The Big Day, Digitized: Temple University’s Commencement Innovation

Graduation at a large university is no small feat. With thousands of students, dozens of majors, and countless moving parts, Temple University needed a system that could handle complexity while remaining simple for staff and seamless for students.

For Keesa Bond, who stepped into the role overseeing commencement, the transition could have been overwhelming. Instead, she found the process surprisingly smooth thanks to Tassel’s intuitive platform and strong customer support.

“I had a colleague who oversaw the entirety of our graduation clearance process with Tassel... I was thankful that she had put in a lot of the groundwork. I found it to be extremely user friendly and intuitive when I started modifying and uploading our students into the system.”

A Smooth Transition with the Right Support

Taking on a system she hadn’t used before came with uncertainty, and Keesa shared that she expected challenges. But once she began working on Tassel's platform, she found it straightforward and easy to navigate, not just for her as an administrator but also for students engaging with it.

“I was honestly expecting to be inundated with a flood of messages,” Keesa shared. “But the questions we got weren’t about the system. They were the normal things you’d expect from graduating students, like ticketing and guest limits. The platform itself just worked.”

With guidance from Tassel’s Customer Success Manager, Emmanuel Vozos (Manny), the transition was even easier. From reminders about verifying student‑preferred names to scheduling outreach, Manny ensured Temple stayed on track during their busiest season.

Digital Passes That Reduced Stress

Like many large universities, Temple once relied on printed stage cards to manage student check‑in. The process was clunky, stressful, and prone to errors. After switching to Tassel’s digital passes, Keesa saw immediate improvements.

“Everyone remarked about how much better the process was,” she explained. “Students are already flustered on the big day. Taking away the stress of handling cards and replacing it with a quick scan made everything smoother for both students and staff.”

Backup labels were available for rare cases like cracked screens or dead phones, but the digital‑first approach transformed the pace and flow of the ceremony. With ceremonies already running close to two hours and needing to turn over the space at times, the ability to keep students moving efficiently was critical. By streamlining check‑in, Temple could start on time, keep the program moving, and create a calmer, more organized experience for graduates and their families.

“Anything that we can do that gets the students moving and situated is a blessing…so this process was so much easier when we switched to the digital pass entirely,” Keesa shared.

Accurate Name Announcements That Celebrate Students

One of Temple’s favorite features has been Tassel’s name announcement system. For a school processing nearly 900 names at a single ceremony, accurate pronunciation is non‑negotiable. By removing the need for staff to manually call out names, Temple saved countless hours of preparation and avoided the stress of coordinating a process that can easily derail a ceremony’s flow.

“Our dean loves it,” Keesa said. “If our budget was ever cut in half, I know the dean’s office would fight to keep Tassel just for this service. It saves us from the headache of calling out hundreds of names and avoids the risk of mispronunciations that can go viral.”

The time savings for staff were significant and the benefit for graduates was a better experience. The ability for graduates to preview their name pronunciation during registration built confidence that their moment on stage would be accurate and personal. This not only reduces stress day‑of, but creates a more meaningful experience for students and their families, reinforcing the importance of celebrating every name, every story, and every achievement.

Better Planning and Fewer Surprises

For Temple, Tassel has become more than a tool. It’s a trusted partner in delivering one of the most important days of a student’s life.

Each year Temple's team has an internal debrief with their leadership team, and the feedback they got was simple. Keesa shared “This particular year, the debrief was like, well, everything went smoothly. Let's just keep it going.” And with Tassel’s support, they will.

Want to see how Tassel can simplify your commencement too? Talk to our team today