Commencement ceremonies will be held on the National Mall for the third consecutive year, a University administrator said this week.

The graduation event is traditionally held on the Ellipse in front of the White House but was moved to the Capitol lawn for the last two years due to construction. Despite the availability of the Ellipse this year, Commencement will remain at the National Mall because of positive feedback, said Vice President for Communication Mike Freedman.

“We’d be happy on either site,” Freedman said. “But if you talk to the graduates and people we work with on this, they would tell you the National Mall has advantages over the Ellipse – both practical and aesthetic.”

It costs about $250,000 to rent either site, Freedman said. He added the design of the Mall makes it easier to set up the main stage and other facilities.

It costs $40,000 to set up television screens on the Mall, because the narrow space put some seats far from the stage, The Hatchet reported earlier this year.

Freedman said they requested the venue the day after last year’s Commencement. The University must meet with city officials to discuss logistics, and Freedman said they hope to finalize everything by late January.