"Graduation is an important moment in the life of a person; it's a passage from one stage in life to another" (Watine, 2018).

Graduation/Convocation ceremonies are a symbol/proof of student's success and achievement that signify the students' official status as graduates.

Graduation/Convocation ceremonies "provide legitimacy of the transition, and include the reality that the phase they are now entering is assuredly real" (Mangal, 2010). The clothing that is worn at convocation/graduation is "materialistic markers of this, and every part of the ceremony undertaken is meant to show or commemorate the same thing: change" (Mangal, 2010).

The Problem:

Conestoga College due to the COVID-19 pandemic has decided not to host a graduation for the graduating class of 2020 (winter semester) but, instead, have the diplomas, degrees, and certificates be conferred in absentia and the graduation documents sent in the mail (Conestoga College, 2020).

Students in full-time programs (graduating in the winter 2020 semester) have paid a compulsory ancillary fee of $15.00 for all of the services related to graduation and convocation (Conestoga College, n.d.). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, graduation/convocation (a service that students have paid for) is not being provided. 

The Solution:

The college, once it is feasible to do so, needs to re-schedule in-person graduation for the graduating class of 2020 (winter semester) to host graduation/convocation as soon as possible once the COVID-19 pandemic is over (e.g. July, August, or September 2020).

References 

Conestoga College. (n.d.). Tuition & Fee Details: Conestoga College. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.conestogac.on.ca/admissions/tuitionfee/tuitionfee.jsp

Conestoga College. (2020). Welcome to Conestoga's Convocation: Conestoga College. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.conestogac.on.ca/convocation/ 

Mangal, S. (2010). The Importance of a Graduation. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-a-Graduation&id=4225547 

Watine, M. (2018). The Importance of Graduation Ceremonies! Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://medium.com/open-schoolab/the-importance-of-graduation-ceremonies-4afc9f37b8fb