For students to switch their tassels to the left side of their caps this spring, they will have to pay additional fees to graduate.
Students have to pay a $50 graduation application fee to begin the process of graduation, due several months before graduation. Ohio University Spokesman Dan Pittman said it is important to note the fee is already included as an “assessed fee” for students under The OHIO Guarantee, which means underclass students will not have to pay out of pocket for that cost, if they are under that tuition model. Other fees, such as purchasing cap and gown packages, are not included.
The cap and gown package a student decides to purchase can range from $38 to $64 depending on what degree the student is receiving, according to the website from which students are required to order.
Students can also buy items individually, with gowns costing $22, caps costing $9 and tassels costing $7.
OU’s Event Services uses Oak Hall out of Salem, Virginia, as the vendor for caps and gowns. Prices for those items have remained the same over the past three years, Pittman said.
Nicole Schneider, vice president of Student Senate, said Green Light plans to investigate graduation pricing.
“We came up with this idea through our discussion with students and current seniors who felt particularly upset and confused as to why there is such a high price for graduation, after students already pay so much for tuition,” Schneider said in an email.
For the upcoming academic year, Schneider said Green Light, which was elected earlier in April, is putting together the rest of its team to figure out who is going to be working most on the initiative.
“We are currently still in conversation with Event Services and the registrar’s office to discuss this further,” Schneider said in an email. “Obviously, we will have no effect on graduation for this year, but we plan to have changes finalized before next spring’s graduation.”
England Todd, a freshman studying international business, said she thinks graduation costs should be lowered.
“We already pay so much in tuition,” she said. “Things like meal plans are a lot of money already when they shouldn’t be.”
Todd said that OU could use money that students already pay for tuition to go toward commencement and cap and gowns instead of having a separate fee.
“(Graduation) should be a gratitude from the university,” Todd said.
