Author: chameleo

Announcements/Deadlines

• Graduate Education Workshop for graduate program directors, coordinators, and staff is scheduled for May 1st from 10:00 a.m. until noon in the GLC auditorium. The workshop is designed to provide an overview of changes in policies and procedures, update progress in graduate education at VT and to invite dialogue about the future. Everyone is welcome to attend.
• The Graduate Commencement ceremony in Blacksburg will be held at 3:00 pm in Cassell Coliseum on May 12, 2006.
• The National Capital Region Spring 2006 Graduate Commencement Ceremony will be held at 1:00pm on May 14, 2006, at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University.
• GTA Workshop will be the afternoon of Monday, August 14 and the mornings of Tuesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 16, 2006.
• Deadline to accept international students currently residing outside the U.S. is May 15
• Photos from Graduate Education Week have been posted

Graduate Life Center and Graduate School Move

The entire Graduate Life Center complex will close on May 17th for renovations and upgrades during the summer months. The facility will reopen in early August. During the first few days of August 2006 the Graduate School offices in Sandy Hall will close and we will move our entire operation into the mezzanine and second floors of the former Alumni Hall. After we’re all settled in the GLC complex, please watch for the announcement of our Grand Opening during the fall semester.

Initial Announcement about Awards

The Virginia Tech Preston Society offers two Master’s thesis awards annually. For 2007, the categories include (a) Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and (b) Humanities and Fine Arts. The winners of the Preston Society awards are then forwarded to the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) as our nominees for the 2007 CSGS Master’s thesis awards. Although the details of the nomination process will not be available on the web until late summer, please begin to think about deserving nominees from among the spring and summer graduates.

Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD)

The Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees is designed to advance the academic agenda for graduate education at Virginia Tech and to meet the goals outlined in the University’s Strategic Plan. The plan, updated annually, includes the identification of new graduate degrees to be added to our existing degree offerings. Attached is a copy of the latest update to the IPGD. The pre-approved status gives the departments the "go-ahead" to start developing the proposal for submission through university governance.

Annual Progress Review Reminder

Spring is the time for conducting the Annual Progress Reviews for graduate students (Presidential Policy 229). Please conduct these reviews, share with the graduate students, and please send us copies of these reviews. It would also be useful to have a summary of the departmental review procedure and a summary of the results. Anne McNabb will be following up with each department about the review process.

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policy (CGS&P)/University Council

In order to implement the revised policy regarding staff and administrative faculty entering graduate degrees, the commission recently approved the following procedure.

1. As a component of the graduate application, a potential student, graduate advisor, and supervisor/department head will sign the Graduate School Application Supplemental Form that specifically addresses potential conflicts of interest, time, and commitment between the student and employer. Successful applicants will:

a. Satisfy all admission and program requirements;
b. Submit a preliminary plan of study with a stated timeline and department/program approval;
c. For those entering a PhD program, make arrangements for satisfying doctoral residency requirements with their employer;
d. Conduct thesis/dissertation research that is distinguishable from work that is part of the employment responsibilities;
e. Abstain from service on university committees dealing with curricular decisions and policy/procedures for graduate education;
f. Avoid situations which may create a conflict of interest including those which could arise from pursuit of a degree in one’s own unit and those which are directly administratively related to the staff member’s unit of employment. Employment supervisors will abstain from chairing and/or serving on the candidate’s graduate thesis/dissertation advisory committee; and
g. Reach a common understanding concerning the relationship between job responsibilities and the required academic study.

2. Requests for admission to the Graduate School for staff and A/P faculty will be reviewed by the Graduate School using guidelines provided. On behalf of the Commission, appeals will be considered by the Graduate Student Appeals sub-committee of the Commission for Graduate Studies and Policies.

Tracking progress of the Graduate Curriculum Committee

To help facilitate tracking the progress of proposed graduate courses, certificates and new degree proposals, the Graduate School has prepared a table titled: "2005-2006: GRADUATE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE COURSE REVIEW RECORD". Current and prior year information may be viewed online.

The table is updated regularly, so that you will be able to determine the status of academic proposals moving through the Graduate Curriculum committee (GCC) and university governance system.

Drops & Withdrawals Clarification

Electronic "withdrawals" from individual courses within the drop period are done by the student within the published deadlines for the semester. This process is identified as Drop and the course does not appear on the student’s transcript. The tuition refund rules are on the Bursar’s webpage.

Withdrawals from courses after the drop period are identified as Graduate Withdrawal. These carry a WG designation on the transcript but do not affect the GPA. This process requires the use of the Graduate Course Withdrawal Form which must be signed by the student, the instructor, and the student’s advisor or departmental graduate coordinator and be approved by the Graduate School. This WG designation is a new category approved by the Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies and the University Council earlier this academic year. Withdrawals from courses after the semester is over are not permitted.

Withdrawal of registration for the semester requires the Student Resignation/Withdrawal Form from the Registrar’s office. To drop all classes for the semester by the first day of classes, only the student’s signature is required. To withdraw from all classes after the first day of classes, the student must officially "resign" or withdraw. This requires a graduate dean’s signature. Withdrawal/resignation from all courses for the semester will result in the designation of WG for the semester and the removal of the courses from the transcript. Retroactive resignations or withdrawal after the semester is over are not permitted.

Graduate School Forms

The forms required for transactions with the Graduate School are posted on the Grad Homepage under Academics, Form. Please do not use modified versions of these forms

Announcements/Deadlines

• The Graduate Commencement in Blacksburg will be held at 3:00pm in Cassell Coliseum at 3:00 p.m. on May 12, 2006.
• The National Capital Region Spring 2006 Graduate Commencement Ceremony will be held at 1:00 p.m. on May 14, 2006, at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University.
• Gaston Caperton, President of The College Board and former Governor of West Virginia will be the Graduate Commencement speaker on Friday May 12, 2006.
• Dr. Joe Hairston, Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, has been selected to receive the 2006 Graduate Alumni Achievement Award. This Award will be presented at Graduate Commencement.
• Please make your admissions decisions for fall admissions as soon as possible, especially for international students. The deadline to accept students from overseas is May 15, 2006. Any exceptions for specific international students must be discussed with an immigration advisor. For the Graduate School in Blacksburg, please contact Zelma Harris or Ruth Athanson with details about the student’s situation. Contact Marija Telbis-Forster in the National Capital Region with details about the student’s situation. 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 14, 2006. A Banner report, SYRB601, allows departments to generate a list of all applicants that still are awaiting a decision. SYRB667, Department Digest Report (Status of International Student Applicants) shows international students’ status in terms of acceptance AND file status of immigration/financial requirements (complete or incomplete), and whether an I-20/DS-2019 has been issued.
• GTA Workshop will be the afternoon of Monday August 14 and the mornings of Tuesday August 15 and Wednesday August 16, 2006.

Annual Progress Review

Spring is the time for conducting the Annual Progress Reviews for graduate students (Presidential Policy 229). Please conduct these reviews, share with the graduate students, and please send us copies of these reviews.

New Staff in the Gradaute School

The Graduate School is pleased to announce three new employees in the Graduate School. We welcome:

Jacqueline L. Nottingham, Director of Admissions & Academic Progress

Janice Austin, Educational Specialist on the Admissions & Academic Progress team

Lauren Keister, Graduate Student Services Coordinator in the Graduate Student Services Office. She will also be in charge of taking reservations for the GLC meeting rooms.

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policy (CGS&P)/University Council

The proposals for the PhD in Geospatial & Environmental Analysis (College of Natural Resources) and the PhD in Rhetoric & Writing (Department of English) were approved by the Board of Visitors and will be submitted to SCHEV for final review in May. The BOV also approved two EDP spin off degrees: PhD in Architecture and Design Research and the PhD in Planning, Governance & Globalization. These degrees are being prepared for submission to SCHEV in the near future.

Reminders/Updates

• A new section Procedural Guidelines (under Academics) on the Graduate School website is being developed to aid in understanding and complying with some of the Graduate Policies and Procedures. This section is intended to supplement the Policies and Procedures section of the Graduate Catalog.
• Plan of Study and justification of old coursework
  In February 2006, the Commission on Graduate Studies & Policies approved changes for replacing the revalidation concept with justification for the inclusion of “old” coursework (i.e., > 5 years old) at the time of submission of the Plan of Study (POS). The changes are effective Spring 2006. The new procedures are included at the end of this Monthly Memo and will be posted in the Procedural Guidelines on the Graduate School website.
• Manuscript format for ETDs
  We have revised the description of the manuscript format. The revision is included below and will be posted in the Procedures Guidelines Section on the Graduate School website. . Please share with your faculty and students.
• Completion of The Survey of Earned Doctorates is required for all doctoral students. Please submit these to the Graduate School no later than the time of ETD submission. We will take responsibility for mailing them to NSF.

 

Appendices

Manuscript Format Guidlines

In addition to the standard format for dissertation/thesis, the Graduate School allows for the use of an alternative format. The manuscript format refers to the use of articles and/or book chapters to replace the standard dissertation/thesis chapters. Publication of the manuscript(s) is not a requirement of this format. The following guidelines apply:

1. The manuscript format for dissertation/thesis shall consist of at least one (for Master’s degree) or at least two manuscripts (for Doctoral degree). The content of the manuscript(s) should be based upon research done at Virginia Tech. The manuscript(s) can be previously published, to be published, or in preparation for submission.
2. The graduate student is to be the major contributor and writer of the manuscript(s), as usually represented by sole author. In the case of multiple authorship, the contribution of each author is to be detailed in the Introduction or separate Attribution section.
3. The graduate student is to provide the Graduate School with a letter of copyright release for previously published & copyrighted material.
4. Whether previously published or to be reviewed, the manuscript shall be formatted to fit within the margins acceptable by the Graduate School and satisfy all requirements for submission in ETD format.

Section about Manuscript format from Appendix I of the Graduate Catalog entitled Preparation of Dissertation or Thesis. Note: This needs to be a separate section.

The body matter for a Manuscript Format will vary but generally contains the chapters of the thesis or dissertation, in logical order, each with its own title. Chapters may, but are not required to, include:

Chapter 1 Introduction & overview of the research

* sections as appropriate for the chapter

Chapter 2 Literature Review (optional)

* sections as appropriate for the chapter

Chapter 3 Title for Manuscript 1 (sections as appropriate for the chapter)

* Title
* Abstract
* Introduction (literature review)
* Materials and Methods
* Results
* Discussion

Chapter 4 Title for Manuscript 2 (see above)

Chapter 5 Conclusions

* Summary
* Overall model if appropriate (text or illustration if appropriate)
* Conclusions

References

Appendices (as needed)

Justification of "Old" Coursework for use on Plans of Study

In February 2006, the Commission on Graduate Studies & Policies approved changes for replacing the revalidation concept with justification for the inclusion of “old” coursework (i.e., > 5 years old) at the time of submission of the Plan of Study (POS). The changes are effective Spring 2006. The wording for the procedural changes follows:

The POS should consist of graduate coursework not older than 5 years at the time of POS filing. In some cases, graduate coursework older than 5 years may be included on the POS. Justification for inclusion of such coursework should be provided by the advisor, with the support of the student’s advisory committee, at the time of POS submission. Justification should consist of an explanation of how the student will achieve currency in the subject matter of the old coursework during the time in degree. Examples of how this may be achieved include taking related courses in the same subject area, work experience that requires currency in the subject area, reading original literature in the area as needed for the thesis/dissertation or other strategies deemed appropriate by the advisory committee. Once the Plan of Study is approved, no further justification is required for active graduate students. If a student becomes “inactive” (i.e., is on a Leave of Absence or does not register for a calendar year or more), the student must apply for readmission to the degree program. If readmission is recommended by the department/program, the Plan of Study must be reviewed to determine if the POS is still appropriate for the degree and all old coursework must be justified.

Some examples of methods of justifying old coursework:

The method of justification needs to be explained, i.e. how the Advisory Committee will ensure that the student is current in the subject matter for courses more than 5 years old that are included on the POS. The explanations for achieving currency vary with individual students and with subject matter fields. The Advisory Committee’s strategies for inclusion of old coursework and insuring currency should be consistent with the graduate program goals for its graduates. Examples of student-specific justification strategies are:

• the student is working in the field (currency is provided by professional activities),
• other related courses on the POS provide subject matter currency,
• the thesis/dissertation research requires currency in the field through work with current literature,
• the student will be tested on new material in the subject area of old coursework (although this is a possibility, in most cases it would require a long and detailed special exam to cover all the recent subject matter on several old courses. Thus, we question whether this is the most appropriate method of justification in most cases. If an exam is conducted, information about the nature of that exam and when it occurred or will occur should be provided),
• other individual justification possibilities exist, for example, one committee had an employer attest to the current language skills of a student in an international relations program.

The method(s) for justification of old coursework should be entered in the Comments section of the electronic POS form. The POS and Justification of old coursework are to be filed by the time the student completes 15 Credit hours of coursework. Once the POS is approved, it will be considered current until the end of the degree as long as the student remains in active status.

Announcements/Deadlines

• Graduate Education Week is scheduled for March 27 th -31st. Please watch for more details.
• Graduate education week, National Capital Region, is scheduled for March 27th-31st. For more details, lease visit http://www.ncr.vt.edu/
• March 1st — Application for Degree submission deadline

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policy (CGS&P)/University Council

In the first two months of 2006, the University Council has approved two new PhD programs and two spin-off degrees. An external site visit is scheduled for the proposed PhD in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis and the PhD in Rhetoric and Writing in mid March. At its March meeting the BOV will review and approve the two new PhD degrees plus the spin-off degrees in Architecture and Design Research (ADR) and Planning, Governance & Globalization (PGG) prior to submission of these degrees to SCHEV for approval at its June meeting.

The Graduate Withdraw (WG) policy was also approved by University Council at its February 20^th meeting. The new policy is effective Spring 2006.

CGS&P approved changes in the revalidation process, replacing the revalidation concept with justification for the inclusion of "old" coursework with the submission of the Plan of Study. The changes are effective Spring 2006. The wording for the procedural changes follows:

"The Plan of Study should consist of graduate coursework not older than 5 years at the time of filing of the Plan of Study. In some cases, graduate coursework older than 5 years may be included on the Plan of Study. Justification for inclusion of such coursework should be provided by the advisor, with the support of the student’s advisory committee, at the time of submission of the Plan of Study. Justification should consist of an explanation of how the student will achieve currency in the subject matter of the "old" coursework during the time in degree. Examples of how this may be achieved include taking related courses in the same subject area, work experience that requires currency in the subject area, reading original literature in the area as needed for the thesis/dissertation or other strategies deemed appropriate by the advisory committee. Once the Plan of Study is approved, no further "revalidation" is required for active graduate students.

If a student becomes "inactive" (i.e., is on Leave of Absence for a year or more), the student must be readmitted to the degree program. If re-admission is recommended, the plan of study must be reviewed and all"old" coursework justified."

Reminders from Admissions & Academic Progress

1. Returned plans of study can be reviewed on banner screen SZAGREV. All departments should check this screen regularly to see any returned plans of study. In future, we hope to automate triggers to alert departments of returned plans.

2. SYRB601 departmental no action banner report shows applicants for a particular semester that are pending or out to department.

3. Departments can get a listing of those graduate candidates that have submitted application for degrees and have degrees pending or awarded with report SYRB672.

 

Monthly Meeting of Graduate Secretaries and Coordinators

We held the inaugural meeting in February. We look forward to the interactions we will have in future meetings on the second Thursday of each month.

If you have agenda items that you would like to discuss, please send them to Monika Gibson at gibsonm@vt.edu so that we can ensure the proper people are at the meeting. Feel free to review the notes and presentation at: https://secure.graduateschool.vt.edu/grad_coord_meetings/

Similar sessions will be coordinated in the National Capital Region. Please contact Marija mtelbisf@vt.edu .

 

Graduate Education Week (GEW)

Virginia Tech will celebrate its sixth annual Graduate Education Week March 27-31.

GEW is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of graduate students, bring attention to graduate education, and build graduate community. The Graduate School is scheduling programs and events to mark this occasion, but your participation will make Graduate Education Week a campus-wide recognition of graduate students. Please consider coordinating a special event or gesture for your students during this week. Several ideas are listed below. If you notify us of your event (by email to grads@vt.edu), we will be happy to list details with the rest of the Graduate Education Week itinerary on our website. We appreciate your assistance in honoring our graduate community.

Ideas:

— Encourage faculty members to take their students to the Student Appreciation Luncheon on Monday, March 27 at the GLC. (Details and reservation requirements to be posted soon on our website).

— Stop by the GSA Graduate Research Symposium in the GLC Multipurpose Room on Wednesday, March 29.

— Visit and vote on your favorites of the graduate student art work that will be on display in the GLC during GEW.

— Create a listing of student achievements (publications, conference presentations, awards, etc) and post it on departmental bulletin board and website, or create small brochure if there are a lot of listings — circulate these in the department and share with the Graduate School .

— Take pictures of graduate students in academic action (in lab, teaching, writing, etc) and post them on departmental bulletin board, along with an action photo of their life outside the university (if the students are willing); May include some interesting information about the students, such as the title of their favorite book, their dream vacation destination, favorite food, etc.

CollegeNET review for the next admissions cycle

In the first two weeks of March we will be sending an email to departmental staff who are involved with applicant information through CollegeNET to review the new online application. This has been a very long time in coming and we are quite excited about the new structure and features that we will be able to utilize. We have made some large structural changes and look forward to your feedback before we go live. Details will be provided in the upcoming email.

Graduate Catalog

We continue to develop the online Graduate Catalog. In the coming months we will be contacting select areas to do some beta testing. When that is complete and we have made the necessary adjustments, we will have general testing for all areas. Once we emerge from that testing period we will launch this into a production environment. We expect that to be no later than the beginning of the fall 2006 semester.

Welcome back to the start of a new semester and a new year!

Announcements/Deadlines

• Proposals for the ’06-’07 Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD) are due February 15.
• Graduate Education Week is scheduled for March 27 — 31.
• Preview weekend is scheduled for February 24 — 25.
• Graduate Student Awards — application/nomination deadline extended to Jan 27. Graduate students may apply or be nominated for the following awards: Outstanding Dissertation; Graduate Student Teaching Excellence; Graduate Student Service Excellence; Graduate Man and Graduate Woman of the Year. Nominations and applications are accepted until January 27, 2006. Notifications about the Outstanding Graduate Student by college must be submitted to the Graduate School by February 15, 2006. Awards will be given at the Graduate Student Awards Banquet on March 30, 2006. More information >>
• Commencement Ceremony in the National Capital Region, Center for the Arts, Fairfax, Virginia, Sunday, May 14, 2006.

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policy (CGS&P)

The following programs have been approved by the commission and forwarded to University Council:

• Ph.D. program in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis
• English Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing
• EDP Spin-Off Ph.D. Degree — Architecture and Design
• EDP Spin-Off Ph.D. Degree — Planning Governance and Globalization
• School of Construction

The commission accepted the changes proposed by the Degree Requirement Standards Criteria and Academic Policy (DRSCAP) committee and recommended the following modifications for inclusion in the Graduate School Policies and Procedures section of the Graduate Catalog:

(1) Incomplete grades
An incomplete (“I”) may be given when the requirements of a course have not been completed because of illness or extenuating circumstances. Grades of “I” remain on the transcript until they are replaced with a letter grade when the student has completed course requirements. A student may not graduate with an “I” in a course on the Plan of Study. Grades of “I” that remain on the transcript may indicate failure to make satisfactory academic progress and may affect eligibility for assistantships and continuation in a degree program.

(2) New section on withdrawal from courses. (This section would follow the section on incomplete grades.)

Withdrawal from Courses (to be designated as WG)
Until the drop deadline, students may withdraw from courses, but they must adhere to the terms of assistantships or other requirements about the minimum number of hours of enrollment, and they may need to add other courses as substitutes to meet the minimum. After the drop date, students may withdraw from courses with the approval of their advisor and the Graduate School. The course will remain on the transcript with the grade of W. If a student withdraws from all the courses in a semester, a notation on the transcript will indicate the date of withdrawal, but the course names will not appear.

(3) Grades of W on transcripts; repeated courses and NG, NR in GPA calculation
Grades of W will appear and remain on the official transcript. A statement about the transcript record will be added to the [policy] section on grading systems.

In addition to the above grades, the following grades may be issued: I (incomplete), P (taught on a Pass/Fail basis only), X (continuing courses), W (withdrawal after the add-drop period), NR (not reported), NG (no grade), and EQ (review or equivalent credit for research credit). Grades of NR, NG, and W are not calculated in computing the GPA, but they remain on the transcript. When courses are repeated, both course enrollments remain on the transcript, but only the second grade counts in the GPA. A notation on the transcript indicates that the first grade is not counted.

Course withdrawal policy for graduate students
The commission has forwarded a resolution to University Council which will establish a separate course withdrawal designation, “WG”, for graduate students based upon the approved recommendations above.

Personnel changes in the Graduate School

On January 17, Brian Mihalik, Professor in the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management, joined the Graduate School as .50 Associate Dean. His primary responsibilities will include graduate curriculum & academic programs, awards, and working with the Transformative Graduate Education/Preparing the Future Career Professional initiative. He will also assist with daily operations in the Graduate School

Erika Golart will be leaving the Graduate School on February 3 to join her husband in Florida as they begin a new phase of their professional lives. Best wishes to Erika and her family! We thank her for all of her efforts!

Christina Dillon and Kathy Hale have departed the Graduate School for new professional opportunities. Thanks to Christina and Kathy for their years of dedicated service to the Graduate School! Their positions should be filled soon.

Monthly meeting of graduate secretaries and coordinators

The Graduate School will hold monthly meetings for graduate coordinators on the second Thursday of each month starting in February, from 1-2 pm in Room C of the GLC. The purpose of these meetings is to share information about ongoing or upcoming Graduate School initiatives, provide timely training and assistance with procedural matters, discuss problems and solutions related to day to day operations, and create a forum where concerns and practical ideas can be shared.

Imaging system update

We are now in production with the Nolij Transfer product. While not directly related to imaging and workflow, it is allowing us to better batch load data from our online application process. Soon, you will be able to see online applications in Banner within a business day. Nolij is on-site for the final full week of January to assist the Graduate School and Central IT with work on our workflow and scanning procedures. We anticipate that departments will begin to see some documents for their applicants via the OAA in the next month.

English proficiency and TOEFL scores

English proficiency is an important factor in admissions of international students. As you know, the primary way to demonstrate such proficiency is through the submission of TOEFL scores. In the past, the Graduate School has automatically rejected those with low TOEFL scores. We have modified this approach using our electronic AA form and will provide the TOEFL score data so that departments can make recommendations on all students.

Final oral examinations

It is fairly standard practice around the nation that at least a portion of the final oral defense is open to the public (faculty, students, family, community).  Some academic units ask the graduate students to make a public presentation with Q&A that is followed by a closed portion in which the committee asks questions. The discussion of student’s performance portion is always closed and limited to those who can vote on the candidate’s performance. It has come to my attention that some graduate students feel as if they should provide food at the examination. The final examination should be considered an academic event, not a social event. Because the practice of bringing food could create awkward situation, the Graduate School encourages departments to develop some guidelines for final oral examinations.

Reminders

• Spring semester deadlines for completing degrees are published on the web and in the handout available in Graduate School.
• Faculty should not allow students to participate in their courses unless those students are registered in the course from the beginning of the semester. This applies to research, independent study, and project/report courses as well as formal A/F-graded courses. Late Adds are considered exceptions to policy and require the approval of the Graduate School under unusual circumstances.

Announcements & Deadlines

Call for Nominations/Applications for Graduate Student Awards
The Graduate School administers a number of awards that acknowledge the academic, teaching, research, and service contributions of graduate students. Nominations and applications are accepted for these awards until January 20, 2006. Awards will be given at the Graduate Student Awards Banquet on March 30, 2006.

Automation of Assistantship Agreement Issuance
We want to thank all of you who tested the online assistantship agreement.  On December 1, 2005, this application will go into production. On December 1, 2005, we will be clearing out all of the data in the database that was used to try and test the form functionality.

Effective January 1, 2006, all assistantship agreements must be submitted through the online process. An "electronic copy" will be retained by the Graduate School, and a paper copy will not have to be sent to the Graduate School. If you are interested, you can view a list of the feedback and responses. Please direct any additional feedback or concerns to

gradweb@vt.edu .

Commencement
Graduate Commencement will be on Friday, December 16, 2005 at Cassell Coliseum. Check in is between 1:30 and 2:30 for graduates and faculty, and the processional will begin at 2:45. The ceremony will begin at 3:00 and is expected to last approximately 2 hours.

Graduate Congressional Fellowship (Spring 2006)
The Graduate School is pleased to announce the availability of a Graduate Congressional Fellowship for students currently enrolled at Virginia Tech. The fellow will be able to participate in the everyday work of Congressman’s Boucher’s office. While specific duties will depend on the fellow’s experience and interests as well as the needs of Senator Boucher’s office, duties will likely include constituent services, special studies, and support of on-going office activities such telecommunications, science and technology, social issues, labor and education. 

The fellowship is open to master’s and doctoral students in all fields. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a graduate program at Virginia Tech and have completed at least 18 credits of graduate coursework. The ideal candidate should possess excellent writing skills. The successful applicant will receive a stipend and tuition scholarship up to $16,000.

Applicants should submit a 250 word statement of career goals, a current resume, and two letters of support, at least one of which must be from a Virginia Tech faculty member in the student’s graduate degree program. Please submit applications or nominations by December 15, 2005 to Karen P. DePauw, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School, 100 Sandy Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061.

Examination Cards
The signed examination card is due back to the Graduate School immediately following the examination. 

New Fellowship
The David W. Francis and Lillian Francis Scholarship Fund was established to provide graduate fellowships in research emphasizing longer, safer and healthier lives.  The disciplines designated in the endowment include agriculture, engineering, bioinformatics, plant pathology, wood science and forest products, veterinary medicine and biotechnology. The Francis Research Fellowship includes a stipend of $18,000 plus tuition for one academic year. One research fellowship will be awarded each academic year.  PhD students whose research emphasizes “longer, safer and healthier lives” and are in their final year of research are eligible for the Francis Research Fellowship. Doctoral students should be nominated by their department. The nomination packet should include a letter of support from the academic unit, a letter from the faculty advisor(s), a description of the student’s academic work, and a synopsis of the student’s research and its relevance to promoting “longer, safer and healthier lives”. Nominations are due by February 1 and should be submitted to Karen P. DePauw, Vice Provost for Graduate Studies & Dean of the Graduate School. 

Internet based TOEFL
The Internet-based version of the TOEFL test (TOEFL iBT) has been introduced and will be phased in worldwide in 2006. Because of significant changes to the content of the test, there will be new scoring scales. Score reports will contain five scores: four section scores (Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking), and one total score. Each section score will be on a 0-30 scale. The total score is the sum of the four scores.

For more information about comparing TOEFL iBT scores to the previous computer-based (CBT) and paper-based (PBT) versions, view the new publication, TOEFL Internet-based Test Score Comparison Tables.

Please note that the Test of Spoken English (TSE)will no longer be offered as a stand-alone test after June 2006, except in countries where TOEFL iBT has not yet been introduced. 

Imaging System Update
The Graduate School continues to work with Central IT on the Nolij document imaging and workflow implementation. It has been migrated to the develop instance of Banner. We are testing the Nolij software interaction with Banner 7 as well as our potential initial deployment environment. Once the Nolij software is in production, you will be able to view documents we have scanned by reviewing records via the Online Application Analysis. A web viewing application will follow. As the Nolij Corporation completes some enhancements to their software, the document imaging and workflow system will be deployed to graduate academic majors to begin testing. The Graduate School is in the final phases of testing the Nolij Transfer product. This product allows for importing data into Banner, such as ETS test scores. We are confident that this will introduce substantial efficiencies and better accuracy in getting applicant data to you.

Policies & Procedures Reminders/Updates

Enrollment
Academic units are encouraged to remind all students that they should enroll (themselves) in courses prior to the start of the semester and adhere to the drop/add deadlines set by the university. Only under unusual circumstances will graduate students be allowed to add or drop classes after the deadlines. Departments should not enroll students in courses — this practice has led to many problems that have had to be resolved by late withdrawals.

Instructors of record for graduate courses
Graduate School policy requires that graduate courses be taught by faculty members holding the appropriate terminal academic degree (e.g., PhD). Graduate students (including staff and A/P faculty working for graduate degrees) can teach undergraduate courses but are not authorized to teach graduate courses. Please note this requirement in planning course offerings in the future.

Defending student status
According to the President’s Policy Memorandum #97, graduate students who have “fulfilled all residency and course requirements” and have “completed the scheduling of one’s final examination prior to the beginning of the semester” are eligible for enrollment under defending student status.   The Graduate School has slightly modified this procedure effective Fall 2006*.  For those students who are enrolling for the sole purpose of taking their final examination scheduled within the first two weeks of the semester, they can qualify for special enrollment as Defending Student Status. The dates to defend under Defending Student Status are posted on our website. A minimum of 3 credit hours registration is required if one does not qualify for Defending Student Status.

In order to implement the new policy, it will be required that ETDs be filed within the semester the student defends. If the student doesn’t file within the deadline, he/she will need to register for DSS in the following semester.

*updated from memo originally sent via e-mail

Final Examinations
In the October 2005 Dean’s memo we reiterated Graduate School policy regarding the scheduling of final master’s and doctoral examinations as well as the new procedures regarding the examination cards. As stated, the final examinations (thesis and dissertation defense) are public events and open to the university community. Typically, members of the broader university community will attend and can participate in the question/answer session following an open seminar. The questioning of the candidate by the faculty committee is typically conducted in a closed door session as is any  meeting of the committee prior to the public defense.

Announcements & Deadlines

Spring admission deadline for international students
The Spring 2006 deadline to accept international students residing outside the United States is November 1. Since the visa application process may take 2-3 months, we must allow sufficient time for students to make all their arrangements. International students are expected to arrive no later than January 13 and participate in the mandatory international student orientation. Departments may request an exception for specific individuals by contacting our immigration advisors, Zelma Harris and Ruth Athanson at

International Graduate Student Services or by phone at 540/231-9549.

Automation of assistantship agreement issuance
The automation of the Assistantship Agreement Issuance process has entered its first phase of usage. This phase of functionality allows users to select the academic year of the appointment, hours (or percentage) of the appointment and what pay step will be offered. The monthly rate will be calculated based the entered hours or percentage and step. The in-state tuition and academic fee information will be automatically populated. Once all information is confirmed, the assistantship agreement contract will be generated in a pdf format, ready to print. The program will ensure that departments use the most up to date and correct information in the assistantship agreements issued to students.

The next phase will add functionality to save the entered data so that users can return and make edits as well as the ability to track agreements by term, allowing users to see the list of assistantship agreements that have been issued. Departments may provide feedback by e-mail to

gradweb@vt.edu.

As of January 1, 2006, all assistantship agreements must be submitted through the online process. An electronic copy will be retained by the Graduate School, and a paper copy will not have to be sent to the Graduate School .

Nominations for Cunningham Doctoral Scholars
As an integral part of our recruitment efforts to attract outstanding doctoral students to Virginia Tech, I am pleased to open the competition for the 2006 Cunningham Doctoral Scholars Program. Please review the guidelines and timelines available on the Graduate School web site.

Health Insurance for Graduate Assistants
For Fall 2005, graduate students on assistantships received 70% of the health insurance premium as part of their assistantships. Virginia Tech will continue this commitment for Fall ’06 and beyond. Although we have not yet finalized the exact percentage of health insurance premium coverage, it will be at least 70% if not higher. Departments can share this information with prospective students. Details are forthcoming.

PhD2010 Assistantships
In our business plan for increasing PhD enrollment through 2010, we were successful in meeting our enrollment goal of 100 new PhD students for Fall 2005. The details of the second year of the PhD2010 assistantship program will be available shortly.

Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD) — Call for Proposals
The Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD) provides the overview of our academic plans for graduate education at Virginia Tech. The IPGD is updated annually and in this regard, I’ve included the call for proposals below.

CGS&P activities
The Commission on Graduate Studies and Polices has approved two new doctoral degree proposals: (1) Geospatial and Environmental Analysis and (2) English PhD in Rhetoric and Writing. The proposals will be presented to the University Council at an upcoming meeting for a first reading.

Policies & Procedures Reminders/Updates
According to the Graduate School Policies and Procedures, “requests to schedule examinations should be received at least two weeks before the date requested” and the “cards should be returned to the Graduate School office as soon as possible.” In the past, the Graduate School has not always held departments to this policy. Effective Fall 2005, we are following the policy and therefore, requiring departments to schedule the examination two weeks prior to the date of the examination. Exceptions to this policy must be directed to Associate Dean Anne McNabb. Examinations should not be held without being officially scheduled and the exam card received; such examinations will not be considered official and will need to be rescheduled.

We’ve also modified the procedures for the examination cards effective November 1, 2005 . The official examination cards and official examination announcement will be sent to the advisor. Students, committee members and departmental administration will also be sent a copy of the official announcement. In the short term, these announcements will be sent via mail and where possible, email. In the long term, these documents will be issued electronically. The faculty advisor is responsible for the conduct of the examination, completion of the official cards and returning the cards immediately after the examination. Please do not hold the exam cards for any reason; the results of the examination should be shared with the student immediately following the discussion and faculty vote and then returned to the Graduate School .

Final master’s and doctoral final oral examinations are open to the university community. Discussions among the faculty members about the student’s performance will be conducted in private. In the near future, all final doctoral oral examinations will be posted on the Graduate School web page.

National Capital Region

Graduate Student Services new employee: Luisa Suarez

National Capital Region Open House
Information Sessions for masters and doctoral graduate programs in Public Management and Policy, Science and Technology Studies and Public and International Affairs, November 10 and December 5, Old Town Alexandria, 1021 Prince Street at Prince and Henry Streets; 10-minute walk from King Street Metro, Tel: 703/706-8123; e-mail:

cpapnov@vt.edu

Deadline to accept international students for Spring 2006 – November 1
The Spring 2006 deadline to accept international students residing outside the United States is November 1. Since the visa application process may take 2-3 months, we must allow sufficient time for students to make all their arrangements. International students are expected to arrive no later than January 14 and participate in the mandatory international student orientation. Departments may request an exception for specific individuals by contacting the National Capital Region international student advisor

Marija Telbis-Forster, Northern Virginia Ctr., 7054 Haycock Road, Room 203, Falls Church, VA 22043 or at 703/538-3743.

Reminder: Banner report, SYRB601, allows departments to review and sort the list of applications that are still waiting for a decision. The report provides a data file that you can pull into an Excel file so that you can sort the data by student name, ID, campus, application status and citizenship status. If you need assistance with how to run the report, please contact the GSSO office.

Annual Call for Proposals: Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD)

The Graduate School calls for new degree proposal for inclusion on the Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD). The IPGD is comprised of a list of degree programs that are approved for development to begin during the 06/07 academic year. The intention is that these programs would be implemented no later than Fall 2009.

We anticipate that colleges will review and select from proposals generated by their academic units. We would like to receive the college-approved proposals by February 1st so that we can finalize the ‘06-‘07 update to the IPGD by the end of the Spring 2006 semester.

Please provide the following information (in two pages or less) for degree programs you wish to have considered for inclusion on the plan:

• Need and Demand for the degree
• Target audience
• Faculty resources to be utilized
• Graduate courses (existing and proposed) underpinning the degree
• Conformity with the VT Strategic Plan particularly with regard to research emphasis and interdisciplinary nature
• Source of financial support
• Anticipated implementation date

The proposed degrees currently listed on the wish list will be considered for pre-approval in this review cycle. Please review the current IPGD "wish list" and indicate those proposals that should be removed from consideration. The current IPGD is attached.

Please send proposals to Karen P. DePauw in the Graduate School by February 15, 2006.

Welcome to Fall 2005! This year will be another significant year for graduate education at Virginia Tech. 

Updates & Announcements

• Open House for the Graduate Life Center: September 16, 11:00 am — 4:00 pm
• Graduate Alumni Homecoming: September 17th
• Dialogue with the Dean: September 20th  in  the Graduate Life Center, Room D, 5:00 pm — 7:00 pm
• GSA Graduate and Professional School Day: September 30, Commonwealth Ballroom, Squires Student Center, 10:00 am — 2:00 pm
• Distinguished Lecture: October 11, Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ethical Brain
• Fall 2005 application for degree and application for certificate conferral due by October 1st, for students names to be listed in commencement bulletin. This process can be done by student through Hokie Spa.

Graduate School Website
The Graduate School has a new website. You will find the pages easier to navigate and information easier to find. Please check out featured graduate students section for interesting information about our outstanding graduate students. Please spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the new format and do let us know about additional information or links that would be useful to your graduate students and your program.

Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown
The Graduate Life Center (GLC) at Donaldson Brown was opened officially in August 2005 with the GTA Workshop, the Graduate Orientation, and a number of other activities that introduced students to this new facility.  Graduate students moved into the upper floors of the complex and the first floor was transformed into an academic and social space for graduate students. The GLC includes meeting spaces, seminar rooms, a computer lab, videoconferencing room, graduate reading room, career/health/wellness services space, graduate student lounge, offices for graduate student organizations, and a coffee shop. The Graduate School offices will move into the former “Alumni Hall” part of the building in July 2006. For more information and listing of events, please visit the GLC website.   Please come by and visit the Graduate Life Center.

Assistantship Agreement Application
The online Assistantship Agreement application has now entered its first phase of usage.  This phase of functionality allows users to select the academic year of the appointment, hours (or percentage) of the appointment and what pay step will be offered. The montly rate will be calculated based the entered hours or percentage and step. The in-state tuition and academic fee information will be automatically populated.  Once all information is confirmed, the assistantship agreement contract will be generated in a pdf format, ready to print. The next phase will add functionality to save the entered data so that users can return and make edits.  Also, the ability to track agreements by term will be added, allowing users to see the list of assistantship agreements that have been issued. We request that you provide any and all feedback you may have by e-mail to

gradweb@vt.edu.

Policies & Procedures Update
Last year, the Graduate School in conjunction with the Commission on Graduate Studies and  Policies implemented a number of changes in policy and procedures. I anticipate that more changes will be forthcoming this year, and we will continue to inform you via the monthly memos and updates to the webpage.  For your convenience, these are listed below.

• ETD Deadline
  The final version of the electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than two weeks after the successful completion of the final examination.  If this deadline cannot be met, the advisor must send a request for an extension (e-mail is preferred) to the dean of the Graduate School.  Late submission of an ETD (other than with an approved extension) will require the student to be enrolled.
• Probation and Dismissal
  A student whose cumulative GPA falls below a "B" (3.00) average will be placed on probation by the Graduate School. Enrollment for one semester of probation is normally permitted to remedy an unsatisfactory GPA. If, in the judgment of the faculty and the dean of the Graduate School, the student does not make satisfactory progress, permission to continue in the graduate program will be denied, and the student will be dismissed from the university.
• Eligibility of Faculty/Staff for Graduate Degrees
  Teaching and research faculty members of the rank of assistant professor or above shall not become candidates for degree or be awarded degrees at this university. The provost’s office may be requested to waive this policy for an individual following successful appeal to the Commission on Faculty Affairs. Staff and administrative/professional faculty may become candidates for degrees with approval from the academic program, the university employer, and the graduate school.  To receive approval, candidates should address conflicts of interest, time, and commitment. Supervisors of these candidates should abstain from chairing and/or serving on the candidates’ graduate committees to avoid potential conflicts of interest.  
• Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) Archiving Fees Assessed through Banner (Student Accounts)
  Effective this semester, the ETD archiving fee will be assessed through banner and posted to the student’s account.  Students will no longer be required to make separate payment for this fee. Please inform your graduate students of this change in procedure.
• Time-to-degree
  The financial aid office agreed to evaluate graduate student eligibility based on actual time-to-degree, rather than credit hours. 

Imaging and Online Application
More information will be forthcoming about the roll-out of the imaging system and changes in the online application.

Filing Deadlines for Examinations
Please note that existing policy requires a two-week period for scheduling [preliminary, final] examinations.  All exceptions must have approval of the graduate dean prior to holding the examination.  Please share this reminder with faculty, staff, and graduate students.

New Faces at the Graduate School (and old faces that are gone)
E. Hope McClure has joined the dean’s staff.
Jane Rorrer has joined the recruiting staff.

Roger Avery is the new associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Veterinary Medicine.  Please direct correspondence to Karen DePauw or Anne McNabb.

Announcements/Deadlines

Admissions

• CollegeNET has released a beta Administration Systems. When you sign on to your administrative page you will see an option to use the new system. Feel free to take a look at their new interface. The old system will still be available for about a month, after which the new system will be switched to production. Please give any feedback to
  
  Jeremy Sippel so that we may pass it along to help CollegeNET make this as reliable as possible for us.
• The online Admissions Analysis process, developed by Administrative Information Systems in cooperation with the Graduate School, will be released to production on Monday, May 2, 2005 . This new process will streamline the flow of AA “forms” to and from departments, eliminating the paper AA form altogether. In order to gain authorization to make program admission recommendations you must attend a training session. Your department head must inform the Graduate School of the employees that will utilize this process to record the departmental recommendation decisions. Initial training was offered on April 28 and 29, 2005, with additional sessions to occur once each semester, pending demand.
• Please ensure that all online admission analysis decisions for international students whom you wish to accept have been processed before May 15, 2005.
• The Fall 2005 deadline to accept international students residing outside the United States 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 no later than August 15 and participate in the mandatory international student orientation on August 18. 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 with details about the student’s situation. 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 15.
• A banner report, SYRB601, allows departments to generate a list of all applicants that still are awaiting a decision.
• If a student wishes to decline an offer for Fall 2005, please notify the admissions office. Request for deferral must be made to us by the department and will not be processed upon a student’s request. An application fee will be charged to those students deferring from Fall 2005 to Fall 2006. (Application fee is good for one academic year).

Commencement

Blacksburg: The Graduate Student Commencement Ceremony will be held Friday, May 13, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum.

Check-in will begin at noon and end at 1:00 p.m. Doctoral and master’s candidates will receive additional instructions at this time. Certificate awardees will be asked to stand and be recognized during the ceremony.

Please visit the Virginia Tech Commencement website for check-in times, caps, gowns, and other related materials.

If you need additional information, please contact our office at 540/231-4669.

Doctoral candidates will receive their diplomas on stage. Education specialist and master’s diplomas and certificates will be available until 6:30 p.m. after commencement in the Graduate School, Sandy Hall for those finishing by the published deadlines. A photo identification is required for pick up.

National Capital Region: The 25th Commencement Ceremony in the National Capital Region will be held at the Center for the Arts in Fairfax, Virginia, at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, May 15, 2005 .

Commencement Speaker: Claire Fraser, Ph.D.
President and Director
The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)

A reception in the main hall will immediately follow the ceremony. Invitations are now available at the Graduate Student Services Office or the Resource Center in the Northern Virginia Center .

Information for Degree Recipients: The deadline for applying for a degree through the online system has passed, however, students may still apply with a paper AFD if all requirements are completed. You also need to check with your department to determine if it requires any additional forms for graduation.

If you are planning to attend the commencement ceremony, please complete the attendance form available on Hokie Spa and submit it online.

Any questions about commencement should be directed to the Graduate Student Services Office at 703/538-8321 or by e-mail to gsso_ncr@vt.edu. Many other questions (invitations, academic apparel, photography, etc.) are answered on our Commencement Page.

Graduate Life Center
Beginning June 15, departments may reserve meeting rooms in the Graduate Life Center for regularly scheduled meetings. Contact information will be e-mailed to departments in June.

GTA Workshop
The 15th Annual GTA Workshop (Phase I) will be held August 15-17, 2005. The workshop will consist of Plenary sessions 1:00-5:00 on Monday August 15, concurrent sessions on teaching and learning 9:00 to 12:00 on Tuesday and sessions on e-Resources 9:00 to 12:00 on Wednesday. Phase II offerings will be in September. All new GTAs are expected to attend the Workshop and enroll in GRAD 5004 (P/F; 1 cr) (CRN 92944). Please share this information with your incoming graduate students.

Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees
In keeping with our planning process for graduate education at VT, I’ve attached a copy of the 2005–2006 Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees (IPGD). You will see the list of degree proposals that have been “pre–approved”, the wish list of future degree proposals, and a working timeline for implementation. For those degree proposals that have been “pre–approved”, faculty should work within their college structure to develop the full proposal for institutional review.

Changes in Policies/Procedures
[ February 16, 2005 ] The Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies approved a change in the deadline for ETD submission policy from:

Deadline for Submission
Final version of the thesis/dissertation/major paper (ETD) must be submitted electronically to the Graduate School no later than two weeks after the successful completion of the final examination. If this deadline cannot be met, a request (by e-mail is preferred) for an extension should be sent to the dean of the Graduate School by the advisor.

to:

Deadline for Submission
The final version of the electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than two weeks after the successful completion of the final examination. If this deadline cannot be met, the advisor must send a request for an extension (e-mail is preferred) to the dean of the Graduate School . Late submission of an ETD (other than with an approved extension) will require the student to be enrolled.

It was noted that major papers, or project and report, are a distinctly different publication and do not need to follow the ETD publication route.

[ March 2, 2005 ] The Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies approved a change to Policy memo 230 [Awarding of the Graduate Certificate] as follows:

Be it further resolved that proposals to offer graduate certificates should include the following:

1. Rationale and need for graduate certificate. Target population to be served.

2. Identification of admission requirements. Graduate certificate programs must have admission standards that are similar to related graduate degree programs.

3. Identification of course requirements. Graduate certificate programs must use approved graduate coursework. At least two-thirds, including all core courses, must be graded on an A-F basis. Graduate certificate requirements must include a minimum of 9 Virginia Tech graduate course hours. A maximum of 33% of the course credits may be at the 4000 level.

4. Identification of members of the faculty associated with the graduate certificate program.

Imaging System
The Graduate School Imaging System RFP is in the final steps. We are hopeful that the Office of Information Technology Acquisitions (ITA) and university Legal Council will finish within the next couple of weeks. The ETA given by ITA is within the next four weeks.

Announcements/Deadlines

• Brochures for the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown are available to share with current and prospective students. Please contact Monika Gibson if you want brochures to distribute.
• April 29 — All doctoral candidates who wish to participate in Graduate Commencement must complete all requirements including approval of the ETD.
• The training sessions for the Online Admissions Analysis (AA) form will be announced to Deans, Department Heads, and Directors early next week. These sessions will cover overall process information, as well as technical information on how to utilize the form to indicate departmental admissions recommendations.
• Please remind your faculty and students that final examinations should be scheduled at least two week prior to the examination date. This allows enough time to review the student’s file for degree completion requirements and prepare the examination cards. Thank you.

Graduate Education Week
NCR: The National Capital Region hosted its second annual Graduate Education Week (March 14-18). The week’s activities consisted of job networking, informational sessions on balancing a career, family and education, graduate student research exposition, library resources, online tutorials (e-recruiting-career services, element K, Atomic Learning, VT Online Wellness Resource Center) and movie night.

Blacksburg : The 5th Annual Graduate Education Week, held March 21–25, featured events that celebrated the achievements of graduate students and brought attention to developments in graduate education. The week was centered around the theme "Celebrate, Explore, Envision", and the events coordinated by the Graduate School offered students fun celebrations, resources for personal and professional development, and an opportunity to learn about the future of graduate life and scholarship. Photographs, listings of award winners, materials, and schedules of Graduate Education Week are available here.

15th Annual GTA Workshop
The 15th Annual GTA Workshop (Phase I) will be held August 15–17, 2005 . The workshop will consist of Plenary sessions 1:00 to 5:00 on Monday August 15, concurrent sessions on teaching and learning 9:00 to12:00 on Tuesday and sessions on eResources 9:00 to 12:00 on Wednesday. Phase II offerings will be in September. All new GTAs are expected to attend the Workshop and enroll in GRAD 5004 (P/F; 1 cr) (CRN 92944). Please share this information with your incoming graduate students.

Copyright Information and ETDs
ETDs are reviewed for format and checked for compliance with applicable university, state and federal guidelines, including the Federal Copyright Law (Title 17 in the U.S. Code). Figures, tables, images and other items reproduced or adapted from third party sources must meet the criteria established by the Copyright Law to be included in the published ETD. Items must be clearly cited and documented as specified by the Copyright Owner. It is the responsibility of the author to obtain the permissions from the Copyright Owner. The Graduate School reserves the right to request the written documentation of the permission before the formal ETD approval and the completion of one’s graduate degree.

Annual Progress Review
It is important that departments conduct an annual progress review of graduate students as outlined in Presidential Policy.

Please utilize this policy in developing and implementing departmental guidelines for conducting annual progress reviews for your graduate students. I also encourage you to incorporate the opportunity for graduate students to read, review and respond to these reviews. These reviews should be conducted during the spring semester and shared with your graduate students in preparation for the next academic year. Please share the results of your review with the Graduate School . We also request a copy of the departmental guidelines for our files. Please send a copy to Roger Avery by July 1, 2005

Alpha Epsilon Lambda (AEL)
In March, Virginia Tech established a chapter of Alpha Epsilon Lambda, a honorary society that recognizes academic excellence and leadership among high achieving graduate students at Virginia Tech. The society was founded in 1990 with the objective of providing an honor society to recognize leadership and scholarship of outstanding graduate and professional students. The ceremony was held on March 22nd and nine graduate students were initiated as charter members.

ACC Traveling Scholars Program
Now that Virginia Tech has joined the ACC, our graduate students are eligible to participate in the Inter–Institutional Academic Collaborative (IAC) Traveling Scholars Program. This program enables doctoral–level students to take advantage of distinctive educational opportunities at any other participating ACC university. Visits may be as short as two weeks or as long as two semesters. A limited number of relocation stipends of up to $1000 per individual are available upon application. Further details are available in the Graduate School Deans Office.

News from the National Capital Region
Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center in the National Capital Region was one of the first stops recently for 12 university administrators from the Near East and North Africa on a 21-day International Leadership Program tour sponsored by the Bureau of International and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State and key contact, Marcie Boucouvalas, professor and program director, Adult Learning/Human Resource Development, Virginia Tech. The visitors hailed from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank and Yemen . While the discussion spanned a wide variety of topics related to the U.S. system of higher education, Virginia Tech programs related to adult learners and adult education and the use of technology for academic purposes were of primary interest to the visitors.

Upcoming Open Houses in the National Capital Region:
The Northern Virginia Engineering Department will have an Open House April 20, 2005 , 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM , Northern Virginia Center . If you would like more information, please contact Sarah Channing at 703/535-3440.

The Public Management & Public Policy Department will have an information session, Wednesday, April 6, 2005 in Old Town Alexandria 6:30 pm – Master of Public Administration (MPA) 7:30 pm – Ph.D. in Public Administration . If you would like more information, please contact Irene Jung at 703/706-8123.

Announcements/Deadlines

• Graduate Education Week is March 21-25. For the full schedule of events, click here.
• Fall 2005 GTA workshop will be held Monday (August 15) afternoon and Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

Updates/Reminders (from the February Workshop)

• Departments are encouraged to conduct a preliminary review of applicants’ files (prescreening) and make recommendations for admission or non-admission based upon this review. This review can be done before the Admission Analysis form is issued.
• The AA form will be issued by the Graduate School when our file is complete (application, payment of fee, official transcripts, and official TOEFL scores) OR by departmental request for specific students. If the Graduate School file is incomplete at the time of request, this will be noted on the form. Departments can still make their recommendations for admission or not.
• The AA form will become an automated form this semester and we will provide training when automation is implemented.
• We have initiated the first phase of “eAdvising” from the Graduate School. Each semester we send an e-mail to students without an approved Plan of Study reminding them to file a Plan of Study. Currently, the e-mail goes only to the student. In the future, we will send a list of all students receiving the e-mail message to the designated person in the department. This process was initiated to assist department and faculty to help graduate students make timely progress toward degree completion. More eAdvising through e-mail communication will be forthcoming.
• Assuming negotiations go well, the long awaited “Imaging System” will become a reality sometime during the spring semester. As planned, the system will be a university wide operation that will enhance departmental and Graduate School functionality. Once the negotiations are completed, we will hold an information session. Stay tuned for the next phase of “going digital in graduate education.”

Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown
In August 2005, the Donaldson Brown complex will be transformed into graduate housing and the Graduate Life Center. Early in 2006, the Graduate School will move into the first two floors of the Alumni Hall portion of the complex. The place and programs will become a signature component for the Graduate School’s Transformative Graduate Education initiative and reflects our emphasis to build graduate community. More information about the Graduate Life Center, tours of the facility and brochures will be available during Graduate Education week.

Changes in Policies/Procedures
A brief overview of recent changes in policies/procedures was presented and discussed at the February Workshop. These included:

• The policy regarding Visiting Graduate Students now specifies that enrollment for these students normally is limited to one calendar year or 18 credit hours.
• A statement of clarification in the wording of the procedures for Final Examination (Master’s) includes the following: “Normally, the advisory committee will carry out the examination, and can be supplemented by additional members as appropriate.”
• Regarding Probation policy, the wording was changed to: “A student whose cumulative GPA falls below a “B” (3.0) average will be placed on probation by the Graduate School. Departments will receive a copy of the letter for their review and recommendation, if any.”
• ETD submission section was edited to include only thesis/dissertation and omit the major paper (project and report) from the ETD requirement. In addition, a sentence was added: “If the deadline cannot be met, the advisor must send a request for an extension (e-mail is preferred) to the dean of the Graduate School. Late submission of an ETD (other than with an approved extension) will require the student to be enrolled. ”