Author: chameleo

We had a few inquiries about the potential to continue to receive new content notification from the Graduate School Blog. In response to those inquiries, we have added the ability to subscribe via email, in addition to the RSS and Atom feeds. You will be able to manage your email subscription to the blog individually. Near the top of the right side quick navigation area please note the updated “Subscribe” section that will allow you to choose how to keep up with the Graduate School Blog.

I have also fielded a couple of calls asking about RSS. Really Simple Syndication, or RSS, is a standardized “feed” of information. This allows you to use a feed reader such as Google Reader, or the reader you may find within Outlook or your preferred browser. These tools typically allow you to assemble any number of feeds to effectively create your own newspaper with the content you specifically want. Using RSS can save you time by narrowing the information you are looking at, and allowing you to skim content more effectively.
The Graduate School offers a number of feeds, and we hope to add more to our list shortly. https://secure.graduateschool.vt.edu/GSITWiki/Wiki.jsp?page=RSSFeeds

We are excited to announce that the Graduate School is now publishing upcoming final examinations on our home page.  This information is published from Banner, live. We know your program may manually publish this information already.  We have several options to do this an automated fashion so that you may avoid some of that effort.  We are providing the name, date/time, location and thesis title currently.  Students with a confidential record will not be posted.  Future enhancements may include providing the committee members, a historical listing…  We would really like your feedback, so feel free to comment on this post to help us identify useful data or functions to add.

For those interested, you may subscribe via RSS. Website content publishers may use our widget to feed information for specific programs.  Alternatively we offer a JSON feed for you to customize the presentation of this information on your website.  Please see our wiki page for more details on adding this content to your website.

The Graduate School is updating the usage of our blog tool to conform with how blogs are typically utilized.  Specifically, we will be posting entries with information as they are relevant, rather than waiting for a formal publication. This will ease your search for relevant information, rather than finding relevant information within a publication.  This will also make tools, such as RSS readers and the myVT portal feed, more useful to scan whether posted information is relevant to you or not.  Since many items in the News and Announcements section of the Graduate School home page have historically been placed in the Monthly Memo, we will be using the blog tool to highlight information in that section, rather than a distinct posting.
Historical Monthly Memo posts will remain for your reference.
As always we welcome your feedback by using the comments function of the blog- or through email.

Personnel Changes: Associate Deans

On August 10th, 2009, Dr. Rosemary Blieszner and Dr. Janet Rankin joined the Graduate School as Associate Deans.   Dr. Blieszner is Alumni Distinguished  Professor in the Department of Human Development.  Dr. Rankin is Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise. Dr. McNabb will retire at the end of September and will transition her responsibilities to the new Associate Deans.  Please join me in welcoming them to the Graduate School and thanking Dr. McNabb for her dedicated service to the Graduate School. 

Search for Associate Dean/Director of the Northern Virginia Center

A search to fill the position of Associate Dean for graduate education and Director of the Northern Virginia Center is currently underway.   We are seeking qualified candidates who have both the academic credentials of a faculty appointment (Associate or above) and relevant administrative experiences.  Anticipated start date is January 2010.  Nominations and applications are encouraged. 

Defending Student Status Clarification

To qualify for DSS, a student must have a thesis/dissertation ready for defense at the beginning of the semester and must be considered on active status.  If a student has not been enrolled for more than one year, readmission is needed and that process must be completed prior to requesting final exam scheduling and DSS status.  To be ready to defend, the student’s Advisory Committee members must agree that the work is in a form ready for defense; that is, the thesis/dissertation must be finished.  The DSS registration period is the first three weeks of an academic semester and qualifying students must have their examination scheduled by the end of that time.  Although the examination can be held beyond the first three weeks, to qualify for DSS the thesis/dissertation must be finished and examination scheduled during the first three weeks. To facilitate this process, please submit the scheduling forms as early as possible, preferably by the end of the second week of classes.  The Graduate School had been allowing such delayed examinations by exception when circumstances required delay in the Spring 2009 CGS&P formalized policy wording to support this practice. International students should consult with one of the immigration advisors in the Graduate School concerning visa implications and enrollment requirements for examinations held beyond the first three weeks of the semester.

Resources for Graduate Coordinators & Graduate Program Faculty

The Graduate School has created a wiki for use by Graduate Program Faculty and Graduate Coordinators and is intended to assist them as they work to complete tasks associated with their graduate students and interactions with the Graduate School.  Please select the link above and bookmark it for future reference.

ETD Resources and Discussion Forum

The Graduate School has created an ETD wiki open to all Virginia Tech graduate students and is intended to assist students as they work to complete their thesis or dissertation.  Please select the link above and bookmark it for future reference.

We will also be offering the ETD Speaker Series this Fall.
Each session will be held in the GLC, Room F  and videoconferenced to the Northern Virginia Center, Room 401 from 7pm-8:30pm.

September 15th: Standard and Manuscript Formats
Dr. Karen DePauw will discuss standard and manuscript ETD formats

October 7th: Copyright
Gail McMillan will discuss copyright, permissions and representing other author’s works in your ETD

November 10th: Graduate School Review of your ETD
Graduate School staff will discuss items they check while reviewing your submitted ETD and the timeline of the submission process

New Process related to Preliminary & Final Examination cards

Effective August 17th, the Graduate School will no longer be sending out paper versions of the examination card to committee chairpersons.  We will be sending an electronic version of the examination card in PDF format to the student, all committee members,  and the departmental graduate coordinator when the exam has been formally scheduled.  This will allow for quicker receipt and more widespread availability.  Samples of the examination cards can be found under the Exams section of the Graduate Coordinators wiki.

Outstanding Fall 2009 application decisions

There are still a number of Fall 2009 applicants who have not had a formal recommendation made on their application by the department.  Please make your final recommendation by Friday, August 28th.  Any application not finalized by that date will be rejected by the Graduate School as "not having space within the department".

GLC Plaza Paver Project – Mark Your Place in the History of Graduate Education
The GLC Plaza will be constructed in summer 2009 in the area between the Graduate Life Center and the Newman Library. The GLC Plaza will be an outdoor gathering place and cultural hub for graduate students and the campus community, with spaces designed to accommodate outdoor performances as well. The Graduate School invites graduate students, graduate student groups, graduate alumni, and other supporters of graduate education to purchase engraved pavers that will tell the many stories that make up the history of graduate education at Virginia Tech. Departments may purchase pavers as well, using Foundation funds. For more information visit: https://secure.graduateschool.vt.edu/GLCPP/ 

Application/decision deadlines
The following application and decision deadlines are approaching for Summer I:

Summer I – Starts May 26, 2009
Application deadline:  April 15, 2009; Dept decision deadline:  May 1, 2009

Please note that International students must have a decision on them no later than May 15, 2009 for fall enrollment.  Any decisions made after this timeframe need to be approved in advance by the Graduate Schools International Student Services area, please contact them at igss@vt.edu . For those in the National Capital Region, please contact Marija Telbis-Forster.

Express mailing for International applicants

Express mail for immigration packages will not be available until after May 1. If departments want to send out forms by express mail before that date, they can contact Ruth or Zelma in Blacksburg  or Marija  and Karen in the National Capital Region and ask to be notified when the packet is ready to be mailed.

 

International Student Admission Deadline for Fall 2009
The deadline to accept international students residing outside the United States for Fall 2009 is May 15. Since the visa application process may take 3 to 4 months, we must allow sufficient time for students to make all their arrangements. International students are expected to arrive in Blacksburg or Falls Church no later than August 17 and participate in the mandatory international student orientation on August 20 in Blacksburg or August 22 in Falls Church . Any exceptions for specific international students must be discussed with an immigration advisor (Zelma Harris or Ruth Athanson) in the Graduate School . You may send an email to igss@vt.edu or call 231-8486 with details about the student’s situation. For those in National Capital Region, please contact Marija Telbis-Forster at gsso@nvc.vt.edu or  call 703-538-8327.  Decisions will be made on a case by case basis after evaluating the applicant’s chances of receiving the immigration paperwork and applying for a visa in time to arrive by August 17.

Expedited Application
Students wishing to be apply for admission after the application deadline may submit the Expedited application for consideration as a Commonwealth Campus, non-degree seeking student.  The last day to submit the Expedited Application for Summer I 2009 is Friday, May 22, 2009.  The Expedited application process allows a student to be enrolled for one semester, taking up to a maximum of 6 credit hours.  Student’s seeking admission under this option must reapply using a new application – either Commonwealth Campus, Non-degree, or Degree seeking – for any future terms.

Online Application Review
Submission of your review, confirmation, and changes is due no later than May 18, 2009.  For questions, please contact Jacqueline L. Nottingham, Director, Admissions & Academic Progress at 540/231-3092.

Commencement Participation/Attendance
Please go to HokieSPA and confirm your intent to particpiate.  It is especially important for PHD Candidates to confirm their intent, so that we may contact and verify the faculty who will be acting as your hooder(s) during the ceremony.  PHD Candidates wishing to walk in the Graduation ceremonies must have all degree requirements met – which includes submission and approval of Electronic Thesis/Dissertation (ETD) – by Friday, May 8, 2009.  Master’s candidates are all eligible to participate in the ceremonies.

Commencement Ceremony, National Capital Region May 17, 2009, Center for the Arts. For more information see http://www.ncr.vt.edu/commencement/

Defending between terms
If someone must defend between semesters because of unusual circumstances such as a conflict with faculty schedules permission must be requested from the Dean’s office, by the student’s committee chair, to do so.  Please be aware, a later defense date will still result in the student being signed up for Defending Student Status (DSS) for Summer I.  It is unlikely that a student will be able to complete all the necessary degree requirements by the established deadlines to receive their degree award for Spring.

Change of Degree Status
Submission of Change of Degree status requests will be accepted and approved for the beginning of the next available term.  However, if a student plans to change their status from Doctoral to Masters degree and intends to complete and graduate in the current term, the student must complete the form by the associated deadlines.

4XXX/5XXXG Conjoint Classes "Fast Track" Review Process Officially Closed
The Graduate Curriculum Committee (GCC) held a special session on April 23, 2009 to review the last of the 82 4XXX level classes that were submitted to officially become con-joint 4XXX/5XXXG classes.  Any department or faculty that desire a future 4XXX class to have the conjoint numbering of 5XXXG must submit their respective course via the normal faculty governance process including the Registrar’s Office 15 Day Review.  Thus in 2009-2010, there is no longer a "fast track" con-joint review process for 4XXX classes that have been previously approved for graduate credit.

Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies
The commission endorsed an  application for a new option in Food Science and Techonolgy, "Health Product Risk Management".

Graduate Education Week
GEW was a great success once again!  A wonderful series of activities and events were held in Blacksburg and in the National Capital Region.  Please check out the website (http://www.graduateschool.vt.edu/events/gew/index.html) for a complete listing of the events, award recipients, and photos.  And thanks to all who sponsored events and for your support of graduate education at Virginia Tech.

Preliminary/Final Examinations
As we begin nearing the end of the academic semester, we will all experience an increase in the volume of Requests for Final (or Preliminary) examinations.
 
To help assist in this process, please see the associated Policies section of the Graduate School catalog along with the attached checklist sheets.

By reviewing each examination request and taking care of any trouble situations prior to submission to the Graduate School will help in the efficiency of processing these requests.

ETD Speaker Series
Please share with your students.
Tuesday, April 21st (GLC Rm F) – Getting Your Research Published A panel of faculty across several disciplines will present how to get your thesis or dissertation published.

Degree Completion
Students wishing to complete their degrees in Spring 2009, must defend by May 6th and complete all requirements by June 12, 2009.  For specific details related to commencement participation, where earlier deadlines may apply, see http://www.graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/dates_deadlines/commencement_deadlines.html

CGS&P updates
Recent discussions at CGS&P have included the accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Program, implementation guidelines for fair use/copyright in the ETD, changes to the Graduate Honor System constitution.  The UG/G resolution has been forwarded to University Council for action. 

Graduate Catalog/ Policies & Procedures
The 1.0 version of the Graduate Catalog is currently available on line.  Efforts are underway to improve the functionality of the catalog, its contents and the website.  Version 2.0 should be available by early summer at which time additional changes and updates can be made.  As changes are made in the policies & procedures, please make sure that the departmental handbooks are also updated or link directly to the Graduate School Policies.

Annual Reviews of Graduate Progress
Annual Reviews of Graduate Progress for all students in each graduate program are required at the end of spring semester each year (Presidential Policy Memo #229).   A summary of the results for the program and the individual student reviews should be submitted to the Dean’s office of the Graduate School by the end of May.  We encourage saving paper by putting these on a CD.  For more information about reviews, see the item below for Grad Program Directors or contact Anne McNabb (happy@vt.edu).

Information for Grad Program Directors
At the March 19 meeting on Advising, there was a request to supply additional information about annual reviews to the program directors.  The following items are being posted on the Grad Website in the section on Procedural Guidelines (under Academics on the left side pull down menu): the handout used at the Mar 19 advising meeting, a set of good practices for annual reviews taken from different programs at VT during the last three years and samples of review forms and checklists used by departments. We were very pleased to have 31 units (~45 people) in attendance at the March 19 meeting and to have such an active discussion of advising and reviews.

Late Grades Reminder

The Faculty Handbook requires all faculty who have an assigned class to submit final grades by the official university deadline. The Graduate School, because of our position with regards to grade changes, tracks those departments that submit late grades.  The classification of classes most often having a late grade are the research hour sections of  5994 and 7994.  Please make sure those faculty or Graduate Program Directors that are responsible for these sections submit a grade(s) by the required VT deadline. 

Deletion of Untaught Classes from the Graduate School Catalog

It is that time of the academic year when the Registrar’s Office and the Graduate School must enforce Presidential Policy 232.   We will inform the Commission for Graduate Studies and Policies of all the graduate courses at VT that have not been taught in the last 3 years.  The Commission will then vote on their removal from the university catalog.   Emails will be forthcoming notifying all departments about those classes that will be put forward for deletion. 

Associate Dean search

The Graduate School seeks innovative and energetic tenured faculty members who wish to assist with transforming graduate education at Virginia Tech.  Two .50 Associate Dean positions will be available starting August 2009.  Information regarding the vacancies is available through the Graduate School and on line through www.jobs.vt.edu.  Screening begins March 20 and will remain open until filled.

2nd Annual Ethics Bowl – March 17
Please encourage your students to participate in this program that promotes personal and professional ethics; enhances communication and critical thinking skills that enable students to consider, discuss, and resolve ethical dilemmas and justify their resolution; and allows students and faculty to work in groups within and across academic departments to tackle case studies from various disciplines.
Students may sign up at "https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1234970960238"

Graduate Education Week 2009–March 23-27
Through a series of events, Graduate Education Week highlights the importance of graduate education, celebrates graduate students’ achievements, and increases the university community’s awareness of the contributions of graduate students to teaching, research, and service. Events will include:
– Student Appreciation Luncheon – Monday, March 23
– Student Art and Photo Contest – all week
– GSA Research Symposium and Expo – Wednesday, March 25
– Awards Banquet – Thursday, March 26
– Big Cook Out – Friday, March 27
Details will be posted shortly on the Graduate School’s website. We ask that departments find ways to participate in celebrating Graduate Education Week with us, or through their own departmental events.

Graduate Student Diversity Initiatives (GSDI)
As most of you know by now, Marilyn Kershaw’s last day in office is drawing near. The responsibilities carried by the Director of Recruiting (Marylin’s title) will be absorbed by the Office of GSDI. This office will have 2 new positions. Jane Rorrer will become Recruitment Coordinator and will continue doing similar duties as she did under Marylin’s supervision. In addition, and funded by the Implementation Taskforce on Race and the Institution, we will have a new position open in the office. In the upcoming days we will announce officially a search for an Assistant Director of the Office of GSDI. The Assistant Director will perform executive duties in support of the operation of the office. More information about this position will be made public in the upcoming weeks. The position begins in August 2009.

We held an HBCU Connect Meeting on February 11th. We are holding a similar event for Latino graduate students and Faculty on February 23rd. A Women’s event will be held on March 30, 2009. More activities are planned for April, be on the lookout for the March Monthly memo for more information.

CGS&P updates and clarifications

Changes in the Defending Student Status (DSS) were discussed and approved by the CGS&P at its February 18th meeting.  The proposed change in PPM 97 would include allow students who have completed all requirements to be enrolled for DSS if they can "schedule and receive confirmation from the graduate school" of their scheduled examination  within the first three weeks of the semester.  The proposed changes will be submitted to University Council for review and approval.  Once approved, the policy would be effective for Fall ’09.

Clarification regarding 4984/5984 for Fall ’09 – In conjunction with the change in policy regarding 4000 level courses effective Fall ’09, 4984 will be among the courses available for use on a graduate student’s plan of study.  4974 Independent Study will not be allowed.  A maximum of 6 credits of 4000 level coursework is allowed. 

Graduate Program Director/Faculty Meeting on Advising

This meeting will be held on Thursday March 19, 1:00-2:30 pm in Rm. F of the GLC.  An update on lasts year’s annual reviews across the University will be presented and discussion will focus on advising strategies for encouraging and maintaining graduate student degree progress. A few experienced faculty will be asked to start the discussion by suggesting effective strategies for graduate advising.  Please invite faculty in your departments, especially those new to service on graduate committees, to attend.  We will try a new sign up procedure as a number of GPDs have indicated they have trouble keeping track of these meetings. You will be sent an email request to accept or reject our invitation to the meeting and if you sign up, a meeting reminder will follow in a timely manner.  Please encourage faculty other than GPDs to let Anne McNabb (happy@vt.edu) know if they will attend. Suggestions about specific topics that you feel should be covered are welcomed.

Annual Reviews of Graduate Student Progress

This is a reminder that these reviews are due in the Graduate School by the end of Spring semester each year (end of May is fine). Please send the reviews as a package for the department as a whole and attach a summary of the results for your grad program(s). If the name of your department/program isn’t currently listed on your review sheet, please update that. In cases where students are not making satisfactory progress, please include clear information about the nature of the problems and the constructive guidance that has been given to them by their Advisory Committees. It is recommended that students sign their evaluation forms acknowledging that the results of the review have been shared with them. Many departments have students compile the information about progress and do a self evaluation as a first step prior to the Advisory Committee review. This seems to be a very good approach for promoting student investment in graduate degree progress.  If you want to save paper, we are happy to receive evaluations on a CD.  If anyone has questions about these reviews or would like help with setting up a new process or revising a continuing one, please contact Anne McNabb (happy@vt.edu).

 

 Assessing Graduate Student Learning

The Office of Academic Assessment recently presented a workshop on "Graduate Program Assessment" and offered guidance on developing and measuring graduate student learning outcomes. The workshop provided an overview of the assessment process and related benefits, types of direct and indirect measures for assessing graduate education and examples of graduate student learning outcomes that have been developed by various graduate programs at Virginia Tech. The session also included a brief discussion of a document developed by the Commission on Graduate Studies and Policy (CGS&P) through the workgroup on Degree Requirement Standards Criteria and Academic Policy (DRSCAP) entitled Student Learning Outcomes for Graduate Degrees at Virginia Tech, which outlines a set of potential, foundational graduate student learning outcomes and measures for assessing these outcomes. For a copy of this document or to request assessment-related workshops for your department you may contact Ray VanDyke (rvandyke@vt.edu) or Steve Culver (sculver@vt.edu) in the Office of Academic Assessment.