NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Congrats on completing your degree or certificate at NWACC! Be prepared to graduate by reviewing the information below on applying for program completion, commencement ceremony details, receiving your diploma and transcripts, academic honors and more.

Spring 2024 Graduates!

NWACC plans to hold the spring commencement ceremony on May 13th at 11:30 a.m. at the Walmart AMP. View more commencement ceremony details.

• Whether you attend or do not attend the ceremony, you will NEED to apply for program completion to receive your diploma. You can apply for program completion through your Workday account by clicking the “Apply for Program Completion” task under the Academics tab in Workday.
• You are required to indicate that you plan to attend commencement on your program completion application in order to participate in the ceremony. If you elect not to attend the ceremony, you may not be able to change the attendance designation later.
• The last day to apply for program completion, designate your ceremony attendance plans, and have your name appear in the commencement program is March 1st by midnight.

Graduation Information

Apply for Program Completion

• To participate in the commencement ceremony, you must apply for program completion in Workday and indicate that you plan to attend the ceremony.
• Even if you do not plan to participate in the ceremony, you must complete the program completion in Workday to receive your diploma.
• Be sure to read the graduation information on the program completion questionnaire closely.
• The spring graduation program completion deadline is March 1st.

Diplomas

• You do not have to attend the commencement ceremony to receive your diploma.
• If you have completed all degree or certificate requirements, you can expect to receive your diploma in the mail 8-10 weeks after the end of the term in which your degree has been verified as complete.
• Diplomas are mailed to the mailing address listed on your student account or if no mailing address is provided, diplomas will be mailed to the primary address attached to your account.
• Diplomas are not provided to those students who have outstanding financial holds.

General Degree Requirements

• To be eligible to earn a degree, you must have a 2.0 or higher GPA and have earned at least 15 credit hours at NWACC.
• To be eligible to earn a certificate, you must have a 2.0 or higher GPA and have earned at least 25% of the required credit hours at NWACC.
• You are required to pay fines and outstanding debts prior to graduation.

Please note: Degree requirements vary, please work with your advisor to ensure all degree or certificate requirements are met. You can check your Academic Progress in Workday to see if you are on track to graduate.

Academic Honors

• You are eligible to wear honor cords at the commencement ceremony for your degree if you have completed at least 24 credit hours at NWACC and have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• Honors GPAs
  • To graduate Cum Laude, you must have an overall GPA of 3.0-3.49 with 24 or more credit hours
  • To graduate Magna Cum Laude, you must have an overall GPA of 3.5-3.9 with 24 or more credit hours.
  • To graduate Summa Cum Laude, you must have an overall GPA of 4.0 with 24 or more credit hours.
  • Graduates may only wear honor cords for Summa Cum Laude and Magna Cum Laude honors.

  Requesting Transcripts

  • Log into your My NWACC account
  • Select student records
  • Select transcript request and follow the steps listed on the page

  Graduation Checklist

  Complete the NWACC graduation checklist if you meet either of the following criteria:

  • You completed a degree or certificate in the fall and want to participate in the spring graduation ceremony.
  • You are planning to complete a degree or certificate in the spring or summer.

  Important dates:

  • Be sure to apply for program completion in Workday by March 1st.
  • Attend the commencement ceremony on May 13th.

  Be sure to:

  • Contact student organizations
    • Ask club advisors of any student organization that you participate in if you need to order any type of honors cord or stole to wear at the commencement ceremony.
    • Make sure you don’t have any unreturned items or unpaid fines
    • Ask if you owe NWACC any money and pay any outstanding debts. Diplomas and transcripts will not be sent if all financial obligations to NWACC are not met.
    • Learn about transfer degree opportunities
    • Get connected with a transfer institution
    • Request your final transcript online through MyNWACC
    • If you need to request accommodations for graduation, make sure you let disability services know
    • Make sure you have completed mandatory online financial aid exit counseling
    • Ask about dates for book buy back. Selling your books is much easier to do while you’re still on campus.

    Commencement Ceremony

    The NWACC commencement ceremony is an exciting time to celebrate your achievements with family, friends and fellow classmates. Learn more about the big day by using the links below.