Graduation

Complete the online application by the applicable deadline. Submit your application by the deadline for the semester when you're taking your final classes for your degree or diploma. Certificates are automatically awarded at the end of each semester.

Application for Degree and Diploma

• The credential is not issued at the graduation ceremony. Graduates will be notified when credentials are ready for pickup (approximately 8-12 weeks after the ceremony). Credentials not picked up by the deadline will be mailed to the address provided on the degree application.
• If you complete multiple degrees or diplomas, you must apply for each degree or diploma.
• I haven't received my printed credential(s) and graduated several months ago. What should I do?
  • Contact the ECTC Records Office using your KCTCS email address at ectcrecordsoffice@kctcs.edu to verify that a credential was awarded. 
• I need a copy of my credential as soon as possible for my current or potential employer. What should I do?
  • The official transcript lists all certificates, diplomas, and degrees granted with the award date. This official document will be available earlier than a printed credential and can be ordered at www.studentclearinghouse.org.
• How will I obtain my credential?
  • Once credentials are ready, the Records Office sends an email and text notification providing a pickup option with a deadline. Once the deadline is reached, all remaining degree and diploma credentials are mailed to the address listed on the application for degree or diploma. If certificates are the only credentials earned, they will be mailed to the address provided in PeopleSoft. If a degree or diploma graduate student needs to update their mailing address, please contact the Records Office by emailing ectcrecordsoffice@kctcs.edu.

• For the Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degrees at least 25 percent of the approved curriculum credits must be completed at the college granting the degree. For a certificate or diploma, at least 25 percent of the approved curriculum credits must be completed at the college granting the credential. Students seeking Associate in Arts, Associate in Science or Associate in Applied Science degrees or Diplomas must have a minimum cumulative KCTCS GPA of 2.0 to be eligible for graduation. To be eligible for a certificate, a student must satisfactorily complete an approved curriculum with a grade point average of at least 2.0 in the courses required for the certificate.
• Will I be contacted about my application for degree or diploma?
  • An initial degree audit is completed, usually within 2 weeks of a student submitting their application for degree or diploma. We will notify you by email and/or a call if you are not on track to graduate. Degree applicants who are on track, will receive an email notifying them that they are on track.
• Graduation with honors: Students who have completed at least 45 credit hours of work toward degree completion or 30 credit hours of work toward diploma completion in the KCTCS colleges earn distinction based on the following:
  • Distinction:  3.4 – 3.59 cumulative KCTCS GPA
  • High Distinction:  3.6 – 4.0 cumulative KCTCS GPA
• Earning multiple degrees: A student will be eligible for an additional degree when the student has completed the requirements of the second curriculum including a minimum of six credit hours relevant to the second degree and beyond the requirements for the first degree. A degree will not be granted for the completion of a second option in a program. The completion of a second option will be recorded on the transcript.

• KCTCS caps and gowns are required to walk in the graduation ceremony.
• If you are unable to purchase the cap and gown, please contact the resource below to see if you qualify for a loaner cap and gown.
  1. Family Scholar House
     Email- FSHElizabethtown@familyscholarhouse.org
• Honor cords based on having a 4.0 cumulative KCTCS GPA are provided to eligible graduates when checking in the day of the ceremony. If you are receiving a cord from any organization or office on campus, please reach out to that office on how to obtain the cords.

• Be sure to bring your cap and gown. The Records Office is not responsible for or the transport of caps and gowns.
• We suggest leaving purses with one of your guests. There is not a monitored, safe space for leaving these items behind. ECTC and Severns Valley Baptist Church are not responsible for lost or left behind items.

• Guest tickets are required and there are ticket limits, which are dependent on how many participate in the ceremony. After the signup deadline participants will be emailed the guest ticket details, with a link to signup for tickets, and waitlist instructions, if available for that semester.

• There will not be a rehearsal participants will receive details within two weeks of the ceremony date.

• Contact our Accessibility Services Coordinator, Teresa Brown at tbrown0641@kctcs.edu no later than two weeks before the ceremony.