The Class of 2016 will receive 795 diplomas during Indiana University East’s 45th Commencement Ceremony at 6 p.m. today (May 13) at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

Of the degrees being conferred, 772 are bachelor’s degrees and 23 are master’s degrees.  This marks the most degrees awarded to one graduating class 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 61 Indiana counties represented, 29 states and four countries.

IU East hosted a luncheon for the online students attending Commencement to welcome those traveling from a distance on Friday, May 13, on the quad. Graduates traveled from California, Kentucky, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama and Texas.

The Class of 2016 has many characteristics. A brief glance at the statistics and figures provides a look at the graduates joining over 9,000 IU East alumni.

•    Indiana Resident: 613
•    Non-Resident: 174
•    Male: 253
•    Female: 534
•    The oldest student graduating is 70, the youngest is 19.
•    The most numerous degree to be granted is the B.S. in Business Administration (208).
•    The second most frequent degree to be granted is the B.S. in Nursing (138).
•    First generation students: 40.2 percent.

If sorting graduates by age, those who are 23 and younger compose 70 percent of the Class of 2016. Graduates ages 23-29 represent 42 percent of the class while those 30 and over compose 38.8 percent. Within the Class of 2015, 23 undergraduate students earned a 4.0 GPA.

For more information, visit iue.edu/commencement.