The new face of convocation
Concordia University is putting a brand new face on convocation this year.
Giant screens will provide parents, relatives and friends of graduates with a close-up view of the ceremonies to be held at Place des Arts this month.
Special monitors and computer workstations will also replace time-consuming manual lists of thousands of students.
Eighty-inch screens will not only present an image of each graduate receiving his/her diploma, but will also feature the student’s name, degree, as well as any prizes.
“It’s an overall better presentation for the audience and the students. It also means more recognition for their [students] hard work,” said Susan Durkee, office technology analyst, Office of the Registrar.
The Office decided to have the system developed after the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science successfully implemented similar technology last year.
“Student names are often difficult to pronounce, but when it appears on a screen, everyone knows exactly who is receiving the degree,” added Farshid Solimanpour, who is a programmer/analyst in Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS).
DVD copies of the ceremony will also be available for purchase through the Concordia University Alumni Association.
A new bar code reader means graduates will be using their marshalling card or student ID to be scanned into the reader before waiting to receive their diploma next to the stage.
The student’s name, concentration, as well as any distinctions, colleges and departmental prizes, will automatically appear on a monitor that allows marshals to quickly and easily identify whether students are in the proper order.
At the precise moment when each name is to be read, monitors located at the podium display the name for ceremony readers. This prevents any timing issues, as well as distractions caused by locating names on a manual list. The monitor also displays speeches and signals change of speakers.
Solimanpour, who developed the system, noted that one of its greatest benefits is flexibility. Students not registered for convocation or attending the wrong convocation ceremony are still able to attend as the system automatically handles any new or missing students (names will even appear on the screens). A variety of statistics, including the number of attendees, are automatically calculated.
Individuals preparing the actual degrees are also equipped with a monitor to follow the progress of the ceremony, allowing them to easily track and adjust the order of the diplomas.
“The entire convocation process is controlled and streamlined to allow for an organized flow of students onto the stage,” said Bill Miller, Assistant Director, Administrative Systems and Portal, IITS.
He noted that the possibility of students ending up with the wrong card has also been eliminated. “I think students, faculty, as well as the audience, will be impressed by Concordia’s new cutting-edge ceremony.”
Please visit http://registrar.concordia.ca/convo for more details about upcoming convocation ceremonies.
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