Graduation Memorandum

Please submit the Graduation Application online via MyRoss by:

October 15, 2010 for 11/30 Anticipated Graduates
February 15, 2011 for 3/31, 4/30, 5/31 and 7/1 Anticipated Graduates

Congratulations! You may be a candidate for the November 30, 2010 or March 31, April 30,
May 31 or July 1, 2011 graduation dates and may be eligible to attend the June 10, 2011 Ross
University Commencement at the IZOD Center (Meadowlands Complex). As a prospective
graduate, it is crucial that you read the following memo thoroughly for important
information regarding the graduation process and the commencement ceremony.

Please note: All questions regarding the commencement ceremony should be directed to the
Office of Alumni Relations at AlumniAffairs@RossU.edu.

Graduation Requirements
To be a candidate for graduation and receive your diploma and/or transcripts, you must meet
the following requirements:
 Successful completion of all courses in the Basic Science curriculum.
 Passing scores on Step 1, and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) and Clinical Skills (CS) of
the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). Please be advised that you must
submit these scores along with the Performance Profile section of your score report within
30 days of receipt. We do not automatically receive them from ECFMG. You must fax
(732-509-4820) or email both sides to our office, regardless of whether you pass or fail. If
you fax the report, first photocopy and then fax the copy to our office, as the reports are
printed on special paper that renders it unreadable when the original is faxed.
 Successful completion of all required clinical clerkships, consisting of core and elective
clerkships as dictated by the Clinical Science curriculum.
 All outstanding balances owed to the University must be satisfied with the Office of
Student Finance.
 All final, official grade evaluations and administrative documents must be received so that
the Office of the Registrar may complete an internal final degree audit. The degree audit
consists of a review of all of the above items and a review of all clinical evaluations on
file. Please log into MyRoss to review your clinical rotation schedule for receipt of
clinical evaluations. It may take up to a week after all items have been received to
complete the audit. A fax of your clinical evaluation will NOT clear you for diploma
release and ECFMG certification.
Graduation Date
Students completing the above requirements between:
 July 1 and November 30, 2010 will receive a diploma dated November 30, 2010.
 December 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011 will receive a diploma dated March 31, 2011.
 April 1 and April 30, 2011 will receive a diploma dated April 30, 2011.
 May 1 and May 31, 2011 will receive a diploma dated May 31, 2011.
 June 1 and July 1, 2011 will receive a diploma dated July 1, 2011.

Special Notes for July 1, 2011 Graduates

IMPORTANT: Graduates with a July 1, 2011 graduation date will NOT be ECFMG
certified by July 1st, the traditional residency start date. If your degree audit has been
completed by July 1st, the earliest you can be certified will be early August. When
interviewing for residency programs, you must inform the program that you will not be
certified by July 1st. In most cases, if a program wishes to match with you, they may
make accommodations for a later residency start date.

If you expect to graduate on July 1st due to having to take USMLE Step 2 CK or CS during
June, please be aware the ECFMG certification process will not begin until your scores have
been received and you have been cleared for graduation. Expedited ECFMG certifications
can take up to 2-3 additional weeks. For further information regarding ECFMG certification
and residency, please contact the Office of Student and Professional Development at 732-509-
4600 ext. 4907.

Special Graduation Dates (SGD)

A special graduation date may be approved for one of the following reasons:
 You are a Canadian citizen and are required to take Step 3 to obtain a working Visa. Your
Canadian citizenship will be verified.
 You are applying for the California licensing between 11/30 and 5/31. Please submit the
L2 and L5 portions of the California licensing application when applying for a SGD. If
you are requesting an SGD between 7/31 and 10/31, you must also supply proof that the
program you wish to interview with will not offer an interview without the California
status letter, otherwise the 11/30 graduation will be sufficient time to obtain the California
status letter for purposes of the Match.
 You have received a residency position, which is scheduled to begin at least one month
before a scheduled graduation date. You must submit a copy of a signed contract with
your Special Graduation Date request.

Under no circumstances will a Special Graduation Date be given for any day other than
the last day of the month in which you complete the clinical curriculum and pass the
required boards.

To apply for an SGD, submit a written request to the Office of the Registrar at least 2 months
prior to the date you are requesting. Your request must include the anticipated date you will
complete all graduation requirements. Indicate in the request how you would like your name
specified on the diploma and an email address by which you can be notified. Be sure to
include all supporting documents and complete the Graduation Application via MyRoss. You
will be notified via email if you are approved.

Graduation Clearance & Diplomas

Your graduation date is contingent upon completion of all clinical rotations and the date you
sit for and pass the USMLE Step 2 CK and CS, not upon receipt of your scores. For example,
if you complete rotations in October and sit for and pass the exam in November, you will be a
November 30th graduate, even though you may not receive your scores until December.
However, if you chose not to sit until December, you would become a March 31st graduate.
If the results of the required boards or clinical schedule are not met by the anticipated
graduation date, you will be moved to the next standard graduation date.

Please note that your diploma cannot be released to you or ECFMG (even if you have
attended the ceremony) until the following is completed:
 All administrative holds are removed. Holds must be cleared through the appropriate
office. The most common holds are:
o Bursar—for failure to pay final bill, including tuition or health insurance fees
o Registrar—for failure to submit official transcripts or a Reinstatement Application for
a clinical gap.
While each department makes every effort to attempt to notify you of holds, it is your
responsibility to ensure that you are cleared. Please visit MyRoss to view any holds on
your account.
 We have received all final, official clinical evaluations. The Clinical Department makes
every effort to track missing evaluations, but it is in your best interest to follow-up on all
evaluations. Please visit MyRoss to view your clinical rotation schedule and track receipt
of your evaluations, and contact your clinical advisor for information regarding missing or
corrected evaluations.
 You have clearance for graduation by an internal final audit. An internal final audit
includes receipt of all the above-mentioned criteria and a file review of all evaluations. A
degree audit will be conducted automatically when all requirements are met. Please do not
call to request one. Under no circumstances will a student’s diploma be released before a
graduation date.

Clinical Evaluations
A final transcript will not be available for ECFMG certification or for any other reason until
RUSM receives all original evaluations. A fax of the evaluation will not suffice for grading or
clearance.

It may take up to a week after an evaluation is received until it is processed into the RUSM
database, as it goes through several verification processes.

It is very important that all evaluations have a signature date that is on or after the last day of
the rotation and that the actual dates of the rotation are listed correctly, or the evaluation will
be returned to the hospital for correction. You can help alleviate delays in your degree audit
by ensuring that the hospital coordinator completes all evaluations properly and they are sent
to RUSM in a hospital letterhead envelope.
If you complete a rotation within a week of graduation, you will want to make sure that the
hospital coordinator immediately mails the evaluation to RUSM, as the original evaluation is
needed for ECFMG certification.

Diploma Distribution
Graduates cannot receive a copy of their diploma or final transcripts prior to the
diploma date and final degree audit clearance.

Effective September 30, 2009, original diplomas for all graduates will be mailed to the
address provided on the Graduation Application after your graduation date has passed and the
degree audit has been completed. Diplomas will not be distributed at the June 2011
commencement ceremony. When submitting your Graduation Application be sure to provide
a permanent address where your diploma should be mailed. Your diploma will automatically
be mailed to the address provided after you have been cleared for graduation.

Name on Diploma
Please list your name on the Graduation Application exactly as you are registered with
ECFMG. If this name is different from how you are listed on the RUSM database, you will
need to submit legal documentation of your official name to RUSM. Name discrepancies will
result in licensing and certification problems.

ECFMG Certification
After a final audit is completed on or after the graduation date, a copy of your diploma will be
given to the Office of Student and Professional Development to be submitted to ECFMG for
certification. Your ECFMG Certificate should arrive approximately 4-6 weeks after
ECFMG’s receipt of the diploma copy. Please review the OSPD Pre-residency Planning
Guide online via MyRoss for more information on certification.

Loan Repayment
Please be aware that student loans enter repayment or grace period, if applicable, on the
LAST DAY OF YOUR CLINICAL ROTATIONS, not on your graduation date. You are not
considered to be enrolled after that date. Thus, choosing to postpone your graduation date or
postponing sitting for the USMLE will NOT extend your loan repayment period.

Honors
Honors designees will be published in the commencement program and will be printed on
diplomas to which it applies. Eligible honors candidates will be acknowledged during the
ceremony and the student with the highest cumulative GPA, who is not a transfer student, will
be invited to lead the graduates in the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath. Due to the timing of
receipt of some clinical evaluations and degree audit clearance, you may not be recognized at
the ceremony and the commencement program and your diploma may not have an honors
indication.

To be eligible for Honors status, you must be a student in good standing, have a file review
for academic performance, have not have received an ―F‖ in any course, have passed the
USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK or CS in no more than 1 attempt, and meet one of the following
combined basic science and clinical curriculum cumulative GPA requirements. The Honors
designation is as follows:
3.5 – 3.59 Honors
3.6 – 3.79 High Honors
3.8 – 4.00 Highest Honors

Graduation Application
All graduates must complete the Graduation Application online via MyRoss. You will not be
considered for graduation nor will a diploma be ordered without receipt of the Graduation
Application.

Federal Student Loan Exit Counseling

Please note that all graduating students that have borrowed federal student loans must
complete an exit interview for loan repayment using the following link:
http://mappingyourfuture.org/oslc/counseling/index.cfm?act=Intro&OslcTypeID=29. Loan
exit counseling is a federal requirement for all students who have borrowed federal student
loans. For further information regarding federal loan exit counseling, please contact the Office
of Student Finance at FinAid@RossU.edu .

Commencement
All graduates scheduled for the November 30, 2010 and March 31, April 30, May 31 and July
1, 2011 graduation dates will be eligible to attend the Friday, June 10, 2011 commencement
ceremony. The ceremony will take place at the IZOD Center (Meadowlands Complex) in East
Rutherford, NJ. Due to clearance considerations, November 2011 graduates will not be able to
attend until the June 2012 commencement ceremony.

Information regarding the ceremony can be found at

http://www.rossu.edu/alumni/Graduation.cfm. This site will be updated with more details in
the coming months. Additionally, we will send you more detailed ceremony information as
the ceremony gets closer.

Announcements
Graduation announcements for the 2011 commencement will be available for order beginning
in the late fall. We will notify you when they become available. You will be able to order
them by visiting www.Jostens.com/college and following the steps to select announcements
for Ross University School of Medicine. Announcements are NOT invitations to the
ceremony; rather they are a formal declaration of your graduation from medical school.

Commencement Tickets
Due to the new location for this year’s commencement ceremony, ticketing details have not
yet been finalized. Additional information regarding ticketing will become available shortly,
and we will notify you when both the number of tickets available for each student and the
ordering process has been confirmed.
Doctoral Tams, Gowns, Hoods, and Tassels
Students may purchase a Doctoral tam, gown, hood and tassel through Herff Jones, Inc
beginning in the early Fall. The price for buying the set is approximately $64 plus applicable
state tax, plus shipping and handling of $16 for orders placed prior to May 9, 2011. Please
note that you must order the tam, gown and tassel set and the hood set from the
www.herffjones.com/college/graduation website. This is not handled through RUSM.

Please complete the order form appropriately with your height, weight and school information
(indicate whether you are a Medical or Veterinary graduate). For further information
regarding the ordering of your graduation regalia, contact Paul Reilly by email at
pjreill@aol.com. Be sure to order by the deadline (May 9th) to ensure that you receive your
regalia in time for the ceremony. The Herff Jones website will shut down on May 10, 2011
and will reopen on May 12, 2011. For orders between May 12th and May 26th, shipping costs
will increase to $36 within the US; there will be no international shipping during this period.
No orders can be made after May 26th for the June 10th Ceremony, without prior
arrangements with Paul Reilly for pickup at the ceremony. If you choose to pick-up your
regalia at the ceremony, the cost is $100, cash only. You will not be allowed to walk in the
ceremony if you do not have a tam, gown, hood, and tassel. It is your responsibility to have
these with you for the ceremony.

Graduation Portraits
Professional photographers from Island Photography will be on hand to take photos as you
cross the stage. They will also take individual portraits prior to returning to your seat. The
seating card you receive at the ceremony will include an address and email address where
Island Photography will send ceremony portrait information following graduation day. You
will be able to purchase these photos as well as a composite class portrait directly from Island
Photography.

Graduation Travel & Lodging

Please visit http://www.rossu.edu/alumni/Travel-Hotel.cfm for more information regarding
travel to graduation and to find information about discounted hotel rates we have arranged at
recommended area hotels. To find additional information about the IZOD Center at the
Meadowlands, please visit www.izodcenter.com.

Additional Information
For further information regarding graduation and USMLE registration, please contact Office
of the Registrar at Registrar@RossU.edu.

For information regarding residency, licensing, ERAS, the Match and ECFMG certification,
please contact the Office of Student and Professional Development at
ProfessionalDevelopment@RossU.edu.

For information regarding the commencement ceremony, please contact the Office of Alumni
Relations at AlumniAffairs@RossU.edu.