Congratulations on being selected by your college to guide your fellow graduating students and ensure they understand how to sign in, line up, and process in an orderly manner so that the celebration day goes smoothly! Your service as a marshal is crucial to the success of UA Little Rock’s commencement ceremonies, and we thank you for your willingness to assist. It is an honor to be selected as a student marshal!
A brief training session is scheduled for Thursday, May 14th, at 9:30 a.m. in the Jack Stephens Center (on the arena floor). You must attend this training to represent your school on commencement day as a marshal. Student marshals will receive their commencement honor stole at the mandatory meeting.
Please review all topics below to learn what you need to know before the big day!
Please be at your assigned college in the Derek Fisher Court of the Jack Stephens Center by your assigned time. Upon arrival at Fisher Court, please visit the information table to sign in.
Ceremony Date & Times:
9:30 a.m. & 2:00 p.m., May 16, 2026
Ceremony 1:
9:30 a.m.
The ceremony will feature undergraduate students from the College of Business, Health, and Human Services and the Donaghey College of Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics.
The doors will open at 8:00 a.m. for the 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Student Marshals should arrive by 8:00 a.m.
Ceremony 2:
2:00 p.m.
The ceremony will feature undergraduate students from the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education and graduate students from the Graduate School.
The doors will open at 12:30 p.m. for the 2:00 p.m. ceremony. Student Marshals are expected to arrive by 12:30 p.m.
We recommend that you wear comfortable shoes!
You will be standing for long periods until the end of the ceremony.
You will work with the faculty marshals in your designated college area and ensure that students arriving in the Derek Fisher Court sign in and line up with the correct college. Two faculty and two student marshals will be assigned to your college, also assisting the students.
Do not line up alphabetically with the other graduates in your college!
You will be immediately following the faculty marshals into the arena area, and you will be led to the stage by the faculty marshal.
Please note:
All graduate students will line up with the Graduate School and not with the undergraduate students in their college.
Your job will be to direct your fellow graduates to sign in at the appropriate table if they haven’t already done so. You will also be assisting the faculty marshals in ensuring the students obtain their printed announcement cards which will be used for their pictures and the announcement of their names as they walk across the stage.
DO NOT ALLOW STUDENTS TO PROCESS INTO THE JSC ARENA WITHOUT THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT CARD!
Students will keep the card until they are ready to cross the stage. At that time, a commencement worker will take the card and give it to the person who will announce the student.
Students are not to write on the printed cards.
For the students in your college who will be recognized for university academic honors during the commencement ceremony, the printed card they obtain from you or one of the other marshals will automatically have those honors listed.
This card is identical to the other printed cards except the honor notation will also appear along with their name. The students are not to make adjustments to or write on the card.
They will only announce honors for students who have their honors preprinted on these cards.
Once students sign in and obtain their printed cards from you or one of the other marshals, they may choose to line up at the back of Fisher Court for additional commencement photos.
Photos will also be taken of students during the commencement ceremony as they receive their diploma covers on stage. Students will receive proofs of their photos soon after the commencement ceremony via their ualr.edu email. At that time, they may order pictures if they choose.
When students return to the college area in Fisher Court after taking any additional commencement photos, please group students in alphabetical order regardless of their major.
Order doesn’t have to be exact within letter groups as long as students with last names beginning with A are lined up with other students with last names beginning with A, etc.
Tassels should be worn on the right side while in Fisher Court.
No personal belongings should be left by any Fisher Court graduate as no one will remain there to ensure security.
If you have questions while serving in Fisher Court, please see one of the faculty marshals assigned to your college. If one is unavailable or cannot answer your question, please ask one of the commencement workers at the information table.
Once the procession begins in the Jack Stephens arena, please do not ask the commencement volunteers assisting in seating the graduating students questions, as they will not be able to answer at that point in the ceremony.