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Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! As the end of your learning experience at 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ Baptist University comes to a close, please keep the following dates and procedures in mind:

Plainview Commencement

Graduation Application Deadlines:
For December 13th, 2025 Graduation - Students must apply by September 15, 2025

For May 16, 2026 Graduation - Students must apply by February 15, 2026

Torch and Mantle: 
10:30 a.m. each graduation day (see dates below), in Harral Auditorium. The Torch and Mantle celebration encourages graduating seniors to ask a member of administration, faculty, or staff who served as a role model to join them, as well as an undergraduate of their choice, to continue the thread that runs through generations of 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ graduates. Student Activities sponsors this event and is happy to answer questions: (806) 291-3752.

December Commencement:
2:00 p.m. sharp, Saturday, December 13, 2025, in Hutcherson
Gymnasium. Prior to the commencement ceremony, graduates must arrive at the Harral Memorial
Auditorium no later than 1:00 p.m. on Saturday to line up for the ceremony.

May Commencement:
2:00 p.m. sharp, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Hutcherson Gymnasium. Prior to the commencement ceremony, graduates must arrive at the Harral Memorial Auditorium no later than 1:00 p.m. on Saturday to line up for the ceremony. 

For each ceremony, students selected as platform party participants will rehearse at 1:30 p.m. the
Friday before commencement in Hutcherson Gymnasium.

51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ will communicate any official changes to the above schedule via 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ email and/or
51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ social media.

GRADUATION CEREMONY ATTIRE

Men should wear professional attire, such as dark pants, dress shirt, tie, and dark shoes (no tennis shoes or flip-flops). Women should also wear professional attire, such as a dress or dress-pants with dark shoes (no tennis shoes or flip-flops).

Gown or Regalia:
The respective Academic Records department will notify students of the deadlines for ordering
graduation regalia through the University’s portal. Students are responsible for ordering their own regalia and will be provided instructions for the ordering process. Once ordered, regalia will be shipped directly to each student. It is the student’s responsibility to bring their regalia to the ceremony. Please note that students who arrive without their regalia will not be permitted to participate in the ceremony.

Caps or mortar boards and gowns must remain in their original state; no decorations may be added. During the ceremony, men remove their caps during prayer, pledges, scripture, and the alma mater. Women always wear their caps.

Doctoral and master’s degree students will wear the tassel on the left; baccalaureate and
associate degree students will wear the tassel on the right.

In addition to the above, graduates may wear the following during the ceremony:

1. 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ Latin or academic honor cords, stoles, or sashes
2. 51³Ô¹ÏÍøÊÓƵ Honors Program or Torch and Mantle medallions
3. Stoles or sashes that represent a student’s heritage, ethnicity, and/or native culture and are no
   wider than 5.5 inches across at the widest point, and no longer than 72 inches in length.

Graduating students who wish to wear stoles or sashes that represent their heritage, ethnicity, native
culture, military service, and/or first-generation college status can order pre-approved stoles through
the University's regalia portal as noted above. Students who wish to order a stole through other
means must contact the University Registrar’s office to receive approval from the Associate Registrar or Registrar no later than eight days prior to the graduation ceremony (generally the Friday before final exams begin).

In accordance with university values, the wearing of non-academic stoles is purely at the
discretion of the university. Students’ attire will be assessed prior to walking the stage, and nonacademic cords, stoles, or comparable items may be removed if they do not fit the criteria listed above. Graduates refusing to comply with requirements for attire may be excluded from the commencement ceremony.

Following the recessional, graduates may add supplementary cords, stoles, sashes, or other
celebratory attire.

GRADUATION CEREMONY PROCEDURES

As the graduation ceremony combines the traditional components of the Baccalaureate Service with the formality of the Commencement Ceremony, please follow these instructions to move through the event with poise.

For both December and May graduation ceremonies, Doctoral, Master’s, Bachelor’s, and Associate’s
degree candidates will meet in the Harral Memorial Auditorium to prepare for the Campus March. (In
case of inclement weather, all graduates will line up in the South hallway [gym level] of the Hutcherson Gymnasium.)

Guests should arrive at Hutcherson Gymnasium no earlier than 1:00 p.m. All guests of a graduate
should arrive as a group so that they may sit together.

A professional photographer will take each graduate’s picture as the President presents the diploma
cover. While family members and friends may take video and/or pictures from their seats, they are asked not to approach the front of the gymnasium during the ceremony as it may interrupt the flow candidates.

As commencement is an honorable and distinguished ceremony, please remind relatives and friends
not to embarrass you or offend classmates by making distracting noises when your name is called.

Please also ask your family to arrange childcare for babies and small children, or to take fussy or
crying children to an alternate location.

A reception honoring our graduates is held in or near the Laney Center immediately following the
ceremony; all guests are encouraged to join the celebration!