  No reimbursement is available for rentals.  

Faculty may rent regalia from the Campus Store starting in late April.  Rentals are in-person only.  Quantities are limited and not guaranteed.

Registration

Events and Venues will create an online registration process for graduates to register themselves, and their guests, to receive e-tickets to attend all Commencement Week events.  All Commencement Week events such as school celebrations, receptions, award ceremonies, honor society inductions, departmental honors, etc., should be part of online registration to create a consistent experience for all students.

Reviewing Degrees and Majors
For Commencement 2026 events school representatives should review the degrees and majors of students before they are uploaded into Tassel. There is no need to review student names as they have an opportunity to provide a preferred name during registration (you will review preferred names before registration closes).  The timeline for the review process is:

Registration Timeline and Deadlines

Requesting Campus Spaces

Space requests for school celebrations and receptions were due in July.

If you need to request space for other Commencement Week events, you may do so through the university's venues webpage.

School Celebration Package Pricing

Venues will offer a standard package for school celebrations.  You will not be charged for any items in the standard package; Events and Venues will incur the cost.  

The standard package for school celebrations is below.  If you want to add an item that is not listed, then it is the venue manager’s discretion to determine availability and a charge.

• Stage (to include chairs onstage and a lectern)
• Chairs for graduate and guest seating
• Space for student line-ups
  • The university can provide Commencement student staff to assist with lineups, processions, and graduate seating
• Space for platform (stage) party and faculty line-ups
• Microphones for the stage, announcements, and calling graduates’ names
• Videography; to include recording, live streaming, and closed-captioning
• American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters
• Event staff to assist with guest seating (Smith Center and Lisner Auditorium)

The confirmation sheet provided by your venue manager may list charges for the items listed above.  Your Oracle will not be charged for those items; they are included for your reference.

School Celebration and Reception Venue Set-ups

Many spaces on campus, including Lisner Auditorium and the Charles E. Smith Center, will have a standard Commencement Week set-up for all events.  Due to the limited amount of time to reset spaces between events, little or no customization will be allowed in these venues.

School Celebration Planning Checklist

Whether you are new to planning graduation-related events or you want to double-check your own list, we hope you find this checklist helpful. It may not cover all the items that are specific to your individual ceremony, or it may include something that you will not include at your event. Feel free to tailor it as needed. 

School Celebration Reception Pricing

Venue managers will determine any fees based on information they receive from event hosts.  Fees charged to schools for receptions may include, but are not limited to:

• Housekeeping
• Technical staff support
• GWPD

Scripts, Captioning and ASL Interpreters

Events and Venues will provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters if they are requested during registration for a graduate or one of their guests.

We ask that all schools upload copies of their scripts for captioning and ASL interpreters in early May.

Student Speaker Competition

Student Staff

Student staff can be made available to assist with your school celebrations. They are provided at no charge by Events and Venues. The process to request student staff for your celebrations will be reviewed in the spring semester.