VIDEO: See Scenes from UC s First Summer Commencement in More than 30 Years

• Also, see the end-of-summer Commencement slide show.

While August is traditionally considered the start of the school year, the University of Cincinnati’s Aug. 10 summer Commencement ceremony – for the first time in 34 years – also marked degree completion for 2,130 students.

From the early 1960s to 1979, UC held end-of-term ceremonies to close out each academic quarter. And, now on semesters, after several years of

higher enrollment and higher retention

resulting in more graduating students, the university is revisiting its past in order to provide today’s students with timely graduation ceremonies. At UC, enrollment has increased more than 27 percent between 2002 and 2012. And first- to second-year retention rates have increased from 77 percent to 86 percent over the last 10 years, with graduation rates increasing nearly 15 percent in that time.

UC President Santa J. Ono led the event, delivering remarks on the life lessons he hoped these graduates had learned at the university in addition to mastering their respective academic programs. Among other things, he hoped that they had learned “that the world is full of all types of people. Each of us has unique talents and deserves respect and the chance to develop to our full potential – no matter what our background or culture might be.”

• SEE a statistical breakdown of the class of August 2013.

• SEE history highlights from the August Commencements up to 1979.