How Chaminade University Saves Staff Time with Tassel

Chaminade University has been a longtime Tassel customer. But when Pono Riddle joined the commencement team last year, he was new to both the role and the platform.

With access to Tassel’s full product suite through the Expert Package, Pono quickly found that learning the technology was one less thing he needed to worry about.

“It was so intuitive,” Pono said. “I logged in. I was just poking around and…it was really not hard to use at all.”

That simplicity became even more valuable as commencement approached. With tools for digital programs, ticketing, communications, graduate names, and more, Tassel helped Pono manage more of the commencement experience while reducing the amount of work required from teams across campus.

More Tools, Less Work for Staff

For Pono, one of the biggest advantages of having access to Tassel’s full suite was the time it gave back to his team and other departments.

When asked whether Tassel saved staff hours, his answer was immediate: “Oh, definitely. Yeah, definitely.”

The impact was especially clear with digital programs. In previous years, Chaminade’s marketing team had been involved with programs and ticketing. When the team approached Pono to begin that work, he was able to tell them it was already covered through Tassel.

“We upgraded our package with Tassel, like we’re good on that,” Pono recalled. Instead of taking on the project, marketing could simply help proof the finished program. “Basically you guys don’t need to do anything,” he told them. “Total, total vibe changed.”

Other tools helped eliminate repetitive work, too. Chaminade’s commencement chatbot gave graduates and families a place to find answers online rather than sending every question to staff. Pono said it “kind of mitigated emails,” allowing his team to focus on the more technical questions that actually required their attention.

And with Tassel’s instant name announcement tools, graduates could approve their own name pronunciation and verification alongside registration and ticketing.

“It was just so simple to just have the grads register, do their name, and their tickets at the same time, and then just send it through and that’s it,” Pono said. “That was such an easy process.”

The result: fewer manual tasks, fewer departmental handoffs, fewer repetitive emails, and more of the commencement experience managed through one platform.

Link to Program

A Ticketing Experience Graduates Loved

The efficiencies behind the scenes also translated into a smoother experience for graduates and their families—particularly when it came to digital ticketing.

“Grads were telling me after, they were like, ‘This was so smooth,’” Pono said.

Digital tickets also gave Chaminade’s team more flexibility on ceremony day. If a ticket issue arose at check‑in, an administrator could log in, see what happened, and make changes on the spot instead of relying on a physical ticket.

For Pono, that flexibility continued right up until commencement. Because Tassel is web‑based, he could manage last‑minute requests from home—and even make quick changes from his phone when he was away from his computer.

Whether he needed to add a graduate to a ceremony or assign tickets, “it was so seamless.”

More Than a Commencement Management Platform

Having the full Tassel suite also gave Chaminade opportunities to enhance the graduate experience beyond ceremony logistics.

Pono was particularly impressed by Digital Grad Announcements, which graduates could easily create and share with friends and family, including loved ones who couldn’t attend the ceremony.

Graduates could add options like PayPal or Venmo to receive monetary gifts directly. And Tassel doesn’t take a portion of those gifts.

“You raise 3,000, you keep 3,000. $30, you keep $30,” Pono said.

It’s one more way the platform can create value on both sides of commencement: saving institutions time and resources while giving graduates more ways to celebrate their achievement.

“I Can’t Imagine Running Commencement Without This”

For Pono, the combination of intuitive technology, a broad suite of tools, and Tassel’s support team transformed what could have been an overwhelming first year into an experience he was excited to repeat.

“The support team is so responsive, helpful, and accommodating,” Pono said. Whether he needed a call, troubleshooting help, or simply wanted to send a screenshot and ask what he was doing wrong, the Tassel team was available.

“If I had to use one word, I would just say wonderful,” he said. “Can’t wait to do this again next year.”

And when it came to the bigger picture, Pono’s endorsement was even stronger:

“I can’t imagine running commencement without this process. It’s so easy to just jump right in and everything is just so well thought out… I don’t see how someone can run commencement without Tassel. This brings everything to the 21st century.”

For commencement teams working with limited time, staff, and budgets, the right technology should do more than digitize existing processes. We’re working together with partners like Pono to create a commencement experience that requires less manual work, fewer departmental handoffs, and fewer hours spent solving problems that technology can handle instead.