The Class of 2018 will receive 831 diplomas during Indiana University East’s 47th Commencement Ceremony today (May 11) at 6 p.m. at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

Of the degrees being conferred, 801 are bachelor’s degrees and 30 are master’s degrees.

The Commencement Ceremony will welcome friends and families of graduates from near and far. IU East’s online degree completion programs are a popular option for students in the region as well as across the United States and beyond. The online degree completion programs offer the high quality of an Indiana University degree and the flexibility to fit studying around work and family schedules.

The attraction of the online degree completion programs brings a growing number of these students to Richmond, Indiana, each year to visit the campus and to attend the Commencement Ceremony. Of the total number of graduates, there are 62 Indiana counties represented, 29 states and 15 countries.

IU East will host a luncheon for the online students attending Commencement to welcome those traveling from a distance on Friday, May 11, at the Student Events and Activities Center. Graduates will travel from California, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico and New Jersey as well as from across Indiana and Ohio.

The Class of 2018 has many characteristics. A brief glance at the statistics and figures provides a look at the graduates joining over 10,000 IU East alumni.

• Indiana Resident: 647
• Non-Resident: 174
• Male: 260
• Female: 561
• The oldest student graduating is 68, the youngest is 20.
• There are two sets of twins among the graduates.
• The most numerous degree to be granted is the B.S. in Business Administration (196).
• The second most frequent degree to be granted is the B.S. in Nursing (132).
• First generation students: 39.8 percent.

If sorting graduates by age, those who are 23 and younger compose 24.5 percent of the Class of 2018. Graduates ages 23-29 represent 35.9 percent of the class while those 30 and over compose 39.6 percent. Within the Class of 2018, 27 undergraduate students earned a 4.0 GPA.

For more information, visit iue.edu/commencement.