IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings/Workshops/Events:
1. GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTORS MEETING (4/16)
Administrative Announcements:
2. COVID-19 UPDATES
3. GRADING OPTIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
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:
APR 15 – Extended deadline for withdrawing from a class
MAY 1 – Deadline for changing grading option (see below)
MAY 15 – Deadline to defend (possible one week extension – email grads@vt.edu)
MAY 29 – Gradutate Catalog edit deadline
Meetings/Workshops/Events:
1. GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, April 16, 10-11:30, GLC Room F and Zoom
This will be a Zoom meeting only. Registration is required for attendance, at the following link:
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkdOCtrT4qC6fuf9hPuN_6fBNYzD035A
Administrative Announcements:
2. COVID-19 UPDATES
The Graduate School is continually updating its website’s front page with COVID-19 FAQs . Please refer to https://graduateschool.vt.edu/covid-faqs.html for regular updates.
3. GRADING OPTIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
Graduate students will be allowed to change the grading option from A/F to P/F for graduate courses taken in Spring 2020. A maximum of 6 graduate credits converted A/F to P/F in this manner will be allowed to count toward their program’s graded course credit total on the Plan of Study (research credits are graded as Equivalent Credit [EQ] and do not count as P/F). The decision to change the grading option should be reached in consultation with the faculty advisor and the Graduate Program Director. These decisions should be made not later than May 1, 2020.
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 athttps://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 rarecircumstances, 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.
This will set the application in GSAPP as Accept in your status list which initiates the OESRC review process. You must still submit the Online Admissions Analysis form in HokieSpa as the official decision. Admission recommendations in HokieSpa will not be processed by the Graduate School until the OESRC screening process in GSAPP has been completed. Questions regarding setting the application status to Accept in GSAPP may be addressed to Janice Austin at jema@vt.edu.