• Due to COVID-19 Charles Sturt University has postponed its August graduation ceremonies
• The University hopes to give graduates the opportunity to celebrate at a ceremony as soon as they and the community are able to gather safely

Charles Sturt University normally celebrates graduations at ceremonies in August and December, but unfortunately, due to current COVID-19 restrictions, the University has had to cancel its formal August graduation ceremonies.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor John Germov said, “We congratulate all our students who are eligible to graduate in this most challenging of years.

“This August we celebrate some 5,000 students who have graduated with their award so far this year.

“As uncertain as these times may be, these students have demonstrated that they are tenacious, resilient and capable of achieving anything they set their minds to.

“I offer my warm congratulations and best wishes for the future, and we hope to see all our graduates in person at a future graduation ceremony.”

In the meantime, the Charles Sturt community is coming together to celebrate its graduates, and invites them to join the University’s social media channels to celebrate.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students) Ms Jenny Roberts explained, “Graduation ceremonies are one of the key milestones in the student experience, and we’re planning to give graduates the opportunity to celebrate at a ceremony in the future.

“There have been some changes to how we celebrate graduations due to COVID-19, but we are working hard to ensure the impact of COVID-19 does not impact their ability to graduate.”

Ms Roberts said students who have completed their course are being conferred, with their official documents sent to them.

“We are supporting our graduates in this way (that is, more frequent conferral dates and sending documents) thus removing as many COVID-related delays as possible to ensure that they don’t miss out on any employment or career opportunities,” she said.

“Unfortunately some of our students may have their completion dates postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. But this is just a delay.

“We are submitting more regular conferrals to ensure they graduate with their award as soon as possible.

“We’ll be in touch with students who are eligible or may be eligible to graduate this year about ceremony options and how to RSVP to attend a future ceremony.”

Graduates can register their interest to attend a future ceremony on the University’s website.

We encourage graduates to take and post their own photos and # them on Charles Sturt social media channels, Instagram and Facebook.