TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Historically, the College of Southern Idaho reserves graduation for the end of the Spring semester. But thanks to strong enrollment numbers and a push to celebrate the student body, CSI will hold its first-ever Fall graduation commencement celebration this weekend.
- For the first time, CSI graduates will have the chance to walk in cap and gown in December.
- "We have exceeded last year's numbers, we were shooting for a 3% growth, and we have far surpassed that."
- The Fall graduation ceremony will take place this coming Saturday, Dec. 14, inside the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
"It's going to be an exciting time; graduation is very exciting; commencement ceremonies are just a blast,” said Jonathan Lord, V.P. of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.
A new opportunity for CSI graduates — the chance to walk in cap and gown in December.
"We recognized over the last couple of years that we had a lot of students that could graduate in December, and we were requiring that they participate in commencement in May,” said Lord. "We noticed a significant number of those students were moving on after December, after the Fall semester, and not returning to participate in commencement. So, we thought it would be a good idea to invite them to a winter commencement and really highlight them."
Kaleb Parsons is a Student Ambassador in the CSI Admissions Office, he thinks this new addition to the graduation schedule is exactly what the student body needs.
"I think it's really cool that they're bringing this in to honor those graduates and give them the opportunity to walk rather than to have to wait six months and come back in May to walk in the regular graduation ceremony,” said Parsons.
Led by strong enrollment numbers in the law enforcement and nursing programs, the college saw fit to honor those future lifesavers with a special ceremony before the official commencement on Saturday.
"We had a special graduation ceremony last night for our law enforcement team and on Thursday we are going to have two separate events for our LPNs and our RN graduates and those special pinning ceremonies they can have their family come and it's a very significant event for them,” said Lord. “So, they're very excited and have been positive about that and they're looking forward to Saturday."
And it's not just those specialty programs, CSI has seen increased enrollment across the board.
"We have exceeded last year's numbers, we were shooting for a 3% growth, and we have far surpassed that. I want to say that the numbers that I saw were about 4,400 currently at the college as traditional students," said Lord.
Online and dual enrollment numbers have also seen a spike in attendance, seeing a 12% increase in dual credit enrollment, making the need for a winter graduation ceremony a potential mainstay for Golden Eagles for years to come.
"So, we're hoping that this becomes a tradition for us, and we can continue it well into the future,” added Lord.
The Fall graduation ceremony will take place this coming Saturday, Dec. 14, inside the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium starting at 1 p.m.
While the ceremony is only open to ticket-holding family members, it will be streamed live on the college's website to watch from home.
