I'm a little frustrated with life. When I checked my school email account, I had a very disturbing email in my inbox from one of our school deans about graduation. (Please note that this particular dean is very, very verbose and I've only included the relevant portions and, in case you were wondering, I have NO idea why he always says transc-ript instead of just transcript.)
"The most important difference is this: in past years, we have handed out “live” (i.e. real, authentic, official, frame-able) diplomas at graduation; this year and in future years, we will be handing out “dummy diplomas” and the real thing will be sent to you over the summer.
As to the practical implications, there is only one and it should not have any real-world effects on any of you. Let me explain: In prior years, your university transc-ript would have said you had a J.D. on graduation day because you had already received your diplomas. To be concrete, if you had gone to the Registrar’s Office the morning after graduation and asked for a transc-ript, it would (I think) have said you were awarded a J.D. on May 15 even though it still wouldn’t have shown grades for your spring courses. (To use registrar-lingo, the degree would have been “posted” on May 15.) This year and in the future, your official record will not say you have a J.D. until all the grades are in. Once all the grades are in, your transc-ript will then show your degree as having been awarded on May 15, 2011. You can, of course, think of yourself and describe yourself to friends and family as having finished law school, having graduated, having a J.D., etc. But you won’t really, officially have a J.D. in eyes of the university until all the grades are in. Since none of you can practice law until you take the bar in July, I don’t think this has any actual effect on your lives.
There is a catch, and since I like to be on the level about this kind of thing I will tell you what it is. You need to have your degrees posted as earned on May 15, but the university is only willing to “back-date” the date on which the degree is earned for a month. This means that all grades must be properly recorded by June 15 for degrees to be posted as earned on May 15. If we miss this deadline, the degree will not be posted until the end of summer session and that may cause problems for those taking the July bar. (Actually, we know it likely wouldn’t cause problems for students in WV and several other states – but it might cause someone a problem somewhere and that’s reason enough to make sure we don’t miss the deadline.) Believe me; everyone at the law school is fully aware that screwing up a student’s plans to take the bar would be an unforgivable sin. I pledge to you that this will not happen: every grade for every graduating student will be in by June 15, and all who have earned a J.D. will have that degree posted as earned on May 15. I recognize that this may be a source of anxiety after the experiences last spring when we struggled to adapt to the changes demanded by the Registrar’s Office. We have done a great deal of work in the interim establishing new systems for handling grades and working with the Registrar’s Office, and the handling of grades for the Fall 2010 semester went pretty quickly and pretty smoothly. Thirty days from the final exam was Tuesday, January 18, and all grades were entered, completely checked, and visible to you by midday on Friday the 21st. (The law school faculty and staff, as well as the Registrar’s Office, were immensely helpful in making this happen.) The last day of exams this spring is May 7, so thirty days after that would be June 6. A repeat of our efforts this past semester would put grades up on June 9, nearly a week earlier than necessary. Thus, I am confident that all will be well; and I think we have given you grounds to be confident as well.
That is the most important stuff. You may also be wondering how the new regime will affect the graduation ceremony (if you have any expectations about that at all).
(1) We will still be able to recognize Order of the Coif grads at the ceremony, as we have always done.
(2) We will continue to refer to you in the ceremony as “our graduates” and the like, though we have to put a fine print disclaimer in the program saying something to the effect that, technically, you are degree candidates until all grades are reported.
(3) You still may decide to “walk with your class” even if you are not graduating."
So, to reiterate, I noticed several points.
1. At Graduation, I don't get a diploma.
2. In the Graduation program, it will say I am only a JD candidate.
3. People who truly AREN'T graduating can walk in the ceremony.
4. If the school doesn't get my grades in on time, which, let's face it, has happened, ten it may mess up my bar exam.
Well, honestly, in my opinion, I don't see why I would even go to a Graduation ceremony where the program says in fine print that I'm a candidate and I don't even get a real diploma. Why should my family drive the six hours to West Virginia for a graduation that doesn't get me a diploma, lists me as a candidate, and allows other students who haven't graduated to walk, too. Where is the distinction for the graduating and non-graduating students? Why bother? Personally, I don't think I will.
In addition to this new information, I also happen to know that the cap and gown costs $160 (or it did last year so now it may be more)--which, obviously, I will never wear again. Graduation is a full week after final exams, so, if I don't walk at graduation, I can go home a week sooner. If I am at home a week sooner, I get a mini-vacation before the bar prep class starts, and I can work--and make several hundred extra dollars. If I go back to WV again, it will cost me at least $70-80 just in gas. That adds up pretty quickly. And its a lot of money to spend for all my friends and family watch me get a dummy diploma.
Is it okay if I don't walk in graduation? Is it silly to be annoyed that I won't get a diploma? And that the cap and gown costs so darn much? My mom says I should think about it some more before I give my final decision, but I'm pretty sure that I'm ready to say "no, thanks" now. I could go home, get my puppy, make some extra money, put law school behind me--and move on to the next chapter in my life.
Either way, the real diploma will be mailed to me over the summer.
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