Your reader card is what will be used to read your name out loud as you cross the stage at Prudential Center during the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony. Please write your name how it sounds so it can be more easily pronounced.

Use the QR code on the front of the reader card to complete your registration before the ceremony. Do not bend, fold, or tear your reader card. You may pick up your reader card at the Grad Fair! on April 18. Following the Grad Fair, reader cards will be available for pick up from the CSI Office through May 22 and then at Arching on May 23. Pick up is available weekdays 8 am – 12 midnight, Saturday 4 pm – 10 pm, and Sunday 3 pm – 8 pm.

Graduates are responsible for bringing their reader card with them to the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on May 29.

We’re not just leaving Ramapo College; we’re leaving a legacy! As graduating seniors, you can unite to leave your legacy at RCNJ. With your gift of $20.24 or greater to the Fund for Ramapo College, you will receive this year’s commemorative senior t-shirt or you can choose your very own legacy package.

Parents and friends, if you would like to make a gift in your graduate’s name, a portion of the gift will benefit the 2023-24 Fund for Ramapo College. Parents are also welcome to purchase a graduating senior parent shirt this year.

Get a head start and pre-order your legacy package today! Please respond by April 30, 2024.

For more information, contact: Andrea Buser ’06, andreab@ramapo.edu, (201) 684-6819, www.ramapo.edu/giving/senior-legacy-drive/

• TICKETS: Tickets are NOT required for entry. Graduates may bring an unlimited number of guests, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
• ENTRANCES: Arrive early! All graduates must use the M&M Tower entrance, but guests may use the M&M Tower, Citizens Tower, or Lafayette Street entrance. (See Graduate and Guest specific information below)
• SCREENING: All graduates and guests will be subject to a screening upon entry into the building.
• BAG POLICY: Bags up to 12″x14″ are permitted inside Prudential Center. Anything larger, including backpacks, are not permitted, with the exception of childcare or medical bags. Permissible larger bags will be X-rayed. All bags are subject to search by Prudential Center security team members at each point of entry. Bags that do not meet these expectations must be returned to the guest’s vehicle or stored in a Prudential Center supplied locker at the guest’s expense. Lockers are located outside the M&M Tower and Lafayette Street entrances.
• PROHIBITED ITEMS: Balloons, beach balls and noisemakers are prohibited and will be confiscated.

• Directions: Information on driving directions to Prudential Center, public transportation, Uber pick-up and drop off can be found on the Prudential Center’s website.
• Reserved Parking Options (this is just a few of the many options):
  • To reserve your parking spot for the Ramapo College Commencement using ParkMobile, visit Park Mobile’s Prudential Center Parking Page.
  • To reserve your parking spot for the Ramapo College Commencement using Spot Hero, visit Spot Hero’s Prudential Center Theatre Parking Page or click below:

• • To reserve your parking spot fro the RamapoC ollege Commencement using LAZGo, visit LAZ Parking’s ‘Find Parking’ and enter The Prudential Center.

• ARRIVAL TIME: Graduates must report to Prudential Center at 7:30 a.m. and proceed to the M&M Tower entrance to the building. The M&M Tower is located at southeast corner of the building at Mulberry Street and Lafayette Street.
• REGALIA & READER CARDS: Graduates should put their cap with tassel (on the right) and gown with stole on before leaving their car and bring their reader cards with them.
• SEATING: Seating for graduates is by school (ASB, CA, HGS, SSHS, TAS). Graduates may sit with their friends and classmates within these schools. Friends should stand behind or in front of each other when lining up.
• DURATION & EXIT: The ceremony is expected to last 3 hours. After the ceremony, graduates will be directed to exit Prudential Center via the M&M Tower. Please plan to meet your families outside of the arena on Mulberry Street.

Doors to Prudential Center will open at 7:30 a.m. Guests may enter the building through any of the following 3 entrances:

• Citizens Tower entrance– northeast corner of the building at Mulberry Street and Edison Place
• M&M Tower entrance*– southeast corner of the building at Mulberry and Lafayette Streets
• Lafayette Street entrance*– located on Lafayette Street

*Guests should refer to the Bag Policy above when selecting their building entrance

Prudential Center is ADA compliant. Both the Citizens and M&M Towers have elevators. If you need to drop off a guest, we recommend you do so outside the Citizens Tower. Handicap accessible seating is available in sections 3, 8, 19 and 22 and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here for more information on ADA services.

Concession stands will have food and beverages available for purchase. Cash will NOT be accepted at concession stands, retail locations or the Box Office. Pay with a debit or credit card using tap to pay, chip or swipe, or mobile payment, including Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The ceremony is expected to last 3 hours. After the ceremony, guests will be directed to exit Prudential Center via the Citizens Tower or Lafayette Street entrance. Please plan to meet your graduates outside of the arena on Mulberry Street.

Can’t attend the Ceremony but want to cheer on your graduate?  The entire ceremony will be streamed live. On May 29, there will be a link for viewing on the Ramapo College Commencement webpage: www.ramapo.edu/commencement

3/20/24 Class of 2024 Reminders to Parents/Guardians

The Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ features an address by a graduating student. Class of 2024 Student Speaker applications closed on March 15. Stay tuned to find out who will be selected!

The Selection Committee looks for: thoughtful and insightful writing and robust delivery; a speech that is no longer than 3 minutes; understanding of the mission, culture, and values of Ramapo as embodied in the experiences of the Class; a connection between Ramapo experiences and the future;  impact Ramapo has had on the lives of those in the Class; and relevant humor (no “inside” jokes).

If Spring 2024 is your last semester at Ramapo, your graduation application was due by Monday, April 1. A graduation application is required to earn your Ramapo degree regardless of participation in Commencement and related events. Instructions on the graduation application process can be found on the Registrar’s website. Please direct questions related to your eligibility to graduate, your graduation application, and/or the processing of your diploma to the Office of the Registrar at grad@ramapo.edu.

• On April 8, we celebrate the RCNJ Class of 2024 and the eve of our count down: Grad50-Fifty Days Until Undergraduate Commencement! Join your peers from 8 – 10 p.m. in Friends Hall to use the 360 degree photo booth, create a keepsake of your Top 24 Ramapo memories, enjoy food and more. The first 100 graduates in attendance will enter into a raffle for free Ramapo swag. Questions? Email commencement@ramapo.edu.

Grad Fair! on April 18 (12 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Arch) is your one-stop shop to pick up your pre-ordered regalia, record a farewell video, get answers about Commencement, pick up your reader card and RCNJ stole, sign up for Senior Send Off activities, enter for a chance to win a free Commencement photo package, etc.

Is there a club, a program, or a professor that made a difference for you? Did you take a class that changed your career path? Tell us what RCNJ memory will stay with you 10, 20, or 30 years from now. Or thank a family member or friend for helping you through your journey at Ramapo. Record a brief message to be displayed on the Jumbotron at this year’s Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony at Prudential Center. Recordings will play for guests seated in the arena prior to the processional. You can record messages individually or as part of a group.

Or, smile for the camera and tell us about your plans for after Ramapo. “After Ramapo I…” photos will be displayed on the Jumbotron at Prudential Center. Both video recordings and photos will take place at Grad50 on April 8 and Grad Fair! on Thursday, April 18.

Regalia is required for participation in the Arching Ceremony on campus on Thursday, May 23 and the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony at Prudential Center on Wednesday, May 29.

Details:

• The Bachelor’s package (for undergraduates) is $83. It includes a black cap & gown, degree color tassel, zipper pull, and Ramapo stole.

The deadline to order your regalia for pick up at Grad Fair was Friday, March 15. 

The deadline to order your regalia and have it mailed to your home was Monday, April 22.

So, now what?

• If you did not attend the Grad Fair on Thursday, April 18, pre-ordered Regalia shipped to the campus, can now be picked up at the Ramapo Bookstore during normal business hours.  
• Any orders placed after March 15, will be shipped to your home address. 
• Stoles and Accessories can also be purchased at the Bookstore beginning April 23.
• Anyone who did not place an online order, please visit the Bookstore to make your purchase. There is a late fee for anyone purchasing after April 22 and sizes will be limited.

Please direct questions related to regalia (cap & gown) to bookstore@ramapo.edu