Celebrate the accomplishments of Chemeketa graduates at the Commencement Ceremony.
Commencement Ceremony
Celebrate the accomplishments of Chemeketa graduates at the Commencement Ceremony.
Celebrate your achievements with the 69th annual commencement ceremony. The college will hold a special ceremony for students and their guests on the Salem campus in Building 7, Friday, June 13, 2025 from 2:00pm-6:00pm. This year's event will allow you and your guests to experience commencement together in a fun and interactive way-- friends and family can walk with their graduates to the stage and have a front row seat while their graduates receive their diploma cover. Guests are also welcome to take a seat in the gym to watch graduates.
Students will have the opportunity to:
Receive their diploma cover
Get a professional graduation photo taken
Be congratulated by Chemeketa's President, Dr. Howard
Celebrate with the Board of Education, faculty and staff
Event Details
Date: Friday, June 13 2-6pm
Location
Chemeketa Community College - Salem Campus - Building 7
To participate in the June 2025 commencement ceremony, students need to register by filling out the commencement registration form located on the Graduation page in MyChemeketa. (MyChemeketa - Services - Graduation - Commencement Form). Students will register for their preferred time slot-- registration is limited and once a time slot is full, it will no longer be available. Registration opens Monday, February 3, 2025.
Students will need to know their student portal login information to register. To log into your student portal, go to https://login.chemeketa.edu and use your Chemeketa login information. If you haven't recently logged into Chemeketa systems, you may be required to change your password and provide answers to challenge questions. If you've forgotten your username or password, you can retrieve it by clicking on the "Need help?" link on the top right section of the login box. If you experience any technical issues while signing in, please contact our IT Help Desk at 503.399.7899.
Online registration for commencement will end Friday, June 6, 2025. Students must register for commencement in order to participate in the ceremony. Students will not be able to register to participate after this deadline and will need to participate in the June 2026 ceremony.
College certificate and degree seeking students will also need to submit an Application for Certificate or Degree form to the Graduation Services office in order to have final credits reviewed for graduation.
Students who have completed or plan on completing final credits to meet program requirements from Summer 2024 through Summer 2025 are eligible to participate in this year's commencement ceremony.
Caps and gowns are optional! If you want to purchase a cap and gown, please visit Jostens. Any cap and gown purchased online will be shipped directly to you! If you miss online ordering, a limited supply of caps and gowns will be available at the Chemeketa Bookstore beginning May 5, 2025.
Order Online – February 3 through May 22, 2025
Purchase your cap and gown and academic regalia online through Jostens to be shipped directly to you.
Cost: $52
Dates: February 3 - May 22
Online purchasing will end May 22, 2025.
If you purchased your gown online, we recommend you keep the confirmation email from Jostens until the cap and gown is received at the address you provided.
Graduates of one-year certificate, two-year degree, and applied bachelor programs wear black. Graduates of the High School Completion programs, HEP, and GED wear green.
Bookstore
May 5, 2025
Cost: $65
If you missed the online cap and gown sales window, the Chemeketa Bookstore on the Salem campus will have a limited supply of caps and gowns for purchase beginning May 5, 2025. Please see the Bookstore website for their hours of operation.
The bookstore will have regalia packages (cap, gown, and tassel) as well as individual items (caps and tassels).
Come celebrate your achievements at the June 2025 ceremony! Friday, June 13, 2025 from 2-6pm. You must register to attend by Friday, June 6, 2025.
Instructionsfor Commencement Day
You will want to arrive on the Salem campus 10 minutes before the time slot you registered for through the commencement registration form. You will receive an email to your MyChemeketa email address with your selected time slot.
Once you arrive on campus, look for signs that direct you to the check-in station by building 7. You will check-in and receive a marching card with your name-- do not lose this card, it will be used to announce your name as you receive your diploma cover.
You will be directed where to line up after checking in-- you and your guests can line up in our procession together inside and around building 7 or your guests can find seating inside of the gym.
When you arrive at the gym doors, you will walk the red carpet to have your name read, receive your diploma cover, shake hands with the President, and be photographed by a professional photographer. Your guests will walk parallel to you and be front and center to watch you receive your diploma cover or be seated in the gym. They can pause to take pictures of you and will meet you after the professional photograph is complete.
You and your guests will then exit the gym and building 7 where you can enjoy various photography stations across campus to celebrate!
Other Important Information:
Parking is limited on campus-- please encourage your guests to carpool when possible.
GradImages will be at the ceremony to take professional pictures of each graduate. At no cost and with no obligation, proofs will be emailed to you within 24 to 48 hours (if you provide your email address on the check-in card) or mailed to your home address in about 2 weeks. If you would like to purchase these photos, you can pre-register on the GradImages site.
There will be seating available in the gym for any guests who choose not to walk the procession with you or are unable to. We ask that they enter and exit the gym quietly.
A limited quantity of caps, gowns, and tassels will be available the day of for purchase. We cannot guarantee that we will have your size available. Caps and gowns are optional for participating the ceremony.
You will not receive your diploma at the ceremony, you will only receive the diploma cover. If you are a college degree or certificate seeking student and are awarded, your diploma will be sent in the mail. If you are a GED, HEP, or High School Partnership student, please check with your program for when you will receive a diploma or certificate.
Chemeketa's Alma Mater
During the most recent Chemeketa Foundation fundraising drive, President Jessica Howard promised that if we made our fundraising goal, she would sing Chemeketa's very difficult Alma Mater with our choir to commemorate the achievement, honor our donors, and congratulate the class of 2022. We did, in fact, meet our fundraising goal. President Howard made good on her promise and in this video, performed the piece with the Chemeketa Choir. Dr. Kerry Burtis conducts the choir.
The alma mater was conceptualized by President Emeritus Gretchen Schuette and Chemeketa’s Board of Education in October 2005. Board members identified the values they would like to have expressed in the alma mater and President Schuette created lyrics from those values. Thomas Bishop, an employee in the Chemeketa Online department and a talented composer and musician, arranged and set the words to music. The first public performance of the alma mater was at the 50th Commencement Ceremony on June 17, 2006. The alma mater was formally approved by the Chemeketa Board of Education on July 26, 2006, and the song was registered and copyrighted with the Library of Congress on January 19, 2007.