Graduation. Schools and colleges usually award a diploma or certificate in recognition of achievement to students who satisfactorily complete a regular course. Most institutions present their diplomas at special ceremonies, called graduation exercises.
Graduation exercises were first held by European universities of the Middle Ages. American educational institutions still have many of the European graduation customs. Usually there are two special graduation ceremonies–baccalaureate and commencement. The baccalaureate service is a religious service, usually held on the Sunday before commencement. The diplomas are given out in the commencement exercise.
In most colleges, graduates wear academic gowns and caps to the ceremonies. By tradition, gowns are long and black. The tasseled, flat black caps are called mortarboards. Both cap and gown are patterned after European academic dress. The color of the tassel shows the kind of degree the graduate is receiving. Graduates may wear colored hoods on their backs to show the highest degree they already hold, and the institution which conferred it. In some colleges, they wear colored caps and gowns as well as hoods.
It is a custom at many high schools and some colleges for the valedictorian and salutatorian of the graduating class to make speeches. The valedictorian is the graduate with the highest marks. The salutatorian is the graduate with the second highest marks.
