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The Graduate School announces a call for nominations for the William Preston society Master’s Thesis Awards. Three awards will be selected, one from each of the following categories:

·         Math, Physical Sciences and Engineering

·         Humanities and Fine Arts

·         Innovation Application of Technology to Scholarship

Eligible students will have completed their master’s thesis in Summer 2011, Fall 2011 or Spring 2012. Winners will be recognized at the William Preston Society Annual Meeting in September 2012 and be submitted as a nominee for the awards selected by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools.

For complete information about eligibility and nomination process, please see this link: graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/honors_awards/graduate_awards/index.html#preston

The deadline for submission of nominations is Friday August 10, 2012 at 5 pm.

Starting Monday, May 14, the Graduate School’s Blacksburg offices in the GLC will operate with summer hours, opening at 9:00am each day and closing at 4:00pm. The summer schedule will be in effect through Friday, July 27. Regular business hours (8-5) will resume on July 30. When the Graduate School is open but the GLC is closed, visitors may access Graduate School offices through the entrance door facing Squires Student Center.

The Graduate Life Center remains accessible 24/7 to all graduate students with a valid Hokie Passport.

The Graduate Honor System is searching for a new chief justice. Applicants must be graduate students in good standing, having been in residence for at least one semester, and be able to serve as Chief Justice for at least one year while enrolled full-time in Blacksburg. Application deadline: May 25. Submit a statement of purpose and a resume to gibsonm@vt.edu. The Chief Justice is selected by a committee and ratified by the GSA and CGSP before final appointment by the president of the university.

The Graduate Honor System invites all faculty and student panelists and anyone in the campus community with an interest in the GHS to an end-of-year breakfast and info session on Wednesday, May 9, 9:00-10:30, GLC Student Org suite across from ABP. Those interested in attending are asked to register here.

A new feature has been implemented for International Invitation to Commencement requests. The International Invitation to Commencement Request moved from a paper-based form to an online request in HokieSpa earlier this semester. A new added feature launched today is the ability for the student to immediately get a PdF invitation per guest rather than having to wait for a paper invitation(s) to be generated in the Graduate School and signed in the President’s Office.

Any current graduate student or alumni with a pending or awarded graduate degree from Virginia Tech can login to HokieSpa and under their Degree Menu request the International Invitation to Commencement. The student will be able to select from a list of degrees they have earned or will earn. The system will generate the International Invitation to Commencement per guest (no limit) as a PDF for printing or saving to the user’s desktop. This new online request system for the International Invitation to Commencement allows a student to make the request at any time of day and have an immediate letter without having to submit a form and wait for processing in the Graduate School.

Effective for Summer I 2012, the ETD archiving fee for doctoral students will be decreased from $85 to $45. The fee reduction is based upon a reduced fee from our vendor Proquest. The ETD archiving fee for master’s degree students will remain at $20.

Effective for Summer I 2012, doctoral students will be required to submit the ProQuest Agreement Form along with their ETD approval form. The student’s ETD will not be approved without both forms being received. Both forms can be found online at http://graduateschool.vt.edu/forms/index.html

If you are graduating this semester and finishing up your ETD then come to one of these sessions!  Graduate School staff will be on hand to review your ETD and make sure that it is ready to be submitted.  Bring your laptop and a copy of your ETD in pdf format.

The sessions are being offered on Monday March 26, 9:30-10:30am; Tuesday, March 27, 2:30-3:30pm; and Thursday March 29, 10-11am.  All of the review sessions are in GLC Meeting Room C. Contact gradappl@vt.edu or 540-231-8636 with any questions.

Graduate Program Directors, Graduate Program Coordinators, and Department Heads:
 
This is a reminder for all programs to make sure they do an annual progress report on each of their graduate students and share this with the Graduate School.  As you know, this is required by Presidential Policy Memorandum #229.  I have attached a handout I did for one of the GPC/GPD Dialog sessions that summarizes the purpose and what should be included in the evaluation. Although the majority of programs do this each year, some do not. Others do it but do not send to the Graduate School (as required by the policy). We would like to get all programs in compliance—we are here to help. Most programs do these evaluations in mid-late Spring semester and send them to me in early Summer. Please let me know if you have any questions about the value of the evaluations orneed help in this process (jrankin@vt.edu ).
 
This year, we need to change the procedure for submission to the Graduate School.  While in the past, many departments sent the files as attachment, we have been informed that this is not allowed by FERPA regulations since they clearly have sensitive information.  So, you can submit these reports/summaries one of three ways:

1. Our preferred method is to securely submit the files electronically. Please see the overview here as to how to do that.
   1. If you have difficulties or questions, feel free to contact us.
2. Send the hard copies via campus mail to me at 0325
3. Burn the files onto a CD and mail to me at 0325

For FERPA compliance please DO NOT send via email.
 
Thank you all for your support of our graduate programs and guidance to our graduate students.  Let me know if I can be of assistance.

Graduate students and members of the Virginia Tech community are invited to participate in Graduate Education Week events from March 26 through March 30. Workshops, research symposium, student contests, photo and art display, and a variety of social events mark the 12th annual Graduate Education Week.

For a full description and schedule of events, visit our GEW 2012 website.

Graduate Education Week highlights the importance of graduate education; increases the university community’s awareness of the contributions of graduate students to teaching, research and service; and enhances the graduate student experience through professional development programs and celebratory events.

Would you like to acknowledge outstanding accomplishments of an alumnus or alumna from your master’s or doctoral graduate program?  The Graduate School and the Alumni Association select the Distinguished Graduate Alumni Achievement Award recipient each year from those nominated.  We will accept one nomination per department until March 30, 2012 at 5 pm. The nomination requires submission of two letters and the nominee’s full vita. Submissions in the form of pdf files are preferred and should be emailed as an attachment to grads@vt.edu.
 
If you submitted a nomination last year, it is being considered again this year (will continue in consideration for up to three years) but you may update that nomination if desired.
 
For the full instructions see  graduateschool.vt.edu/alumni/award.html for description and link to nomination form. The award winner will be invited to be acknowledged at the Spring Commencement ceremony.  His or her lodging at the Inn will be paid by the Graduate School.