The Class of 2014 will receive 621 diplomas during Indiana University East’s 43rd Commencement Ceremony at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 16, at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

Of the degrees being conferred, 560 are bachelor’s degrees and 61 master’s degrees. The awarding of the degrees this year marks the most awarded in IU East’s history.

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, Ind., each year to visit the campus and to attend the Commencement Ceremony. Of the total number of graduates, there are 53 Indiana counties represented, 24 states and five countries. IU East will host a luncheon for the online students attending Commencement to welcome those traveling from a distance.

The Class of 2014 has many characteristics. A brief glance at the statistics and figures provides a look at the graduates joining over 6,000 IU East alumni.

•    Indiana Resident: 484
•    Non-Resident: 129
•    Male: 176
•    Female: 437
•    The oldest student graduating is 67, the youngest is 20.
•    The most numerous degree to be granted is the B.S. in Business Administration (150).
•    The second most frequent degree to be granted is the B.S. in Nursing (110).
•    First generation students: 44.9 percent.

If sorting graduates by age, those who are 23 and younger compose 11.9 percent. Graduates ages 23-29 represent 38.2 percent of the class while those 30 and over compose 49.9 percent. Within the Class of 2014, 17 undergraduate students earned a 4.0 GPA.

For more information, visit iue.edu/commencement.