Seminary Graduation Instructions

Seminary teachers work closely with students and their parents to help students earn credit and graduate. Teachers:

Help students stay on track

• Make sure students know what they need to do to complete seminary and graduate.
• Check in with students often to help them meet their goals.
• Work with local administrators and administrative assistants to track student progress.

Communicate with parents

• Contact parents or guardians to share how their student is doing.

Support Graduation

• Attend seminary graduation (if invited by leaders) to celebrate with students.

Administrative assistants support seminary graduation efforts by coordinating with the principal or coordinator and teachers to identify and track student progress.

Tracking Graduation Progress

• Collaborate with teachers, supervisors, and coordinators to identify students who are nearing graduation. Council about students who may need additional support.
• Monitor student progress regularly using PowerBI reports
• Find report links in WISE by navigating: Administrative Tools > Graduation > Graduation Reports

Preparing for Graduation Ceremony

• Graduation Lists: Work with the principal or coordinator to send lists of students who are expected to graduate or finish a course at least six weeks before graduation. Use the Projected Graduation report. These lists help leaders plan graduation and endorse students (see The Seminary Ecclesiastical Endorsement, Stake Seminary Graduation Guide).
• Share Program Template: Share the Sample Seminary Graduation Program with each stake representative in charge of graduation. Seminary programs do not create stake graduation programs.
• Diplomas and Certificates: Print diplomas and certificates of completion. Consider including an invitation to continue learning at institute.
  
  • If the term is not closed, prepare empty covers and send the diplomas after term closes
  • If the term is closed, print diplomas from WISE. Administrative Tools > Graduation > Print Certificates

Ordering Supplies for Seminary Diplomas

Order diploma covers and paper from store.ChurchofJesusChrist.org or through local service centers if the online store is not available. Diploma covers are available in 13 languages. If your language is not available for the diploma cover, please select English or the closest available language. Use the following items for all seminary diplomas:

• Seminary Diploma Cover (Item #19976 – Navy Blue Vinyl)
• Seminary and Institute Diploma Paper (Item #19975)
• Print certificates on a high-quality paper of your choice.

Principals and coordinators play a key role in promoting seminary graduation and coordinating effort. They collaborate to ensure students meet graduation requirements and transition smoothly to institute by:

Encouraging Seminary Graduation

• Promote a culture within the stake that values completing seminary courses and graduating.
• Knows and shares information from the Stake Seminary Graduation Guide and the General Handbook section 15.1.4 Credit and Graduation with stake leaders.

Tracking Student Progress and Communication

• Identify students who are on track to graduate.
• Work with the administrative assistant to inform stake and ward leaders of students’ graduation and completion status.
• Clarify with priesthood leaders that awards are printed only after the term ends and only to students who meet all requirements.

Graduation Preparation and Institute Transition

• Support the individual responsible for the stake graduation ceremony (typically the stake seminary supervisor or assigned high councilor), either directly or by delegating to an S&I stake representative.
• Work with the administrative assistant on all graduation-related tasks for assigned stakes, including reports, sharing requirements, and helping teachers invite students to participate in graduation.
• Provide diplomas, diploma covers, and certificates to assigned stakes.
• Attend and speak at graduation ceremonies when invited, or delegate to an S&I stake representative to support students in their achievement.
• Consider ways to help seminary students transition and participate in Institute. Use resources such as MyInsitute, printable invitations, I Love Institute or A Personal Invitation to Attend Institute videos where appropriate.

Ecclesiastical Endorsement Support

• Invite assigned stake and ward leaders to endorse qualified applicants in a timely manner.
• Explain the ecclesiastical endorsement to stake presidents and answers questions about endorsement (see The Seminary Ecclesiastical Endorsement, Stake Seminary Graduation Guide).
• Ensure Priesthood leaders understand that endorsement decisions are not consulted with S&I personnel.