You’re standing in line in your cap and gown, waiting for your turn to walk across stage and receive your long awaited college degree with your proud loved ones watching from their seats.

The only problem: you forgot to turn in a piece of paper or a grade and now you are pulled out of line to wait until the next commencement date. Want to avoid this hassle, drama, and heartbreak?

According to registrar Kathy Hall, making contact with your advisor early in the semester and checking your course evaluation on WebAdvisor is the most important step to take.

Students who will be participating in the December Commencement Program must have all transcripts from other institutions and Course Substitution/Waiver forms turned into the Registrar’s Office by December 1. In addition, all other coursework must be completed by December 15.

If a student has any outstanding academic obligation after December 15, he or she will not be able to walk at commencement. Furthermore, the student’s degree will be conferred on the following conferment day in May 2012.

September 1 is the deadline to apply for December Commencement. If there is something preventing a student from participating in the December Commencement, the registrar will begin sending notification emails on December 12.

It is the goal of the Registrar’s office for the students to “walk across the stage with a sense of accomplishment and not lingering problems,” additionally you can feel secure knowing that the person standing next to you “doesn’t have any outstanding academic obligations,” Hall said.

To avoid disappointment on commencement day, start now. Check WebAdvisor yourself, contact your advisor, and communicate with the registrar.