Hello. I’m Patty Tsai, registrar for The Master’s University. If you’re not familiar with the Registrar’s Office, you wouldn’t be the first. Our office works with students through every phase of their academic journey, from applicants to alumni. In this article, I’d like to talk about what it takes to get to graduation and the importance of a single piece of paper: the Graduation Contract.
Have you heard of the idiom “get that in writing”? Written documentation is great for a variety of reasons: It helps you to remember something that was agreed upon, it solidifies a verbal agreement, and it helps to avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding. To meet this need, TMU requires that all students complete a Graduation Contract prior to graduation. The Graduation Contract is a four-step process that confirms a student’s remaining graduation requirements with their advisor and produces a contract that is signed by the student and the Registrar’s Office.
Do you know when your student will graduate? Will they qualify to participate in the Commencement Ceremony in May? How do you know if your student will graduate “on time”? Often, the answers to these questions are not as straightforward as they seem. A student who takes 15 units a semester for eight semesters (four years) may not have completed all the requirements for graduation. The Graduation Contract process will help students (and you!) know where they stand in plenty of time before graduation.
When is the best time to start the contract? One year prior to the student’s anticipated graduation date is the ideal time to begin the contract (i.e., students finishing in spring 2026 should start the process in spring 2025).“Students, working with their advisors, will declare when they plan to complete each remaining course (which semester).” Starting too early may be tricky because a lot of changes can happen in the planning of future classes. At the same time, it doesn’t benefit students to wait until the last minute because it doesn’t give them much time to deal with surprises. Our goal is to eliminate surprises by confirming what their last year should look like.
How do students begin? They start by visiting the Student Portal and clicking the Start Grad Contract button. From there, a process will begin that includes the student’s advisor, the student, and the registrar to review and confirm the student’s final requirements to graduate. They should keep an eye on their TMU email for any questions and confirmations as the process moves along. The process isn’t complete until they “sign” the contract.
When is the contract due? For students finishing in either Fall 2024 or Spring 2025, Graduation Contracts are due Dec. 13, 2024.
Along with the required graduation contract, each student who wishes to participate in commencement is required to pay a graduation fee. This fee is due before the start of their last semester, or there is a $75 late fee. The fee must be paid before the student can pick up their cap and gown for commencement.
I share all this not to overwhelm you but to help inform your conversations with your student. Feel free to encourage your student to stop by the Registrar’s Office to follow up on the status of their Graduation Contracts. We can also be reached at .
