DeKALB | Separate commencement ceremonies for graduate students were approved at University Council meeting Wednesday.

Fall graduate student commencement is Saturday, Dec. 13; spring graduate student commencement is Friday, May 8. Undergraduate ceremonies are the next day.

Shortening the ceremonies was one main factor in the scheduling decision, Provost Ray Alden said.

“Last May’s ceremony we had roughly 180 more graduates during the ceremony than the previous year,” Alden said. “It went on extraordinarily long; we went into the thirteenth hour by the time we finished the third ceremony, and I’d guess about 20 percent of the students and audience remained at the time of the final name being read.”

It’s important to allow all students the opportunity to graduate in front of their family and peers, Alden said.

“It will allow people to stay until the end as well as honor our graduate student population,” he said.