IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. July Graduate Program Directors Meeting
2. Virginia Center for Housing Research Summer Course Offerings
3. Beyond Zoom: Resources to Stay Connected
4. Recruitment on a Budget: Affordable Ways to Attract Students to Your Program
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
July 1: Graduate Application Review Process Information Needed (3rd posting)
Policy Updates
1. Office of the Dean Graduate Form Processing
2. Managing Assistantship Offer for New International Students (3rd posting)
Administrative Announcements
1. GTA Workshop Registration Now Open
2. Tuition Rates for AY 2020-21 Now Posted
3. Department Consultations Now Available from ORDI
4. International Student Late Arrival for Fall 2020
5. Immigration Services Merger with Cranwell International Center (3rd posting)
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1: July Graduate Program Directors Meeting
Thursday, July 23, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Register for the upcoming GPD meeting here: https://gs.vt.edu/gpd
2: Virginia Center for Housing Research Summer Course Offerings
The Virginia Center for Housing Research is offering Summer courses (July 8 – August 14) on housing and development in areas like Construction, Data & Analysis, Finance, Law, and Policy. The courses are all listed under GRAD 5984 SS: Housing Camp (…).
Visit this link to watch a short video about the unique curriculum, or here for more information. Some key benefits for graduate students:
- Fully online, with both at-your-own-pace and real-time learning activities.
- Open to both professionals and graduate students, allowing you to build your network.
- 250 minute courses, each worth one third of a credit hour. You can choose which topics interest you most and bundle them together.
- Each course also earns you at least one VT micro-credential and an entry in a digital portfolio. You’ll have a dynamic, digital resume that sets you apart with future employers.
- Instructors are all VT faculty and industry professionals
Full course descriptions are available here. Please email any questions to Thomas Skuzinski at skuzinsk@vt.edu.
3: Beyond Zoom: Resources to Stay Connected
Thursday, July 16, 2:00 pm
The Graduate School invites you to join: Jigsaw Connect! Jigsaw Connect is a bi-monthly discussion series focused on recruitment and retention support for graduate programs. Join us for our next session on July 16th at 2PM ET, featuring Larry Cox II, Instructional Designer, Learning Experience Design (LED) and Ph.D. Candidate, Instructional Design & Technology. Register at https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAocu-przwtG9TQgMuNw0HE23rw6t9RTfba and feel free to invite others in your unit who may find this information useful. For more information, please email shernita@vt.edu.
4: Recruitment on a Budget: Affordable Ways to Attract Students to Your Program
The Graduate School invites you to join: Jigsaw Connect! Join us on Tuesday, July 28th at 10AM ET featuring the Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion. Register at https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJArduqgrj0pGNS21tcfYZ3AYTuRubiMvzf3 and feel free to invite others in your unit who may find this information useful. For more information, please email shernita@vt.edu.
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
July 1: Graduate Application Review Process Information Needed (2nd posting)
Please complete this short online Google form to provide the Graduate School with information regarding your department’s graduate admission application review process. This information will help us set up the application reader section of Slate, our new application system. Please respond by Wednesday, July 1, 2020. Questions regarding this form should be directed to Janice Austin at jema@vt.edu.
Policy Updates
1: Office of the Dean Graduate Form Processing
In an effort to streamline form submission and processing, all forms requiring a signature from the Dean of Graduate Studies (or Associate Deans) can now be uploaded and submitted through this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkjThbjJ_x4ESc67uCDNiSVEjR6DpwOmJi9QccPa5sdAym9A/viewform?usp=sf_link
Departments are encouraged to submit forms on behalf of students to prevent unnecessary delays that are sometimes created when forms are submitted via email or campus mail. Forms available for submission on the Google Form include:
– Conflict of Interest
– Course Justification
– Graduate Committee Service Approval
– Progress to Degree / Annual Student Evaluations
– Senior Citizen Waiver Form
– Special Studies Course Requests
– Withdrawal / Resignation
2: Managing Assistantship Offer for New International Students (3rd posting)
If an international student is unable to request a visa interview by July 15 (with an interview date before the fall semester begins), the hiring department may rescind the assistantship offer and extend it to another student. The hiring department must:
- notify the student that the offer has been withdrawn due to the student’s inability to arrive in the U.S. for the fall semester, and work with the student on potentially deferring admission and assistantship offer to a future term
- request the termination of the assistantship contract at https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/gradschoolresources/funding-requests/contract-termination
- notify International Graduate Student Services by emailing to igss@vt.eduregarding the termination of the contract and potential deferral of admission, so that the student’s SEVIS record can be updated.
Administrative Announcements
1: GTA Workshop Registration Now Open
The registration site at https://secure.graduateschool.vt.edu/gtaworkshop/ for the Fall 2020 GTA workshop (GRAD 5004) is now open. All new GTAs are required to take this course and should be registered by a graduate coordinator (students cannot register themselves). Additionally, please register students who have earned an F grade in the past and whom you plan to appoint as GTA in the future. Please register your students by August 14, 2020. If you receive an error message while trying to register a student and/or you need access to the registration tool, please email grads@vt.edu with GTA Workshop Registration in the subject line. Learn more about the workshop at https://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/courses-and-scheduling/graduate-school-courses/gta-workshop.html.
2: Tuition Rates for AY 2020-21 Now Posted
The Bursar’s Office posted the official tuition and fees tables for the upcoming academic year. Visit https://www.bursar.vt.edu/content/dam/bursar_vt_edu/tuition/2020-2021tuitionfees.pdf, with special attention graduate tuition on page 3 for Blacksburg, page 4 for extended or virtual campus, page 5 for study abroad, page 7 for graduate program-specific rates, and page 8 for SSDE and co-op fees
3: Department Consultations Now Available from ORDI
Are you looking to expand your recruitment and retention efforts?Request a consultation with a member of the Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion for a personalized discussion at https://bit.ly/VTGradRecruitConsultation. For more information, please email jgrimes18@vt.edu.
4: International Student Late Arrival for Fall 2020
International students who are unable to secure a visa and arrive in the U.S. before the fall semester begins may arrive as late as Friday, Aug 28, the last day to add classes, to join the fall 2020 semester in Blacksburg. If applicable, students and departments should negotiate modified assistantship duties or a delayed start of the assistantship contract in cases of late arrival.
5: Immigration Services Merger with Cranwell International Center (3rd posting)
Starting July 1, 2020, the Cranwell International Center at Harper Hall will provide all international student services, including immigration advising, for both undergraduate and graduate international students. The three current full-time immigration advisors you are used to working with, Mark Dennis, Christina Lapel, and Karen Wills, will join the Cranwell International Center team and will continue to assist you, along with other immigration advisors in the Cranwell International Center who will be fully trained on graduate student matters as well. The immigration contact information will remain the same (email: igss@vt.edu; phone: (540) 231-8486). You can learn more about the Cranwell International Center at https://international.vt.edu/