The University of South Florida is announcing plans for the thousands of students whose traditional commencement ceremonies scheduled for May have been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
USF will expand the number of its in-person ceremonies, scheduled for August 6 through 9, to provide spring graduates an opportunity to participate. Those plans are subject to what recommendations for large gatherings are like come this summer.
President Steven Currall relayed the information to students in a video released Tuesday.
“We know that nothing will be able to replace your traditional commencement ceremony, but we plan several activities to express our pride and admiration for you and your accomplishments,” said Currall.
“Although we'll celebrate it in non-traditional ways, this year's graduation ceremony is no less meaningful, and marks the beginning of the next chapter of your life.”
Those activities also include a virtual commencement ceremony in May for each USF campus.
The virtual ceremonies will feature conferring of degrees and the names of each graduate on screen. University officials say they’re developing what they call “creative plans” for students to interact via social media.
USF will also make printed copies of the spring commencement ceremony program available to graduates upon request.
The ceremonies will be available for viewing beginning on Saturday, May 9, the weekend originally planned for commencement.
Spring graduates who are interested in taking part in the August ceremonies are asked to complete a survey.
