Information for Graduating Students

Yes! Graduation is the awarding of the degrees by the office of the Registrar after completion of all academic requirements.

Commencement is the ceremony celebrating the conferring of degrees!

Students who have a minimum of 45 degree credits by the beginning of the graduation semester are sent an email from the Registrar regarding graduation eligibility. If eligible, students can submit an application for graduation via WebAdvisor (instructions below), or by appointment with a Student Success Coach. The deadlines to apply for graduation are*:

Spring 2024: March 22 * Please note, after this date, names will no longer be added to the printed Commencement program, however (if approved) you are still eligible to graduate.

*Summer I applicants who do not intend to participate in commencement have until May 17. If the deadline date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline date will be the next business day.

To check if you are eligible to apply for graduation through WebAdvisor, click on the MyBrookdale tab at the top right corner of this webpage.  When the Quick Launch bar pops up, click on the WebAdvisor icon, and then click on Application for Graduation from the Student Menu to check your eligibility to apply for graduation online.

If, for whatever reason, WebAdvisor does not allow you to apply, you may meet with a Student Success Coach to verify your graduation eligibility. This action must be taken as soon as possible so you do not miss out on future correspondence about graduation.

The graduation requirements in force during a degree student’s first term are those by which the courses will be selected and evaluated for graduation. Should a program change during a student’s tenure at Brookdale, the student may still graduate by meeting the requirements in force during the first term of that program. Students who withdraw for a year and are later re-admitted or change programs must follow graduation requirements in effect in the re-entry term. In rare circumstances, a course substitution may be made for a program requirement. Institute Dean Approval is required for the substitution.

Detailed Graduation requirements can be found under these College Regulations:
Matriculation Regulation
Graduation Regulation
Foundational Studies Regulation

If you need your transcripts to reflect your status as a graduate, please note this information will not automatically appear on a transcript until approximately two to three weeks after the graduation date.  Whether you request online, by postal mail, or in person, please be sure to check the box indicating “hold for recording of degree” if you wish transcripts to include your status as a graduate. Detailed information on transcript requests can be found here.

All diplomas are mailed within 15 weeks after the Registrar’s Office confirms graduation requirements have been met. (This is typically done in August.)

The 2024 Commencement was held on May 9th. The day was split into two sessions.

The morning session for Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree candidates started at 10am.

The afternoon session for Associate in Science (A.S.), Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.), Associates in Applied Science (A.A.S.), and Certificate Program candidates started at 3pm.

Both ceremonies were held in the Robert Collins Arena on the Lincroft Campus. If your degree program had an additional ceremony, such as Allied Health Pinning Ceremony, Nurses Pinning Ceremony, or Culinary Awards reception, please contact your program’s office directly for more information.

All graduates were asked to arrive one hour before each ceremony (9am for the morning and 2pm for the afternoon) and report to the Brookdale Recreation & Events Center (BREC) to line up for the formal entry into the Collins Arena. We ask that you arrive with all of your graduation regalia on and leave any bags or personal items in your vehicle or at home. There will be no place to store your personal belongings during the ceremony.

Please note: there is no graduation rehearsal.

When you arrive, you will be asked to phonetically spell-out your name on a card provided to ensure pronunciation of your name at the ceremony. This card should also be filled out with your personal contact information so that, after the ceremony, the photographer may contact you directly about ordering prints.

The extended deadline to order graduation regalia was April 22, 2024. Please contact graduation@brookdalecc.edu for further information.

All regalia orders will be shipped to Brookdale and were available to pick-up from the office of Student Life & Activities. Pick-up was available from April 22-26 and April 29 – May 3, 2024.

Guest tickets are limited to three per graduate. Guest tickets were distributed with your cap and gown (regalia) upon pick-up from the office of Student Life & Activities. Pick-up was available April 22 – 26 and April 29 – May 3, 2024.

Please be advised that each individual guest entering the Arena MUST have a ticket (this includes children of all ages). No one will be permitted entry without a ticket. The Commencement will also be a live simulcast on-line by subscribing to the Brookdale TV YouTube page.

Armed Forces Honor Cords

Are you a Veteran of the US Armed Forces or a member of the Reserves or National Guard? Are you eligible for Commencement this May? If so, you may be eligible to receive an Armed Forces Cord for graduation and be recognized for your service to our country. To be eligible, you must either:

Have served as a member of the US Armed Forces in an Active Duty, Reserves or National Guard capacity as is evidenced by a DD-214. Discharge must be anything other than a “Dishonorable”. “Less than Honorable” or “Other than Honorable” Discharge.

or

Are a current member of the Reserves, National Guard or Active Duty and have been deployed. Evidence of deployment as evidenced by an issued DD-214. Discharge must be anything other than a “Dishonorable”, “Less than Honorable” or “Other than Honorable” Discharge.

Please contact the Veterans Center for further details. Please note, cords are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Armed Forces Cord sponsored by the Brookdale Student Veterans Club with support from the Student Life Board.

Education Opportunity Fund Cords

Graduates enrolled in Brookdale’s Educational Opportunity Fund Program are encouraged to wear their program admission honor cords, Chi Alpha Epsilon Academic Honor Society honor cords, and graduation stoles at their graduation commencement. Please contact the EOF office directly for more information on securing these items at 732-224-2510.

National Society of Leadership & Success

Please contact the National Society of Leadership and Success store directly at https://shop.nsls.org/collections/graduation for more information regarding purchasing stole and cords for commencement.

Phi Theta Kappa Honors Stole

Brookdale’s Alpha Pi Theta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society will be selling honor stoles to graduating members at the cost of $40. The Key Honors Stole is made of gold satin and finished with an embroidered Key Medallion. Please check directly with the chapter for more details or contact chapter advisor Angela Saragusa through the link above.

If you need an accommodation, please check back here in Spring 2025 for the Accommodations Request Form.

We work collaboratively with the Office of Accessibility Services to make sure we are able to meet all reasonable accommodations.

One graduate, per ceremony, is selected to give a speech for the 2024 Commencement as the student speaker.  Speakers must be available to come to campus on a to-be-determined date following all regulations and guidelines to have their speech professionally recorded in the Collins Arena prior to the ceremonial events.

For your speech to be considered, it must be typed and submitted to Student Life & Activities via our commencement email at graduation@brookdalecc.edu  When you submit your speech, you must also give your name, student ID number, and contact information. Your speech should be a personal story about how Brookdale Community College positively impacted your life. Please limit your speech to three typed pages, double-spaced. The deadline for submitting a commencement speech for consideration for the 2024 commencement was April 15.

If you have applied for graduation, you will receive a message inviting you to consider running for the position of Graduate Trustee. The position is for one year, with a time commitment of at least two meetings per month. The Graduate Trustee serves as the student voice on the Brookdale Board of Trustees and has a vital impact on how the college is run.

The completed application, and the statement, were to be emailed to Cynthia Gruskos, Senior Assistant to the President & the Board of Trustees, cgruskos@brookdalecc.edu by 5:00 PM. on April 15, 2024.

Each graduate will be added into a Graduate Trustee Canvas Shell for the voting period.

The elections for the open board seat were held online through the CANVAS learning management system in April 2024. A link to the shell was sent in an email message to all graduating students once the field of candidates was finalized. All students may only vote once.  Voting took place April 23-25, 2024.

Be on time! The lineup takes quite a while so you must be at the Brookdale Recreation & Events Center at the time designated – at least a full hour before the ceremony start. Anyone arriving late will be placed at the end of the line.

Please leave all personal belongings in the car or with an attending guest, be prepared to bring bobby pins for your cap, be advised to wear comfortable shoes and weather/ceremony appropriate attire.

Plan to stay! Once Commencement begins, no graduates will be permitted to leave. If you have plans following the graduation ceremony, please keep this in mind.

If you have any questions, please email Student life & Activities at graduation@brookdalecc.edu

To learn more about Alumni Affairs, click here!
To become a member, click here!

The 2024 Commencement ceremony video is available for purchase by visiting the following link:

Brookdale Television Shop