AN EXPLANATION OF THE DEGREE GRANTING CEREMONY

Convocation is a rite of passage in which ritual and ceremony are used to acknowledge a student=s entry into a new degree of membership in the academic community of Mount Allison University. At Convocation those who have successfully completed the study and examination set by the institution present themselves before the existing university hierarchy for admission to this new level of standing. The ritual, or the process of admission, requires that the candidate kneel before the Chancellor - the Head of the University. The Chancellor will then say in Latin: AAdmitto te ad gradum...@ [I admit you to the degree of...]. At this moment the student is covered with an academic hood which by its form and colour designates the specific degree programme completed and university awarding the degree. The students and all of the scholars taking part in the ceremony wear what is called academic costume for the event. The costume consists of a gown - usually made of black silk, and a cap - traditionally the socalled mortarboard, or alternatively the Canterbury cap. These articles of clothing are relics of the medieval roots of the modern university. The gown preserves the standard form of dress worn by scholars from the 13th to the 16th centuries - the time when the first European universities were emerging as definable entities. Similarly the scholar=s cap is a legacy of the time when many different occupations were recognized by the hat or costume of their practitioner. The hood is of special interest for it also derives from a form of clothing. The cut of the hood, if viewed carefully, will show that it is similar to the hood of a parka; it can be draped over the head or allowed to fall loosely over one=s back as is commonly done with the academic hood. This garment was also a standard article of clothing during medieval times. Universities in the British academic tradition, which dates to the mid 13thcentury when Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and

University College, Oxford, were founded, have used the hood as a means to distinguish the degrees of their graduates from those at other institutions. This is accomplished by lining the hood with coloured silk or trimming the edge of the hood with fur or coloured silk. More advanced degrees typically produce richer and more complex costumes. Thus the doctoral gown is often coloured whereas bachelor gowns are austere black. The varieties of these designs give the academic gathering a colourful and dramatic flavour and add to the spectacle of the event. The ritual is completed when the student is presented with the scroll indicating the awarding of the degree. In Medieval times the scroll was a license to teach, but today the degree acts as a broader accreditation of academic achievement. Upon being hooded and receiving the scroll, the student is admitted to the degree and becomes a graduate of the University.

A Student=s Guide to Convocation at

THE STUDENT PROCESSION AND THE CONFERRING OF DEGREES

Mount Allison University prides itself on the quality and personal nature of its Convocation. It is rightly a colourful occasion filled with music and pageantry in celebration of your achievement and that of the University itself. Because there will not be an opportunity to rehearse the ceremony with the graduating students, it will be helpful if you take the time to acquaint yourself with the logistical details of the procession and degree granting process. By visualizing the process, it will make your part in it less stressful. On Convocation Day there will be a number of marshals available to direct you. With your help, we intend to make this a day that you and your guests will treasure forever. On Convocation Day the student procession, which forms in the Athletic Centre, is marshaled according to degrees and in order of classes of degree, eg. B.A. with Honours with Distinction, B.A. with Distinction, B.A. with Honours, B.A., etc. Students therefore need to be

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ordered in this way for seating so that they can move to the stage for presentation according to this pattern. It will take time to organize graduates into these lines and therefore it is essential that you be on hand at the Athletic Centre one hour before the ceremony. Please have your cap, gown, hood (folded) with you. Upon entering the Athletic Centre pick up a copy of the Convocation Program B this will help you to identify your place in the seating order. The Parade Marshals will organize you there and your attention will be appreciated. If you have a name which is commonly mispronounced, please see Professor Paul Berry, the Secretary of Senate, to ensure that he is informed of the correct pronunciation. Fifteen minutes before the start of the ceremony, the procession will depart from the Athletic Centre for Convocation Hall in a double line ordered alphabetically by class of degree. The student procession will be preceded by the Faculty procession which departs from Tweedie Hall in the McCain Student Centre and moves down York Street to enter the gates to the campus. When the Faculty line reaches the steps of Convocation Hall, it will part to form a passage through which the student line will walk, moving into the Foyer and thence to be seated at the direction of the marshals. The double file student line will consist of pairs of students; the surname of the person in the left hand position being higher in the alphabet. It is essential that pairs remain in the proper order throughout the procession (See Figure 1). This line will enter the Hall by the right hand aisle, and be seated in the centre section of the Hall from the front row. As the procession reaches a row, the left hand person enters first, followed by the right hand person, and so on. The marshals will make sure that 14 persons enter each row. Please move quickly to your seat and remain standing until the platform party is on stage and you are directed to sit.

Figure 1 - Forming the Procession step into row of seats Adams, Baget (Grads) Adams Bagent Brown Diefenbach Fromer Page etc. (Line Position) left right left right left right etc. (Procession order) Adams, Bagent Brown, Diefenbach Fromer, Page

will rise, walk the rest of the way across the stage placing your hat on your head. Before exiting the stage, you will receive your diploma from the Registrar. After descending the stairs you will return to your seat. When you re-enter the vacant row of seats, you may not return to the exact seat you had. This is because those students who are receiving a second degree or a certificate will not be returning directly. Rather they will proceed to the back of the Hall and assemble on the north wall at the foot of the stage until it is time to return to the stage to receive their next award. At the conclusion of Convocation, the marshals will usher your row out of the Hall in order from the front row using both aisles. Please move directly out of the Foyer and on to the driveway to allow the Hall to vacate. As the post-Convocation reception begins immediately, you are encouraged to make your way to the McCain Student Centre immediately to greet family and friends. Note that those who had their degrees conferred at October convocation, as well as those receiving second degrees or certificates, do not kneel before the Chancellor. If you are an October graduate, you should wear your hood throughout the days ceremonies. When you cross the stage to receive the Chancellors greetings, remain standing. Similarly, if you are receiving a certificate, wear your hood as you cross the stage a second time and remain standing to greet the Chancellor. If you are receiving a second Mount Allison degree, do not wear the hood from your first degree but remain standing as you greet the Chancellor. In the event of inclement weather, the procession will be formed in the basement of Convocation Hall. Notices to this effect will be posted at the Athletic Centre.

When it is time for the conferring of degrees, the marshal will signal for the first row (marshals will collect each row in turn) to rise together, exiting via the left hand aisle and approach the north stairs of the stage. At this point students should have their cap under their left arm and the folded hood B tab side up B in their right hand. You will be handed a name card at the foot of the stairs. When directed, the first person in the row will move onto the stage, hand the name card to the Secretary of Senate, and move past him to the position on the stage marked by a piece of tape. (This is important as it allows the flow of graduands to proceed more quickly across the stage.) As your name is read out, walk toward the Chancellor. The Dean will meet you en route and take your hood from you by clasping the Atab@. When you reach center stage kneel on the stool in front of the Chancellor. Place your right hand in his as he confers your degree. As this is happening the Dean will place your hood over your head. It is important to keep a straight back while kneeling so that the Dean can hood you. When this is completed you