How to Double Your Ceremony Attendance Without Doubling Your Budget
Graduation is a milestone and a rare moment to honor students’ journeys and build lasting connections with their institutions. But getting students to show up remains a challenge for many schools. Tassel’s recent analysis of over 1,400 ceremonies revealed a sobering truth. Only 15 percent of institutions see participation rates over 90 percent. More than half struggle to cross even 70 percent.
The good news is that improving turnout doesn’t require a large budget or a complete overhaul. It comes from making smart, student‑centered choices. Here’s how the highest‑performing institutions do it and how you can too.
1. Get Your Email Cadence Right
One of the easiest ways to boost attendance is also one of the most overlooked. Many coordinators worry about overwhelming students with too many emails, but our data says otherwise. Institutions that send just one to three emails average only 28.9 percent attendance. When they increase that to three to five emails, attendance nearly doubles to 54 percent. Beyond that, the gains are minimal.
What to do next: Plan a series of minimum three to five emails with clear messages and deadlines.
2. Use Multiple Communication Channels
Email is helpful but not enough. Adding text messaging to your outreach raises average attendance from 42.9 percent to 48.3 percent. That’s a five percent improvement for a simple change. Other methods like social media or campus signage may add even more value.
What to do next: Use multiple channels to connect with students where they already are.
3. Choose Your Ceremony Day Carefully
Your ceremony date may depend on many factors. But the day of the week has a clear effect on attendance. Sunday and Friday ceremonies had the best turnout with 58.4 percent and 51.5 percent Yes RSVPs. Wednesday had the lowest participation.
What to do next: Schedule your ceremony for a Sunday or Friday when possible.
4. Go Hybrid to Be Inclusive
Almost half of all schools now use hybrid ceremonies. This gives families more flexibility and improves access for those who can’t attend in person. Medium‑sized schools lead this trend with 72 percent adoption, showing it’s more about mindset than budget.
What to do next: Add livestream or virtual access to support more students and families.
5. Celebrate Culture and Diversity
Universities are vibrant communities made up of students from all backgrounds. Recognizing and celebrating this diversity during commencement can also increase attendance.
Tassel conducted research that showed ceremonies that included pre‑recorded name announcements saw participation rates more than double those that didn’t. One reason is that students could preview how their name would be pronounced during registration. That small, thoughtful step builds confidence and signals to every student that their identity matters and their story is worth honoring.
What to do next: Consider incorporating multicultural elements, holding separate recognition events, and taking steps to ensure graduates are recognized respectfully during their big moment. If budget allows, add pre‑recorded name announcements to guarantee proper name pronunciation.
Participation Starts with Planning
Strong attendance is no accident. It comes from aligning your communication, scheduling, and ceremony planning around one simple goal: Celebrating your students.
Many of these fixes are low‑effort and low‑cost changes that make a big difference. At Tassel, we help schools apply these strategies every day to deliver seamless, joyful graduation moments.
The data behind these recommendations can be explored in depth in our recent Tassel Trends Report, which offers insights from over 100 graduation coordinators and 1,400 ceremonies across the country. We created this report to help graduation planners benchmark their institution against peers, spot where their leading or lagging, and apply proven strategies to improve the graduation experience while increasing participation.
Ready to get more students across the stage? Access the Full Report Here