SOUTHEAST ELIMINATES '95 SUMMER COMMENCEMENT

Southeast Missouri State University will eliminate summer commencement for undergraduates beginning in 1995.

University officials plan to implement a scaled-down ceremony for graduate students.

"We are planning to make that change," Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said Wednesday. "There is a financial consideration, which is a part of it." But it's more a matter of convenience than anything else, he said.

The university has three commencement ceremonies in each academic year, all held in the Show Me Center. The summer commencement is held in August, the fall commencement in December, and the spring ceremony in May.

But relatively few students graduate in the summer as compared with the other two commencements, Wallhausen said.

Last August, 276 students graduated, including 66 graduate students. That was far fewer than in the spring 1993 commencement with its 705 undergraduates and 49 graduate students, or the fall commencement in December in which 550 students graduated.

"A lot of universities never went to three commencements," said Fred Snider, assistant vice president of enrollment development. "A lot of universities have always had just one, usually in the spring."

For years, Southeast had only a spring commencement. It added summer commencement in 1957 and fall commencement in 1972.

Putting on a commencement ceremony "requires a tremendous effort on the part of faculty and staff," said Wallhausen. "It is a tremendous investment of time and effort by the staff in the registrar's office and other parts of the campus to put on a full-fledged commencement ceremony."

The decision to hold a ceremony for graduate students is based on the fact that a majority of Southeast's graduate students finish their academic work in the summer, Wallhausen said. Also, the graduate student class is larger at summer commencement than in either the fall or spring ceremonies, said Snider.

Plans call for holding the summer graduation ceremony for graduate students in Academic Auditorium, a much smaller setting than the Show Me Center.

The decision to eliminate the full-fledged summer commencement was made initially by university officials at a meeting of the school's administrative council in December. Earlier this month the council opted for a small, summer graduation ceremony for graduate students, beginning in 1995.

Snider said elimination of summer commencement will save Southeast about $3,000. "There would be some savings, but that's not the major consideration by any means."

He said it's more a matter of convenience for both the university and its students. For students who complete their academic work early in the summer, it's often inconvenient for them to return to the campus for a commencement exercise in August, he said.

Under the new arrangement, undergraduates -- who complete their academic work in the summer -- would be allowed to go through the preceding spring commencement or the following fall commencement.

"Basically, we have had a lot of students who have been wanting to go through graduation in the spring," said Snider.