The Catholic University of America wants to ensure that all Class of 2025 graduates and their guests have the very best experience while attending Commencement and related ceremonies.
A request form is available here for students to complete for comprehensive consideration of accommodation requests for themselves and / or their guests. The Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) will request information about any physical/mobility, visual, or hearing impairment(s), or other disability needs that graduating students and/or their guests may have, so that DSS and the Commencement Planning Committee may coordinate and communicate what accommodations can be offered.
Graduating Students requiring accommodations along the procession route, in the seating area (this would include those who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind or low vision, and those with physical disabilities), getting to/from the platform area, obtaining their diploma on the platform or obtaining alternative formats of the commencement program should indicate these needs on their online form.
Guests who have a disability or condition that require a specific accommodation (e.g. access to an ASL Interpreter, Commencement program in Braille, specialized seating for wheelchair/motorized scooter, etc.) will also be accommodated. The graduating student must complete the form to request these accommodations on behalf of their guests.
Disability Support Services offers the following guidelines to plan for the arrival, parking, and travel between ceremonies for all guests with mobility-related needs:
The circular driveway of the Basilica is the designated drop-off site for guests with mobility needs for both the Baccalaureate Mass and the Main Commencement Ceremony. Guests with mobility needs should be dropped off at this location, accompanied by a member of the guest party, while others park vehicles in designated areas. Able-bodied drivers and vehicles without handicap placards should use the adjacent Basilica Parking lot, located to the west of the Basilica, at the intersections of Harewood Drive NE and Michigan Avenue NE.
An accessible parking area has been designated along Alumni Lane, immediately to the east of the Basilica, for vehicles with handicap license plates or placards. Guests are not able to reserve these accessible spaces; they are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once these spaces are full, vehicles will be directed to other designated parking.
The University will operate multiple shuttles that run a continuous loop of campus in a path with proximity to Commencement event locations.
As the majority of campus is a walking community, and with several paths roads closed for commencement activities, vehicle access between locations is not assured. Those attending the University Commencement on Saturday, May 17th, and proceeding to a school reception will find that the University Shuttle is the simplest means of travel between distant locations. Guests who are attending limited events over Commencement weekend should review the Commencement Map and identify which parking lot(s) are in closest proximity to ceremonies. Individual parking lots have limited handicap designated spaces.