Grad check requirements examined

Many students are becoming nervous as they reach their graduation date because they still have not heard a response on their grad checks. The grad check is a process utilized by Cal State Long Beach to verify a student's eligibility to graduate. Before filing for a grad check there are a few requirements the student must have:

1. You must file for a grad check before or during the preceding semester of your graduation.

2. You must have completed 90 semester units, which may include one semester in progress.

3. You must have attempted the Word Proficiency Exam at least once.

4. Your general education requirements must be met.

5. You must submit a program planning guide if you fall under the fall 1987 or later CSULB Bulletin.

6. You must have paid all outstanding fees to the university.

Karen Bourland is a senior who is nervous because she does not know if she will be graduating.

"I filed on time," Bourland said. "I had everything they asked for, and I still haven't heard anything. I don't understand what the problem is."

The problem, according to Susan Alvarez of the evaluations office at CSULB is that many students do not understand the process or don't know where to seek help. Alvarez said that once the grad check is filed it goes through a degree auditing process to verify if all requirements have been met. The degree auditing process does not begin immediately because the university is usually working on the preceding semester. Alvarez said students can speed up the process by not waiting until the last minute to file.

The second grad check step begins after the student's final semester at CSULB. This process could take anywhere from three weeks to three months to get a response because the university just cannot keep up.

"We begin the process two to three weeks after grades are received for the final semester but we have three to four thousand students to review," Alvarez said.

It is during this process, Alvarez said, that many students run into problems.

"Some students do not submit final transcripts from previous schools attended and others who just never complete an incomplete grade," she said. Alvarez also pointed out that students who substitute one course for another must have their advisors sign a substitution form.

"Without proper documentation we cannot allow the student to graduate. We must see it in writing," she said.

Alvarez highly recommends that students not only meet with their advisors, but also review their bulletin and transcripts to avoid problems. If students have questions regarding their grad checks they can contact enrollment services.

The most important thing student must remember is that, "grad checks do not constitute graduation. They are only a final check to advise students on what they may or may not have left to take," Alvarez said. "Students may participate in the commencement ceremony even if they are a few units short, but again, that does not constitute graduation."

If students have questions regarding the commencement ceremony or would like information they can contact the commencement office.