Hard work has finally paid off and for some students, it’s time to put on their caps and gowns and get their diploma.

NIU’s fall commencement ceremonies will be held at the Convocation Center Dec. 12. The first ceremony will be at 9 a.m. and will include the colleges of Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Visual and Performing Arts. The second ceremony will be at 2 p.m. for the colleges of Business, Education and Engineering, and Engineering Technology.

The arena has about 9,000 seats set up for students’ family and friends. Because fall commencement is smaller than its spring counterpart, people do not need tickets to attend the ceremonies.

Besides students’ families and friends, NIU President John Peters will also be at the fall commencement ceremonies.

“I try to shake everyone’s hand at the ceremony to see the look in their eye that shows a lot of hard work and dedication completed,” Peters said.

The ceremonies will last about two and a half hours each.

“Commencement is looked at as one of our most important events. There is a lot of detail, communication and organization that is needed for an event of this magnitude,” said Kevin Selover, marketing director for the Convo Center.

Spring commencement is larger and has three ceremonies, but staff devotes the same attention to detail for each ceremony during the year, Selover said.

The process of planning the ceremony is a year-long event that includes constant communication between the various colleges and the Convocation Center, Selover said.

“The basic setup doesn’t change much, but minor details are different for every commencement,” he said.

The number of students participating in this year’s fall commencement is down from last year.

Last December, there were 1136 undergraduates and 446 graduate students, said Suzanne Warber, assistant director of registration and records.

This year’s commencement has approximately 1033 undergraduates and 469 graduate students. However, these estimates are by no means the final numbers, Warber said.

Number of undergraduates in 2004 fall commencement by college:

College of Business: 187

College of Education: 177

College of Engineering and Engineering Technology: 70

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: 392

College of Visual and Performing Arts: 57

College of Health and Human Services: 150

Source: NIU Registration and Records