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English 0014 (Oral Communication for International Teaching Assistants) will be offered only in the fall semester. Testing (TEACH and SPEAK Tests) of international graduate teaching assistants with classroom or laboratory teaching duties will resume in  August 2011.  Further information will be provided later in the spring.

Departments who have any untested ITA’s who are expected to teach before fall 2011 should contact Dr. Don McKeon to set up a testing schedule. Testing will be available during the week of December 13. 

Graduate students on assistantship are eligible for the bonus if:

• they were employed (GA, GRA, GTA, faculty, or staff) during the 2009-10 fiscal year, and
• are contracted as a graduate assistant (GA, GRA, GTA) on December 1st, 2010.

The bonus is 3% of the graduate student’s projected annual pay as of December 1st, 2010, based on an academic year or calendar year basis.  The graduate student’s 2009-10 employment history will determine an academic or calendar year appointment basis.  The bonus is included in the December 1st, 2010 paycheck.  Applicable taxes and deductions will apply.
    
Q: Who is eligible for the Returning Graduate Assistant Bonus?
A: Graduate assistants who were contracted as a GA, GRA or GTA or employed as a faculty or staff member during the 2009-10 year and are contracted as a GA, GRA or GTA on December 1^st, 2010 are eligible.

 
Q: What if I was employed as a wage employee last year or will be a wage employee on December 1^st, 2010?
A: Wage employees in the Commonwealth are not eligible for the bonus program.

Q: How much bonus will I receive?
A: Consistent with the bonus for salaried staff and faculty, eligible returning graduate assistants will receive a one-time bonus payment of 3% of their annual compensation, calculated based on their 2009-10 appointments (academic year or calendar year) and their current stipend amounts.

Q: When will I receive my bonus?
A: Bonuses will arrive in the December 1^st paycheck. No application is necessary.

Q:  How will the bonus to graduate students with assistantships be taxed?
A: Federal and state tax withholding rates will depend on the personal withholding status of the student employee based on the W-4 and VA-4.  As a rule, FICA taxes will not apply, as students with assistantships should meet the requirements for the student FICA exception.  This is the same method used to calculate taxes on the regular paycheck.

Q: What if I have further questions?
A: Graduate students with a specific question not answered above regarding the bonus program should contact the Graduate School at 231-4558 for assistance. Departments and colleges with questions about funding should contact Brennan Shepard in the Office of Budget and Financial Planning at 1-6419.

The Graduate School would like to encourage nominations for the following student awards:

•          Outstanding Dissertation– two awards, one in math/science/engineering and one  in social sciences/business/humanities, $1000

•          Graduate Student Teaching Excellence- $1000

•          Graduate Student Service Excellence– $1000

•          Graduate Man and Woman of the Year– $500

•          Outstanding Graduate Student– one master’s and one doctoral student per college, $500

•          Outstanding Interdisciplinary Program Student– $500

The deadline for the first four awards listed above is February 4, 2011 at 5 pm while the last two are due by February 18 at 5 pm.

Graduate students interested in pursuing a faculty career and learning more about working at different types of institutions are invited to join a panel discussion of strategies for success. Panelists are Dr. Olga Pierrakos, Assistant Professor, Engineering, James Madison University; Dr. Morgan Wilson, Associate Professor and Head, Biology, Hollins University; and Dr. Julie Dunsmore, Associate Professor, Psychology, Virginia Tech.

AdvanceVT Graduate Student Lunch Seminars are designed to help graduate students prepare for careers in academe. All graduate students and postdocs are welcome, and lunch is provided. Register here by November 10.

The Graduate School invites Department Graduate Directors and Coordinators to the next Dialog session: Tuesday November 16 at 2-3:30 in GLC room F.  We will discuss the new revised GRE test that will replace the current test on August 1, 2011. In addition, we will discuss the GTA workshop and get any comments or suggestions from you on this class.

Preparing a proposal for a new course? Find detailed guidelines for each section of the proposal plus two examples of recently approved proposals at
http://www.graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_school/gcc/GCCguide.pdf.

After college approval, proposals are uploaded to Hokie CAPS by the college staff member who assists the college curriculum committee.

Questions? Kerry Redican, Graduate Curriculum Committee Chair, or Rosemary Blieszner, Associate Dean.

The Graduate School invites graduate students, graduate alumni, faculty, staff, and other friends of the Graduate School to the 5-year celebration of the opening of the GLC on Friday, November 5, 2010, 2:00-4:00pm in the GLC Multipurpose Room. The program will include:

• Displays depicting the first five years of the GLC
• Cake and refreshments
• Remarks by Dr. Karen DePauw
• Presentation of awards

Learn more about our celebrations and the history of the GLC at our anniversary website. Although registration is not required for this event, we would appreciate if you would let us know about your intent to attend.

I’m pleased to announce an Call for Proposals for new Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Programs (IGEPs).   

In his review of the mid-term strategic plan, the Provost charged me “to explore how best to accelerate continued movement toward interdisciplinary graduate education” at Virginia Tech.  Based upon the results of numerous focused discussion groups, the recommendations of the VT Interdisciplinary Scholars in Life Sciences, and the results of the Interdisciplinary Summit held July 15, 2010, it appears that Virginia Tech is well situated to move aggressively toward enhancing interdisciplinary graduate education and research.   

As a result, the Graduate School in consultation with faculty has developed an initiative entitled Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP).  The IGEPs will provide innovative graduate education programs at Virginia Tech, strengthen faculty collaborations within VT and with external partners, and significantly increase the opportunities to secure multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary grants.  Toward that end, we are seeking applications from groups of faculty who wish to submit a proposal for an Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP).  Please see the Call for Proposals, http://grads.vt.edu/interdisciplinary

 Sincerely,

Karen P. DePauw, Ph.D.
Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education

During GEW 2010, the Graduate School began placing QR Codes around the GLC and office spaces.  We now have a tool that will allow you to generate a good number of types of QR Codes.  The types of data we currently offer to be encoded into a QR code are: URL, Email address, Geo Location, MeCard(/vCard), Text, SMS, Wireless Network.  The goal of this little application is to become a one stop shop for creating a QR code.  We are looking to add other items to the application as time goes on.  If you have suggestions for QR content around the GLC or for functionality of this app, please let us know.

I’d like to give kudos and thanks to Erdem Memisyaizci for getting this application together.