Spirit Squad
Get your FREE Virginia Wesleyan decal.
PEIC
Learn about campus greening initiative.
Business Office
Registrar's Office
Scribner Bookstore
Accommodations
Schedule of Events | Notes from College Marshal, Business Office and Registrar | Commencement Day Info. | Baccalaureate | Contacts
Congratulations to the Class of 2008! 
This is the day that you've all been working toward. The information below should serve as your guide to making this day special for you and your family and friends.
General Schedule of Events
The following events have been scheduled for the Graduating Class of 2008, their families and guests, with the faculty and administrators:
Wednesday, May 14 (graduates only!)
Main commencement rehearsal. 12 p.m., C-MAC, Jane P. Batten Student Center. Make-up rehearsal will be held at 6 p.m. that night. See details below.
Friday, May 16
Baccalaureate at Epworth United Methodist Church
6:15 p.m., Reception
7 p.m., Baccalaureate Service, Speaker: The Rev. Robert M. Chapman, Chaplain, Virginia Wesleyan College
Saturday, May 17
Commencement in the Convocation Center, Jane P. Batten Student Center
11 a.m., Commencement (general seating), Speaker: Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
12:30 p.m., Reception. Graduates will meet family, friends, and faculty and staff members following the ceremony at the reception. Reception is located in Boyd Dining Center.
Notes for Graduating Seniors from the College Marshal
Mandatory Rehearsals
All students intending to participate in the graduation should attend a rehearsal. If you cannot do so, it is particularly important that you contact Dr. Shedd via Humanities Division Secretary, Barbara Hodges by telephone at 757.455.3255, or via e-mail at bhodges@vwc.edu.
Two rehearsals for commencement exercises are scheduled for your convenience; you need attend only one. The main rehearsal will take place at 12 p.m. Wednesday, May 14 in the C-MAC of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The make-up rehearsal will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14. The same location will be used as at 12 p.m. It is not necessary to bring your cap and gown to the rehearsal.
Tickets
No tickets are required to attend commencement at Virginia Wesleyan College. Seating is open - first come, first available.
Commencement Day Instruction for Graduating Seniors
Please note that graduates must be in the C-MAC of the Jane P. Batten Student Center no later than 10 a.m. on Commencement Day (Saturday, May 17) to prepare the procession. Bring your cap and gown to the gym, but do not bring purses or similar items of value. There is no safe place to leave them during the ceremony.
Following the ceremony, graduates and faculty members will process to the C-MAC of the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Diploma pick up and gown return will take place in the C-MAC following Commencement.
Following the ceremony, family and friends of graduates should travel to Boyd Dining Center to meet graduates and enjoy refreshments.
Policy on Commencement Attire for Graduating Seniors
The College's Commencement Committee has unanimously adopted the following policy on attire which codifies prevailing practice at Virginia Wesleyan:
"Guidelines for appropriate attire at Commencement have been established by the Commencement Committee so as to maintain the dignity due the occasion and to avoid embarrassment to the College, the graduates, and their families. Black academic gowns and mortar boards are the dress of the day, complemented by dark skirts, dresses, or dress pants and black dress shoes for women and dark dress pants and black shoes and socks for men. Flip-flops, tennis shoes, bare feet and shorts are unacceptable.
In accordance with the national code on academic regalia, no personal adornments of any kind are to be worn on the cap, gown, or hood. This includes badges, corsages, and lettering of any kind."
Note from the Business Office
Caps and gowns will be available in the Business Office after Monday, May 12 once you have cleared your account. You are requested to pay any account balance you may have due at the Business Office during regular business hours prior to 12 p.m. on Friday, May 9. Caps and gowns are to be returned immediately after commencement exercises, at a location in Batten yet to be determined, where you will also pick up your diploma. (May graduates will be presented with a diploma cover during the commencement ceremony.)
Any student who has received a Stafford and/or Perkins Loan while enrolled at Virginia Wesleyan College must complete exit counseling for each loan type prior to graduation. More information will be sent to campus mailboxes for resident students or mailed home to commuters concerning this important matter. Please call Oreleah Barham, Collection and Loan Compliance Coordinator, at 757.455.5732 with any questions.
Note from the Registrar
Potential August graduates (students who have at most two courses remaining to be completed by the end of the spring semester of their graduating year) may petition the Registrar for approval to "walk" in the May ceremony. The specifics of the Two-Course Rule are listed under "Graduation Requirements" on the Registrar's home page. The petition form is called "Participation in Commencement Exercises" and will be automatically sent to your VWC mailbox prior to mid-April. Complete the form and return it to the Office of the Registrar. Summer registration must be completed before approval can be granted. The Registrar's Office can be reached by calling 757.455.3358.
Commencement Day General Announcements
Doors to the Convocation Hall in the Jane P. Batten Student Center will open at 9:45 a.m. No tickets are required for commencement, and seating is general.
If you need to drop off elderly guests or persons with disabilities at the door of the Jane P. Batten Student Center, please inform security personnel of that fact. You will be directed to the front of the Center for the drop-off. Please move your vehicle to the parking lot as quickly as possible to clear the drop-off area.
The Scribner Bookstore will be open on Commencement Day (Saturday, May 17) from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.
A professional recording of Commencement will be created by Rubin Communications Group and Advance Video Services. A DVD will be mailed to each graduate.
Professional photos of each graduate receiving his or her diploma will be taken by Candid Color Photography. Proofs will be mailed to every graduate, and will be available for purchase.
Baccalaureate Service Information
A Baccalaureate Service will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 16 at Epworth United Methodist Church on 124 W. Freemason Street in Norfolk. A reception to honor the graduates and their families will precede the service at 6:15 p.m. in the church social hall. A variety of hotels and restaurants are located in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area. Information about these facilities and other recreational opportunities in the area may be obtained by calling the Virginia Beach Visitor Information Center at 800.822.3224.
Directions to Baccalaureate Service at Epworth United Methodist Church
From Virginia Wesleyan College, turn left on Wesleyan Drive. Take Wesleyan Drive to Northampton Boulevard and turn left at the light. Take I-64E to I-264W (Downtown Norfolk). Continue on I-264 about 3.4 miles to Waterside Drive, Exit 9. Continue down Waterside Drive onto Boush Street. Turn right on Freemason Street. The Church is on the right side, 124 W. Freemason Street. The Church may be reached by calling 757.622.2970.
Parking for Baccalaureate Service at Epworth United Methodist Church
There are several parking options. We are grateful to Ms. Christine Sullenberger, Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager of Bank of the Commonwealth. The bank has been kind to let us use their parking lot beginning at 6 p.m. for free parking. Bank of the Commonwealth is located directly across the street from Epworth.
Just below a new condominium development, the new Freemason Street Parking Garage is open on Freemason Street, opposite the Epworth parking lot. Parking rates will be applied if you park inside the Freemason Street garage. There is also a very limited amount of free parking in the Epworth Church parking lot.
Other parking options include the York Street Garage, one block down from Freemason, turning left on Bute Street. The Monticello Avenue Garage, adjacent MacArthur Center on Monticello Avenue and Freemason Street. Parking rates will apply in both garages.
Additional questions?
Questions regarding academic concerns should be directed to the Office of the Registrar, 757.455.3358.
Questions regarding caps, gowns and announcements; Baccalaureate; and settling your Virginia Wesleyan account should be directed to Elaine Aird in the Business Office, 757.455.3310.
Questions regarding commencement rehearsal and ceremony should be directed to the College Marshal, Dr. Sally Shedd, via Barbara Hodges, Humanities Division Secretary, at 757.455.3255.
3.27.08