Putting the safety and welfare of Fairfield’s students, families, faculty, and staff above all else, representatives from every area of the University have been hard at work over the past year to explore every possible scenario for our Commencement ceremonies. As the pandemic has continued to evolve, the University has worked directly with the State of Connecticut, Town of Fairfield, and Department of Public Health to determine the best approach. These final plans are the result of all those efforts.

At this point, we do not foresee any additional changes being made to the 2021 Commencement schedule.

While you will have access to your Fairfield email account as alumni, we also understand that it may or may not be your preferred email account. You may also register with our alumni community by visiting fairfield.edu/alumnicommunity and click “Register Now” under “First Time Visitor.” Search by your first and last name, select your student ID when prompted, and follow subsequent prompts to set up your username and password.

You can also forward your Fairfield University email to your personal account using these instructions.

If you have any Commencement-related questions that were not addressed on this FAQ page, please email commencement@fairfield.edu.

The in-person Academic celebrations will take place on Bellarmine Lawn. Deans, faculty, and students will gather in their regalia for a ceremony celebrating each student’s academic accomplishments. Students will be recognized by their dean and invited, by name, to walk up the steps of Bellarmine Hall.

Please note that the conferral of degrees will happen at the virtual Commencement Ceremony on the following Sunday, May 23.

Each student will be allotted a maximum of two tickets to share with two guests of their choosing. All in-person Academic Celebrations will be livestreamed so those who cannot attend will be able to participate in this important occasion.

All Academic Celebrations will take place on Bellarmine Lawn, rain or shine, with social distancing protocols in effect. In the case of severe weather, there is a possibility a celebration will need to be canceled.

Tickets will be claimed through our University ticketing site. Students will receive their tickets through email as a PDF for distribution to their guests. Each ticket has a unique bar code that allows one entry into the event. The tickets should be treated as you would any other valuable.

We anticipate tickets being available on or around April 15th. Please check your email for updates.

The in-person Academic Celebrations have been designed specifically for the students in their designated programs. Each student’s name will be called out so it is important that all students attend their assigned ceremony.

Yes, all Academic Ceremonies will be live-streamed and archived on the University website.

Students should attend the celebration that aligns with their primary major. To double check which major they have listed, students should access the “Student Records“ task in my.Fairfield. Once there they should select their “Academic Transcript” and their primary major will be listed at the top.

Students that would like to update their primary major, should send an email to the registrar@fairfield.edu with the subject “Commencement”. The email should include their name and ID# along with an explanation as to why they are look-ing to switch their primary degree to the one that they currently have as their secondary.

While guests are not required to be tested prior to their visit to campus, they are asked to monitor their health and not come to campus if any of the following statements are true:

• If they are experiencing a fever (100.4 F) or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea.
• If they were in close contact with an infectious individual diagnosed with COVID-19 or were advised to quarantine by a Public Health Official in the past 14 days.
• If they have returned from international travel within the past 14 days.
• All guests are asked to bring their own masks which will be required while on campus.

Yes, buses will be provided for members of the Class of 2021 currently living at the beach.

• Students should board the buses at Veteran’s Parking Lot by 8 a.m. for all 9:30 a.m. celebrations and by 12:30 p.m. for all 2 p.m. celebra-tions. Masks must be worn at all times while on the buses and on campus.
• Students will be dropped off at Canisius and report to their assigned location.
• Students interested in using this service, should check their Commence-ment Checklist to register by Thursday, May 13.

No, fees will not be refunded. Graduation fees are always collected from all graduates regardless of their participation in Commencement ceremonies. The fee covers the cost of a number of elements of a student’s graduation including the processing and mailing of diplomas and more.

During this ceremony, the deans will present their graduates and President Mark R. Nemec, PhD will confer degrees on all graduates. Speakers will also address the Class of 2021. We encourage you to celebrate the conferral of your degree by the president at home with your family.

The Class of 2021 Commencement Ceremony will take place virtually on Sunday, May 23, at 9:30 a.m. Check your email and visit fairfield.edu/commencement over the next few weeks for more details.

Starting April 1, you will have access to the Commencement Checklist, where you can review a list of mandatory and optional Commencement-related action items and see your completion status. More information will be shared via email soon.

The ordering deadline for the Class of 2021 undergraduates who wanted to pick up their regalia on-campus was April 11. However, the ordering site will remain open for students who want to ship their orders home until April 17. Students will be asked to pay the $7.95 shipping fee.

After April 17, students can order their regalia to be shipped with expedited shipping until May 1 and students will need to pay the $14.95 shipping fee. For students unable to access the ordering site or who do not want to pay for shipping costs, we will have extra regalia available at the pick-up event on May 13 and at the Stag Spirit Shop the weekend prior to the academic celebrations.

Upon verification that your graduation requirements have been met, the Registrar will mail your diploma to the address you provided on your graduation application. If you are scheduled to graduate in May, diplomas will be mailed out in June. Additional questions may be directed to registrar@fairfield.edu.

Go to LaurenStudios.com and click on the “schedule appointments and retakes” button at the top.

On the next page, click on the orange tab at the bottom that says “create account.” If you already have an account, enter your username and password. Only fill in the school passcode, which is “STAGS21.”

On the next page, fill in your information to create an account and then make an appointment.

As long as you have met the requirements to graduate, you will be “graduated” on May 23, 2021, regardless of a physical ceremony. For purposes of educational attainment verification, your graduation will be reflected on your transcript. While we hope you are able to participate in this virtual ceremony, your participation in the ceremony does not affect your ability to graduate.

Fairfield will hold a series of senior experiences from Friday, May 14 through Sunday, May 16 with in-person celebrations scaled appropriately to comply with all State guidelines. Our deans are working with our Office of Student Engagement to ensure this weekend is special for our graduates. Check your email and visit fairfield.edu/commencement over the next few weeks for more details.

Fairfield will hold a series of senior experiences from Friday, May 14 through Sunday, May 16 with in-person celebrations scaled appropriately to comply with all State guidelines. We plan to have the schedule published on or around April 15th. Please check your emails for updates on the events and ticketing.

Guests are not permitted to attend any of the Senior Experiences during May 14 - May 16 or to visit campus during this time frame.

Students who register for any of the senior experiences will be responsible for their own transportation on and off campus.

Please direct questions to seniorweek@fairfield.edu or Colleen Wilson, Assis-tant Director in the Office of Student Engagement at 203-254-4000, ext 2081.

Yes, members of the Class of 2021 who have been remote or commuting from home this semester, are invited to participate in the Senior Experiences and/or Academic Celebrations but will need to register for both through our ticket website and abide by the Commencement weekend testing protocol.

Members of the Class of 2021 who have been remote or commuting from home this semester, will be required to email a negative PCR test result to covidhealth@fairfield.edu within 72 hours of the first senior experience they plan to attend.

A second round of testing for all members of the College of Arts & Sciences will take place on 5/14 from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

The second round of testing for all members of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies and the School of Engineering will take place on 5/16 from 1 - 3 p.m.

Information about registering for these testing dates will be sent through email as the dates approach.

Due to our Covid restrictions, we are unable to provide on-campus housing and our remote seniors and commuting seniors are not permitted to enter any of our on-campus residences.

All undergraduate members of the Class of 2021 will be required to participate in surveillance testing prior to attending any Senior Experiences and again prior to participating in their Academic Celebrations.

• The first round of testing for all members of the Class of 2021 will take place on 5/9, 5/10 and 5/11.
• The second round of testing for members of the College of Arts & Scienc-es will take place on 5/14 from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
• The second round of testing for members of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies and the School of Engineering will take place on 5/16 from 1 - 3 p.m.
• Information about registering for these testing dates will be sent through email as the dates approach.

Students who receive a positive test result during any of the Commencement testing days will be required to go into isolation and will participate in the contact tracing process. Students in isolation or quarantine will not be able to participate in any Senior Experiences or their Academic Celebration.

Any student who is contact traced as a result of a positive classmate will be required to go into quarantine and will not be able to participate in any Senior Experiences or their Academic Celebrations.

Yes, fully vaccinated members of the Class of 2021 are exempt from these testing dates only if they have received the second dose of the vaccine by Friday, April 30th and have submitted their vaccine paperwork by uploading the document to the Student Health Center secure portal available at: www.fairfield.edu/immunization no later than Monday, May 3rd.

Annually our students are required to move off campus by 12 p.m. on the day following their Commencement Ceremony. This year, student academic ac-complishments will be recognized at various individual Academic Celebrations, from May 17 through May 19, and the Commencement Ceremony will be virtual on May 23rd. As a result, and in-line with prior practice of requiring move-out after the final in-person academic celebration, the move-out dates have been moved up to align with the various in-person events:

• College of Arts & Sciences - Move out by Tuesday, May 18 at 12 p.m.
• Charles F. Dolan School of Business - Move out by Wednesday, May 19 at 12 p.m.
• Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies & School of Engineering - Move out by Thursday, May 20 at 12 p.m.

Students are encouraged to use the days leading up to final exams and during the Senior Experiences to condense their belongings and move items home, if possible.

Students that have extenuating circumstances when it comes to this move-out schedule may email studentmove@fairfield.edu. Extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Yes. On Sunday, May 23 at 11 a.m. the University will host a Sunday Mass in celebration of the Class of 2021. The University will also be holding an in-person mass as part of the Senior Experience on Saturday, May 15 at 5 p.m. Registration for that mass will go live with the rest of the senior experiences in April.