IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings/Workshops/Events:
1. GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTORS MEETING
Administrative Announcements:
2. LETTER TO ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS
3. ETD REVIEW AND ITHENTICATE CHANGES
4. ATTENTION! GRADUATE CATALOG EDITORS
5. POWELL FELLOWSHIP
6. VT CALL FOR FACULTY PROFILES: HBCU/MSI Summit
7. REMINDER FOR ADMISSION APPLICATION DECISIONS
Deadlines/Dates to Remember:
MAR 26 – PhD/EdD last day to defend to participate in commencement
APR 9 – PhD/EdD ETD submission deadline to participate in spring commencement
Meetings/Workshops/Events:
1. GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, March 19, 10-11:30, GLC Room F and Zoom
Registration for remote participation in the Spring 2020 Graduate Program Faculty meeting is here:
https://gs.vt.edu/spring2020gpd
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The agenda will focus on COVID 19 and strategies for graduate education as it relates to this topic.
Administrative Announcements:
2. LETTER TO ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS
Below is a link to the letter sent out to all graduate students from Dean DePauw:
https://graduateschool.vt.edu/index/dean-covid19-email-031620.html. Please contact Roxanne Kehr at roxannek@vt.edu if you have any questions.
3. ETD REVIEW AND ITHENTICATE CHANGES
For Graduate Education Week, GAAP staff had two events planned, ETD Review (3/23) and iThenticate (3/26). In light of the campus notice yesterday from President Sands, these sessions, will be held only via Zoom. For the ETD workshop, we will not need individuals to attend in person to help review ETDs. We will encourage students to come to 120 or NVC for an individual review or set up a Zoom individual review. Please continue to share these workshop opportunities with students.
ETD Review: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/274033534
iThenticate: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/5402318316
4. ATTENTION! GRADUATE CATALOG EDITORS
The cycle to edit for catalog year 2020-2021 has begun. Those receiving notification from the system are responsible for content. You must review and submit content, even if the content will not be updated. The deadline to submit is Friday, May 29.
5. POWELL FELLOWSHIP
Applications are currently being accepted for the Powell Fellowship. For eligibility and nomination information please visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/types-of-funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school/powell-fellowship.html. Nominations are due by April 3, 2020. Please contact Shernita Lee at shernita@vt.edu with questions or concerns.
6. VT CALL FOR FACULTY PROFILES: HBCU/MSI SUMMIT
Are you interested in collaboration with faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) or other minority-serving institutions (MSIs)? The HBCU/MSI Research Summit is an opportunity to build direct inter-institutional partnerships between faculty at Virginia Tech and faculty at HBCUs and MSIs. The annual summit held every October, brings several guests, students and faculty, from various HBCUs and MSIs to Virginia Tech. If interest in being listed in our directory, please complete a brief Faculty Interest Survey at https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_514e3ol0X1Bq4nj. The purpose of the survey is to collect information about interested faculty and their work at Virginia Tech to build a database of faculty profiles to facilitate collaborations with HBCUs and MSIs.
7. REMINDER FOR ADMISSION APPLICATION DECISIONS
The Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance (OESRC) and the Graduate School developed procedures to identify graduate students with a high risk of export control, sanctions, or security concerns and provide guidance to the departments for compliance with these regulations. An automated screening method identifies international graduate students who intersect with three high risk areas: sanctioned country citizenship, prior or current foreign military affiliation, and affiliation with restricted parties or embargoed organizations. These applicants are reviewed by OESRC and guidance will be provided to the departments, if necessary. In most cases, OESRC will complete the review within 3 business days. In rare circumstances, additional time will be required to adjudicate cases, and departments will be notified within 3 business days if additional processing time is needed.
In order to ensure that the automated screening process occurs for all applicants recommended for admission, it is imperative that departments mark students recommended for admission in HokieSpa as Accept in GSAPP as well. To note the recommendation for admission in GSAPP, go to Actions –> Department Recommend –> Accept & Save.