Corey WackelNews Editor

With every passing semester, SDSU continues to move toward more green ways 8212; both environmentally and economically.

The university is considering implementing a charge for mailing diplomas to graduates. In addition, Academic Affairs and the Registrars Office are beginning to work on a proposal that would make more of the graduation process online.

“We’re trying to take the graduation process and move toward a more electronic approach,” Aaron Aure, a registrar in records and registration, said. “We are only beginning this process, but by May of this year, we are hoping that some of the goals we have will be met.”

As the process stands now, graduation applications generally have to be submitted near the beginning of the semester that potential graduates plan to graduate. Additional mailings are sent out to gather information on whether students plan to walk in the commencement, and the responses generated help SDSU plan for the actual ceremony.

Even after that, more mailings follow 8212; mailings that provide everything from maps of the campus to times of the actual ceremony.

Under the new proposal, SDSU intends to change how all this material reaches students.

As mentioned, most graduation-related mailings will eventually be accessed online. Students, meanwhile, will pay a small charge to insure that their diploma reaches them after graduation.

The idea of a $20 charge will help the school cut costs on some of the expenses associated with graduation and will be wrapped in with the graduation application. Printing diplomas and the cost of mailing graduation materials currently costs SDSU over $5 a package, and with nearly 13,000 students, the cost becomes rather substantial.

“Students will only be responsible for the costs of mailing a diploma,” Provost Laurie Nichols said. “The rest of the charges will continue to be an institutional expense.”

Under the proposed plan about to be considered, students will also be able to bypass the charge should they decide to pick up their diploma after graduation in person.

In drafting the proposal, SDSU looked at other institutions to find out what works best.

“We’ve spent time looking at the processes other schools use when mailing out graduation material,” Aure said, “and we believe that this is a great way to move toward a more paper-free process.”

Aure is currently working out possible ways for students to make the payment.

“Once the charge is created, it may be possible for students to use HoboDough to pay the charge,” Aure said. “We are really just trying to make the process as convenient for students as we can.”

#1.1918860:2701291014.png:GradsBW-file.png:Graduates of SDSU may soon be responsible for a small charge in order to receive their diploma after graduation. :File Photo