How much does commencement actually cost?

Richard Decker
Staff Writer

The 64th Annual Hudson Valley Commencement on Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to noon will commemorate the graduating class of 2018, but what does it cost to host this marking of a new chapter for students?

This year’s graduation is expected to cost $94,000. Commencement often involves several layers of planning by several different offices of the administration. One of the most tedious aspects of the planning efforts is the allocation of monies for the various details that go into the planning and execution of the celebration, said Alycia Courter, Executive Director of the Faculty Student Administration.

The Faculty Student Association, often referred to as the FSA, and Student Activities both pay for many celebration activities, such as the post-commencement celebration as well as the buffet of food that will be available immediately following graduation, Courter said.

“The expenses for most aspects of the graduation events are paid through the FSA,” explained Courter. “Part of the Student Records and Activities Fee is to support this event.”

Courter also described the many different expenses that go into graduation.

“The caps, the gowns, the chairs, the carpet, the stage, the flowers, everything — it is all paid for by the Student Records and Activities fee,” she said.

Courter also pointed out that the caps and gowns are the highest expense, at around $20,000 to $25,000. The Student Records and Activities fee is $150, which is included in every student’s tuition at the beginning of each semester.

Other expenses include diploma printing, facilities operation and stadium setup as well as beautification projects throughout the campus leading up to graduation.

“All of the flowers you will see on the stage, all of the landscaping flowers that make the campus pretty, will be picked up next week and planted,” Courter said. “Again, that is paid for out of this fund.”

The fund also pays for the reception after the graduation ceremony for students and their family and friends.

“The reception consists of finger foods,” Courter explained. “People can mingle with teachers, staff members [and] other students before saying goodbye and moving on to future endeavors.”

A reception for honors students, which is a more formal gathering of students who have earned a GPA of 3.5 or above, will be held in the ice rink of McDonough next Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Student Activities Office provides funding for a free continental breakfast in the Joe Bruno Stadium right before the graduation ceremony begins. This expense comes from their own operating budget, not the activities fee.

John Gray, a journalist and reporter for Fox 23, will be the announcer at the event.

“John is really popular, and I don’t know if students know this, but he comes to campus and MCs graduation for us,” Courter said. “He will pull students out of the line up to talk live on air with him.”

This graduation, as with those in previous years, will be livestreamed on Spectrum News and the official Hudson Valley website: livestream.com/hvccstreaming/commencement.