Clinton's nephew Tyler, son of his brother Roger, is a student at the school.
Clinton spoke for about 10 minutes in the school's chapel about the value of education and public service, making no mention of politics at the ceremony, which was closed to the media.
"It was great," said Geoff Guerrero, whose niece was a graduate. "It was like you were sitting in his living room, and he was talking to each of us individually."
Clinton's office said Tuesday he would not appear at UCLA because of a long-running rift between the University of California and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The school said the decision to cancel the speech was mutual.
