Meetings/Workshops/Events:
1. HOLISTIC ADMISSIONS WORKSHOP
2. ANNUAL GRADUATE STUDENT DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION SUMMIT
3. CREATING AFFIRMING AND INCLUSIVE GRADUATE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT
4. HOW TO USE iTHENTICATE – TRAINING SESSIONS
Administrative Announcements:
5. GRADUATE HONOR SYSTEM RECRUITING NEW FACULTY PANELISTS
6. NEW PROCEDURES FOR NEW INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IMMIGRATION CHECK-IN
7. HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKSHOPS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
8. DIVERSITYEDU ONLINE COURSE NOTIFICATION
9. TOURS AVAILABLE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS VISITING BLACKSBURG CAMPUS
10. RAISING AWARENESS OF THE OMBUDSPERSON
Deadlines/Dates to Remember:
AUG 17: New graduate student orientation at GLC
AUG 20: Classes begin; last day to withdraw without charges
AUG 24: Last day to add classes and add/drop audit option
SEP 3: Labor Day: no classes – University closed
SEP 9: Last day to submit the start-of-semester defense exception form for fall
Meetings/Workshops/Events:
1. ANNUAL GRADUATE STUDENT DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION SUMMIT
Thursday, Aug 16, 1:30-5:00PM, New Classroom Building, Room 130B. Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators are invited to attend the annual Graduate School ORDI Recruitment and Diversity Summit (in conjunction with the university-wide Diversity Summit). We will review admissions, recruitment and retention trends, discuss 2018-2019 recruitment efforts, and provide updates about diversity and inclusion initiatives coming up in the year ahead.
2. 2018 UNDERREPRESENTED/MINORITIZED STUDENT LUNCHEON
Thursday, Aug 23, 12:00-2:00pm, GLC Multipurpose Room.
The Graduate School’s Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion offers a luncheon to all underrepresented and/or minoritized students. These groups include racial/ethnic minorities, sexual/gender minorities, and others who identify as a minority in graduate education. Student group leaders, faculty/staff mentors, and community allies are invited to be present at the luncheon to offer guidance and encouragement to new students. Panelists include Dr. Gena Chandler-Smith, Dr. Walter Lee, and Dr. Maria Cana Jimenez. All are welcome to attend. Please register at http://bit.ly/VTURM2018. For assistance, please contact. Dr. Justin Grimes at jgrimes18@vt.edu
3. CREATING AN AFFIRMING AND INCLUSIVE GRADUATE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT
Friday, Aug 24, 8:30am, Torgersen Hall 1100
Led by Dean DePauw, this half-day session offers strategies and practices for faculty to create inclusive, affirming and globally diverse learning environments for graduate students. These strategies and practices range from the classroom to program considerations and include those for mentoring and individual interactions. This general overview will include identification of and response to implicit bias and micro-aggressions as well as the development of inclusive pedagogy.
4. HOW TO USE iTHENTICATE – TRAINING SESSIONS
Two dates and times, GLC Room 238; registration required
The Graduate School is offering training sessions to graduate staff coordinators and graduate program faculty on how graduate students will use iThenticate, a newly available software system, to review the originality of documents, ensure accurate attribution to other authors, and eliminate occurrences of potential plagiarism. Please register for only one session if you are interested at https://app.nli.tlos.vt.edu/; search by date or for “iThenticate” in the title box.
– Tuesday, Sep 4, 11:00am-12:00pm
– Wednesday, Sep 12, 3:00pm-4:00pm
Administrative Announcements:
5. GRADUATE HONOR SYSTEM RECRUITING NEW FACULTY PANELISTS
The Graduate Honor System is recruiting faculty members to serve as panelists who review evidence and determine the outcome of GHS cases. Virginia Tech faculty members who work with graduate students are eligible. The overall time commitment is 3-4 hours a semester based on the number of cases and panelist availability to participate in scheduled hearings. If you are interested to serve as a faculty panelist, please contact the GHS Chair, Anurag Mantha (ghs@vt.edu), to set up a brief meeting to discuss the role. Once the meeting is complete, you will be added to the GHS email list and are free to volunteer to serve on any panel based on your availability.
6. NEW PROCEDURES FOR NEW INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IMMIGRATION CHECK-IN
New international students no longer have to check in with our immigration advisors in person. Instead, they are required to check in online with our International Graduate Student Services (IGSS) for immigration purposes after they arrive in the U.S. and secure permanent housing in Blacksburg. Read about the process at https://graduateschool.vt.edu/student-life/immigration-services/new-student-guide/mandatory-check-in.html. Students will be able to meet our immigration advisors in person during a social event on Friday, August 17, 2:00-3:00pm in the GLC Multipurpose Room. Students may register for classes, get their Hokie Passport, and take care of other items on the new student checklist (https://graduateschool.vt.edu/admissions/getting-started-as-a-student/new-student-checklist.html) before they complete the online check-in.
7. HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKSHOPS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
Environmental Health and Safety is hosting two trainings for graduate students that relate to lab safety and safety obligations under university policy. Specifically, if you have students that will be in labs with chemical, biological or physical hazards, as well as animal use labs, this training should be very beneficial. Your help in spreading the word about these trainings is appreciated. They will offer more workshops in the GLC if these two sessions fill up. Students can sign-up for the “How to Use the EHS Safety Management System” at https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3aZZK5McUsc7X37 and the “Safety and Health Compliance Obligations Under University Policy” at https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3DaohfeOF6nrcPj
8. DIVERSITYEDU ONLINE COURSE NOTIFICATION
The DiversityEdu online course notification have been to new undergraduate and graduate students on Please communicate the timeline below to appropriate college/departmental contacts who can monitor student progress and communicate with students about this expectation:
* August 20 – announced deadline for completing the course.
* September 3 – backup deadline for those who have not yet completed.
* September 28 – holds placed on student accounts for those students who have not completed. The Registrar will place these holds.
Advising, college, and/or departmental contacts will be added to the DiversityEdu pages this year so that a designee will be able to monitor students’ progress. Please send those persons’ names and PIDs, along with the student department and/or majors they oversee to mhs@vt.edu. This information will be input into Canvas so that they can directly check student completions.
9. TOURS AVAILABLE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS VISITING BLACKSBURG CAMPUS
Provided by the Graduate School’s Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion. At least 1-week advance notice is required. Generally, tours are available Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm starting time and are approximately 45-60 minutes. Tours are not offered during evenings, weekends, or during times when the university officially closes for holidays and other observances. Requests for tours on days/times outside of the usual offering will be considered on a case by case basis. Guests are welcome but space is usually limited to two guests per prospective student. When requesting tours, please include information regarding disabilities/accessibility and we will do all possible to provide an accessible tour experience. We will confirm scheduled tour with the email provided on the request for tour link below. Request a tour at: https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5tlAZpr9jVMzucJ.
10. RAISING AWARENESS OF THE OMBUDSPERSON
Connecting face-to-face with students and the faculty they work with is one of the best ways for individuals to learn about the services the Ombuds office can provide. One way to do this is to allow 10 minutes for a short presentation during your orientation programs for first year students. These conversations will cover an intro to the role, the types of support available, and certain initiatives that the office is working on. Longer sessions built around specific skill-building topics in first year seminar courses can also be done. Speaking during a faculty meeting would be another way to increase awareness of the role with those that work directly with students on a daily basis. If you would like to schedule a session or discuss other opportunities to connect with your students and faculty, please contact Bryan Hanson at bryanh76@vt.edu.