Commencement FAQs

CCBC's 2023 Commencement ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 4 at CCBC Essex. The ceremony will be held beneath the graduation tent on the multipurpose field.

Directions to CCBC Essex and a map of the campus are available on the college website. Free parking is available throughout the campus.

Individuals with limited mobility or who require assistance will be directed to designated parking (Lot 3) upon arrival at the main entrance to the campus. Vehicles that require accessible or senior parking should use the Rossville Boulevard entrance and stay in the right lane.

For more detailed information, visit Directions and parking.

Graduates must report to the Wellness and Athletics Center by 12:30 p.m. for lineup for the ceremony procession. Faculty and staff processional marshals will be there to assist you. Please do not bring valuables into the check-in/robing area as these items will not be secure.

Faculty and staff who are participating in the commencement ceremony should report to the Wellness and Athletics Center, and be robed and ready to process by 12:45 p.m.

Tickets are not required but seating is limited. Family and friends are encouraged to watch the ceremony via live stream with a link posted prior to the event.

Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis to accommodate guests with wheelchairs, walkers, oxygen and visual impairments, etc. We cannot guarantee reserved seating. It is highly recommended that guests arrive early to ensure the seating of their choice. The aisle seat in every other row will have a space to accommodate a wheelchair.

There will be a reserved area for guests using interpreter services. If you need special seating arrangements for deaf or hard of hearing guests, please contact Michael Shaw at mshaw2@ccbcmd.edu  or 443.840.5617 by Wednesday, May 31 so an adequate number of seats may be reserved. If you do not notify us in advance, we cannot guarantee adequate seating.

There is a drop-off area near the graduation tent for those guests with limited mobility, and a designated parking area for cars with valid state disability plate or placards. Guests must provide their own wheelchairs.

Note: There will be live broadcasts of the commencement ceremony in the Romadka College Center (lower level, F. Scott Black Theatre) with indoor seating to view the graduation. This may be a good option for elderly guests and guests with mobility issues, for whom walking to the ceremony tent may be challenging.

Students planning to participate in the Spring 2023 Commencement need to complete the commencement participation form. Regalia pickup begins Monday, May 1, 2023 at CCBC campus bookstores. No student regalia pre-orders are required.

There is no fee for the cap and gown. Graduates wishing to purchase additional tassels may do so when they pick up their cap and gown in the CCBC Bookstore. Additional tassels cost $6.98 each. They are not available online.

Graduates with an overall grade point average of 3.40 or greater are eligible to wear gold honor tassels as part of their graduation regalia. The overall grade point average is determined by computing your cumulative course work from CCBC.

Please note these important deadlines regarding commencement regalia

Monday, May 1
First day to pick up commencement regalia at campus bookstores. NOTE: Commencement Participation Form must be completed prior to regalia pickup.

Friday, March 31
Faculty regalia orders placed on or after this date will be assessed a $30 late fee in addition to the cost of the cap and gown. A bookstore manager will contact faculty when regalia arrive.

Last day to pick up commencement regalia in-person at the CCBC Essex Bookstore.

Each graduate will receive 10 announcements when picking up their cap and gown at the CCBC bookstore. Students may also purchase additional announcements at $10 per package of 10.

Those who have met the graduation requirements for May 2023 graduation, applied for graduation by the graduation deadline, and satisfied all obligations to the college will receive their official diplomas 4-5 weeks after the end of the semester. Diplomas will be mailed to student addresses on file with the college.

Note: Students who have previously graduated in August and December should have received their diplomas in the mail.

Commencement-day weather can range from rainy and cool to sunny and hot — sometimes all in the same morning!

Students participating in the CCBC commencement ceremony are encouraged to wear occasion- and weather-appropriate clothing beneath their regalia. Lightweight fabrics are generally a good choice to help avoid becoming overheated. Students should consider wearing low-heeled shoes in order to more easily maneuver the stairs and grassy areas of the ceremony site. 

Graduates who do not have proper academic regalia (cap and gown) will not be permitted to process and cross the stage.

Decoration of academic regalia
Graduates may decorate their mortarboards for the commencement ceremony. Embellishments are limited to the graduation cap mortarboard (the square, flat top) only. The academic gown and hood cannot be altered or decorated.

Since commencement is an official academic ceremony, we ask that all decorations be in good taste, be a positive representation of CCBC’s academic programs and community, and be family-friendly. There may be no three-dimensional decorations (items extending up from or hanging down from the mortarboard).

Graduates with mortarboard decorations that do not meet these guidelines may be asked to remove their decorations prior to the ceremony.

Every participant in the commencement ceremony will be professionally photographed by GradImages.

There will also be opportunities for additional cap-and-gown photographs at GradFest, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 13, 2023 at CCBC Essex.