The fall semester graduation ceremony will take place Dec. 11 at the NIU Convocation Center for students receiving doctoral, masters and baccalaureate degrees.

One change for this year’s commencement ceremony is that graduation candidates must pick up tickets for guests, similar to the May commencement ceremony, said Sheri Voss, human resources manager for the Convocation Center.

Graduation candidates are allowed 10 free guest tickets. They are available for pick-up at the Convocation Center Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Friday.

The number of tickets allotted was determined from research on how many tickets other colleges offer to graduating students, Voss said. The Office of the Provost made the final decision.

All guests over the age of one are required to have a guest ticket, according to the Convo Center’s Web site. If graduation candidates do not pick up all of their guest tickets by 6 p.m. Friday, it will be assumed they have all of the tickets needed and tickets will no longer be available to candidates.

Students who cannot pick up tickets at the Convocation Center may e-mail the Convocation Center at [email protected] and request tickets to be held at the Convocation Center Ticket Office to be picked up during regular business hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or picked up on graduation day. The e-mail must include the candidate’s name, college and how many tickets requested.

Graduation candidates are required to have tickets for guests to reduce confusion regarding the differences between ceremonies, Voss said.

“We want to create consistency between the different ceremonies,” she said.

If a graduation candidate plans to have more than 10 guests, they can request extra tickets in an e-mail after Friday with subject line “extra tickets.”