On Track to Graduation

The Office of the Registrar is an area within Student Academic Success and Enrollment Management (SASEM) that supports students, faculty, staff, and alumni by maintaining and protecting student records. Located in the Student Success Center, Suite 5300,  the Office of the Registrar offers assistance in multiple areas such as enrollment, transcript production and issuance, degree progression and verification, MyMadison, and graduation.

The graduation application and evaluation process underwent a major renovation in December 2020. Before this automation, students completed graduation applications on paper and then routed from department to department for review and approval. Now, the entire process is housed within the student administration system, ultimately saving everyone a great amount of time and frustration. 

The graduation application is approved in two parts. The Registrar is responsible for reviewing the degree requirements. The individual academic units are tasked with reviewing and approving a student’s progress in, and ultimate completion of, all requirements within their majors and minors. Any active student with 75 or more earned credit hours will have access to the Graduation Application in MyMadison. 

During the application process, students will be asked to verify all declared plans, their expected graduation term, and their preferred name (primary or chosen) for the commencement program and diploma. Applications are “ready” when a student has completed or is currently enrolled in, all requirements for their declared plans. Academic unit approvers may approve or deny the applications. If approved, the status of the graduation page changes from “Pending” to “On Track” for that plan. Once they have submitted their graduation application, students will have access to a graduation status page where they can view their standing at any time. This page provides them with information regarding their progress and completion of all university degree requirements. Overall, it shows the fulfillment of the General Education Program, cumulative GPA, and credit hours; as well as any declared majors and minors.

Once final grades are posted after a term, the Office of the Registrar runs a Graduation Status Report that displays every student who has applied to graduate for that term and their status in each of the graduation requirement areas. Students who have a 100% “On Track” report will be approved for graduation, have a degree conferred, and a diploma ordered. Those who have one or more deficiencies will be notified and given assistance to put them back “On Track.”

At JMU, the Office of the Registrar is committed to facilitating the graduation application and evaluation process by creating a more intuitive tool for both students and departments. The goal of the Registrar is to stay committed to helping all students graduate at the time and rate of their choice. 

For more information regarding the Office of the Registrar, email registrar@jmu.edu or phone 540-568-6281.