The 2013 School of Biomedical Informatics’ commencement ceremony promises to be an exciting time as we celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates. By recognizing and acknowledging the excellence of our students and faculty, we spotlight SBMI tradition.

This commencement celebration will be a culminating experience for graduates, families, and friends. Join us for this memorable and happy occasion.

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Expected Arrival for Graduates

Graduates should plan to arrive at the venue by 3:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the ceremony to ensure that they will be dressed in their regalia and lined up in the correct order by 3:40pm. Graduates should assemble in the foyer of the 2^nd level of the Robertson Auditorium. SBMI staff will be available to assist in you, your family, friends, visitors, and faculty alike.

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Graduation Checkout Procedures

SBMI graduates who completed all the requirements for their degrees in the summer 2012 term, the fall 2012 term, or will complete them in the spring 2013 term may “walk/participate” in the ceremony. If you plan to graduate in the spring 2013 term and participate in this year’s ceremony, you must complete all requirements for the degree by the end of the workday, May 3, 2013. The graduation checkout procedure for M.S. and Ph.D. can be found here.

“All requirements” mean submission of all of the following documents to the SBMI Office of Academic Affairs (713-500-3591) by close of business on Friday, May 3, 2013:

1. Student Clearance Form (doc)(pdf)

Students living in the greater Houston area will need to go to various offices to confirm that their records are clear, i.e. no outstanding fines, loans, library late fees or graduation fees, etc. These include the offices of Student Loan Collections, Bursar and Registrar, all of which are located on the 22^nd floor of UCT. Then, bring the form to SBMI’s Office of Academic Affairs located on the 6^th floor. 

Distance Education Students:

Please fill out the clearance form and email it to studentloancollections@uth.tmc.edu. The form will then be cleared by Student Loan Collections, the Bursar’s Office and the Registrar. You will receive an email with the completed form that includes signatures from those offices. Please email the form with the signatures from those offices to the Office of Academic Affairs to be completed.

1. Student Information Exit Survey
2. Good Academic Standing Form
3. All titles for State of the Science Paper and dissertations must be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs via email by Friday, April 5, 2013 to ensure timely printing of the commencement program.

5. Submit an electronic copy of your approved State of the Science paper (M.S. students)/ dissertation (Ph.D. students) to SBMIAcademics@uth.tmc.edu by Friday, May 3, 2013.

Submit to the Office of Academic Affairs your signed cover page for your State of the Science paper or dissertation by Friday, May 3, 2013. Cover page format for M.S. can be found here. Cover page for Ph.D. can be found here.

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Dress Rehearsal

Graduation dress rehearsal will be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 from 3:00 p.m.to 4:00 p.m. at Beth Robertson Auditorium in the Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building. We will go through a dry run of the entire commencement ceremony.

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Email Accounts

Your UTHealth email account ending in @uth.tmc.edu will be deleted 90 days from the end of your final term of enrollment. For example, if spring 2013 term is your final term, then your email account will be deleted around August 8, 2013.

If you will be transitioning within these 90 days to employee status or registering for the upcoming Summer/Fall semester or pursuing another degree at UTHealth, then your email account will remain active.

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Alumni Emails 

An email will be sent to your UTH email address approximately one week prior to the last day of class which will contain your UTH Alumni email address and password. Additional instructions are listed below:

UTHealth Alumni Email Login and Change Password Instructions
UTHealth Lifetime Email Forwarding Instructions

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Graduation Announcements &  Invitations 

Don’t forget to order graduation announcements and invitations! EverythingGraduation will be handling the graduation invitations and announcements and they can be ordered here. Invitations are not required for entry into the ceremony, and thus you are not required to purchase them.

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Regalia Rental

Official regalia, must be ordered through SBMI only, this is necessary if you wish to ‘walk’ in the ceremony.  To rent regalia for the ceremony, please complete the regalia request form located here.  The Office of Academic Affairs will take care of placing regalia orders from both faculty and students.  Payment must be made by check, payable to The School of Biomedical Informatics.  Please attach the payment to each order form.  The prices (including tax) for renting regalia are:

            Master - cap, gown, hood and tassel                $35.00
            Doctor - tam, gown and hood                         $45.00

The deadline for ordering regalia is March 25, 2013.  I encourage you to send in your order as early as possible. Any order received after this date will be charged a late fee of $10.

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Regalia Purchase

If you prefer to purchase your regalia instead of renting regalia, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs.

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Regalia Distribution 

Student gowns and tams (for Ph.D) or caps and tassels (for M.S.) will be distributed on the day of the ceremony, May 8 from 3:00-3:40pm, at Beth Robertson Auditorium. Please arrive in enough time to dress and take any pictures, if you desire.

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Return of Regalia

Students and faculty should return their regalia rental package immediately after the graduation ceremony. There will be racks located near the elevator of the IMM Atrium where you will return your regalia to a member of the SBMI Staff. Unreturned regalia will be charged to you at its equivalent purchase amount.

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Photographs

There will be a professional photographer on site to take pictures of the graduates. These photos will be posted on SBMI’s Flickr account two months following the commencement ceremony. You can bring your own camera for any additional photo opportunities. If you choose to take photos as the graduate walks across the stage, please take the photos and then return to your seats quickly, enabling others to do likewise. Our goal is to allow you to document this momentous occasion, but maintain a clear view of the stage for the rest of the audience. Please remember to maintain the reverence of this memorable event for our graduates. 

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Commencement DVD

If you would like a copy of the commencement ceremony and photographs taken during this momentous occasion, please submit an order via email to Kristie Ezell (Sowana.K.Ezell@uth.tmc.edu) with your name and mailing address. Each DVD will cost $10 (includes shipping and handling). Please make checks payable to School of Biomedical Informatics.

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The SBMI staff welcomes all families and guests to partake in this momentous occasion to celebrate the successful culmination of years of training for our students. Watching our students achieve this goal and celebrating it with them, their families, and their friends is a gratifying experience. We hope that you will find the ceremony enjoyable and memorable.

Below are some general guidelines for the commencement ceremony:

1. Photographs: There will be a professional photographer on site to take pictures of the graduates. These photos will be posted on SBMI’s Flickr account two months following the commencement ceremony. You can bring your own camera for any additional photo opportunities. If you choose to take photos as the graduate walks across the stage, please take the photos and then return to your seats quickly, enabling others to do likewise. Our goal is to allow you to document this momentous occasion, but maintain a clear view of the stage for the rest of the audience. Please remember to maintain the reverence of this memorable event for our graduates.
2. Special guest from the university and the community will be present and will be directed by the staff to the front rows of the room.
3. Staff will assist any persons needing special access.
4. Staff will direct unruly children and their family members to a quiet location.
5. After the ceremony, please permit the faculty and graduates to exit first. Alternate exits are located at the top of the stairway.

Immediately following the ceremony, graduates and their guests are invited to enjoy a reception in the atrium.

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Live Stream of Commencement

For family and friends who cannot attend this momentous occasion to celebrate with graduate, there will be a live stream of the commencement ceremony available here.

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Traveling and Lodging

The 2013 Commencement ceremony of the University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics will be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building in the Texas Medical Center. Driving directions can be found here.

Lodging is available at the Houston Marriott Courtyard at the Texas Medical Center, which is conveniently located a couple of blocks away from the Sarofim Research Building:

7702 Main Street
Houston, TX 77030
713-668-4500

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Attire

The SBMI Commencement ceremony is a formal, yet personal event, for each graduate. As a participant in these exercises, we ask that you dress in “business casual” attire. For women: dresses, suits, or pant suits are appropriate. For men: suits or slacks and coats with open shirts are welcome. Jeans and flip-flops are not appropriate for this event.

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All faculty members are cordially invited to attend this memorable day for our students. Please notify the Office of Academic Affairs whether or not you are attending no later than May 3, 2013.

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Expected Arrival for Faculty

Faculty should plan to arrive at the venue by 3:00 pm the afternoon of the ceremony dressed in their regalia to line up in the correct order in time for the event. SBMI staff will be available to assist you.

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Regalia Purchases for Faculty

All faculty that are participating in the commencement ceremony who may need to purchase regalia, please contact Kristie in The Office of Academic Affairs (Sowana.K.Ezell@uth.tmc.edu) or at 713-500-3591. She will assist you in making your regalia purchase.

Please note that it will take up to 8 weeks to get your regalia ordered and shipped on time. Therefore, it is imperative that you purchase your regalia no later than March 8, 2013.

Cost of purchasing regalia:

• M.S. regalia package (cap, gown, hood, and tassel) $305.95 (not including taxes and shipping)
• Ph.D. regalia package (cap, gown, and tam) $435.95 (not including taxes and shipping)

Faculty who purchase regalia after March 8, 2013 will be given a complimentary regalia rental. Please note that the rental regalia will not have a tam, but a mortar instead. If you prefer to wear a tam, the rental fee for the tam is $11.75. 

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