Graduate School Bulletin

Welcome to the new academic year! Graduate School activities started with a Week of Welcome on August 13th with GTA Workshop, international student orientation, and graduate student orientations in Blacksburg and the National Capital Region. These events were well attended and the incoming graduate students are very enthusiastic and rapidly becoming a part of the graduate community. The Week of Welcome culminated with the Welcome Back Picnic on Friday, August 24th 4-6 pm on the GLC Lawn. Nearly 1000 students participated in the various events during the week.

New faces in the Graduate School
Please join us in welcoming new Graduate School staff:

• Miya Simpson, Ph.D. has assumed a new position as Director of Academic Program Review
• Holly Cromer, Janae King, and Elizabeth O’Connell are all new members of the Graduate Admissions & Academic Process unit

News from the National Capital Region
On August 9, 2007, at the Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church, Virginia Tech in the National Capital Region and the University of Virginia hosted the dedication of a Hokie Stone bench and a tree in remembrance of April 16th.

New Student Orientation and an English Placement test were scheduled on August 18, 2007.

The Graduate Student Assembly in the National Capital Region welcomed the students back with at a social on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at the Northern Virginia Center.

Hokie Passports will be available September 24-25 in the National Capital Region’s Library/Resource Center from 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Please contact the GSSO or the Library at gsso@nvc.vt.edu if you have any questions.

The dissertation support group will begin the semester in September. The group meets every other week at the Northern Virginia Center, room 324 at 7:00. The schedule will be posted at www.ncr.vt.edu. Please contact the GSSO at gsso@nvc.vt.edu if you have any questions.

A Graduate School Information Fair is scheduled for October 17, 2007. For more information please visit www.ncr.vt.edu

This is a reminder that the NCR Methods Consortium is available to help with research and statistics problems. The webpage for the consortium is, http://www.nvc.vt.edu/rmc/ The phone number is 703-538-8371 and the email is researchhelp@nvc.vt.edu

Initial Announcement about Awards
The Graduate School is requesting nominations for the Preston Thesis Awards and for the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) Master’s Thesis Awards. The Preston Thesis Award is given in two categories to graduate students whose master’s theses present the best original research with potential to benefit all people. For the 2007-08 academic year, the two categories are (1) Life Sciences and (2) Social Sciences, Business and Education. The Preston Thesis Award winners will be automatically nominated for the CSGS awards. In addition to those two winners, nominations are also sought for a CSGS thesis award for the Innovative Application of Technology to Scholarship in a Master’s Thesis. Nomination deadline is September 14 at 4pm. See attachments for more details.

Advance VT and the Graduate School will offer the Clare Boothe Luce Ph.D. Fellowship Program again this year. As you meet prospective women graduate students in the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering, please keep them in mind for a nomination. We had great candidates last year, but no one accepted our offer. We’d like to get together and strategize about how we can turn fellowship offers into acceptances. Please join us for Getting to Yes!: Turning Offers into Acceptances. The session will be on Tuesday, September 18th in room C in the Graduate Life Center.

Week of Welcome a success!
Phase I of the GTA workshop was attended by 670 new graduate students. The workshop consisted of three half days, Aug. 13-15, followed by the beginning of Phase II sessions on Blackboard training. There were some new offerings this time, namely a panel of outstanding instructors who conducted a collaborative discussion with small groups addressing teaching scenarios, with all 670 new grads in the GLC Auditorium. Some of the discussion groups reported back about their creative ideas at the end of the exercise and engaged the panel in continued discussion. Also new was an interactive presentation on creating community in the classroom. A wide variety of Phase II sessions start the first week of September and continue into early October.

Policies & procedures updates
In spring 2007, CGS&P modified two graduate policies:
(1) PhD Residency: "At least two consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment must be completed at the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus to fulfill the Residency Requirement. Individual degree programs may request an alternative to the Blacksburg campus requirement by petitioning the Graduate School".
(2) Plan of Study Submission: "Plans of study are due by the end of the second academic semester for all Master’s students, and are due by the end of the third academic semester for doctoral students".

Policy Reminder
In 2004 GCS&P defined the Qualifications Required to be the Instructor of Record in a Graduate Course. "In order to be the instructor of record in a graduate course, one must: (1) hold a graduate degree (i.e., the terminal degree in the discipline) and (2) cannot be currently enrolled as a graduate student in the same department. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Graduate School".

4.16.07 will remain fixed in our minds as a day of tragedy for Virginia Tech. As the facts unfold, we have learned of the undergraduates, graduate students, graduate assistants, instructors and faculty who were among the victims of this horrific crime. Some are deceased and others wounded. Some remain hospitalized, some are recovering. And we are all deeply impacted by the incidents and the aftermath. This is a very difficult time for all of us at Virginia Tech. I encourage you to engage in dialogue and seek support/counsel from and within our various communities.

A strong sense of community is an important component of graduate education at Virginia Tech. Our VT graduate community is indeed a global community. The tragic events of Monday April 16th have stressed our community in many ways that we might not even realize. Some in our community are feeling additional tension and stress for a variety of reasons. We must reach out to all graduate students and their families – to understand and to respect the differing ways in which the incidents affects our lives. I am personally and professionally committed to rebuilding our global community and making it even stronger. Many graduate students have already expressed their dismay and sadness over the events and have volunteered to help during this time of crisis (language translation, general assistance and more). Let us choose "random acts of kindness" as our purpose.

To begin, the GLC Multipurpose Room will be available for the rest of the week from 7:30am to 10:30 pm as a gathering place for the graduate community. Visit the Multipurpose room to offer reflections (poems, photos, statements, or other), comments to help us prepare action steps for a positive future, seek answers to questions you might have, or have a quiet moment. Please stop by to give or receive some comfort and share in the sense of community. The Graduate School staff are also available to answer questions and address concerns as they arise. The National Capital Region Community may visit the Northern Virginia Center (room 205) as well as the other sites in the area and offer condolences in a book or on poster on behalf of the Graduate Student Assembly in the National Capital Region.

The Graduate School website has been modified to include a section that honors the victims of 4.16.07 and provide answers to questions you might have about policies and procedures to address the concerns and issues that arise. I will address some of these in this memo but please check the website for updates.

The university administration has decided to award posthumous degrees for the students who died as a result of the tragic shootings on April 16, 2007. The graduate degrees will be awarded during Graduate Commencement on May 11. The Graduate School will prepare the documentation needed for such action.

The deceased faculty members can remain as advisors and on thesis/dissertation committees and as advisors for all graduate students graduating in May through Summer II, 2007. The Graduate School will work with the departments on each case.

Master’s students planning to graduate in May or during the summer can participate in Commencement. The deadline for the completion of all requirements (including ETD approval) for doctoral students will be extended to May 2.

We know that there might be graduate students who do not wish to return to Virginia Tech and we will honor their wishes. We will work with them and departments to facilitate transfer to other universities as might be appropriate. There might also be incoming graduate students having concerns for safety at VT. If you let me know of these cases, I will personally interact with these individuals to assure them of our commitment to establishing a safe and nurturing community for graduate students.

Thank you all for your efforts in helping us maintain a quality graduate education experience for our students.

Karen P. DePauw, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Graduate Studies
and Dean of the Graduate School

Announcements/Deadlines

• Graduate Education Week: At the request of Virginia Tech, Governor Kaine officially proclaimed March 26-30, 2007 as Graduate Education Week in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Tech celebrated the week with numerous events in Blacksburg and the National Capital Region.
• Spring 2007 Commencement:
  The Graduate Commencement in Blacksburg will be held at 3:00pm in Cassell Coliseum on Friday, May 11, 2007. The commencement speaker will be Dr. Alberto Bustani, President of the Monterrey Metropolitan campus of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, known as ITESM, the largest multicampus university system in Latin America. ITESM is also a frequent collaborator in various science, engineering and student exchange programs with Virginia Tech.
• Astronaut Charles J. Camarda with the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center’s Engineering and Safety Center, will receive the Graduate Alumni Achievement Award.
• National Capital Region Commencement, Center for the Arts, 2:30 P.M., Sunday, May 13, 2007. More information may be obtained at www.ncr.vt.edu/commencmenet or from the Graduate Student Services Office at the Northern Virginia Center, 703-538-8327/gsso@nvc.vt.edu.
• An email will be going out to all graduate students who have indicated that they intend to graduate this spring. The email will provide more specifics about the date, time, and location of both ceremonies.

Actions of the Board of Visitors
At its March 26, 2007 meeting, the Board of Visitors approved three new graduate degrees: MA in Foreign Languages, Cultures & Literatures for Blacksburg; MS in Biomedical Technology & Development for the National Capital Region; and the PhD in STEM Education: Engineering for Blacksburg. The proposals will be forwarded to SCHEV for final review and approval

The BOV also approved a tuition increase for graduate students and the new compensation plan for graduate students. Improvements were made in the health insurance coverage as well as increasing the premium percentage provided by the university to 80%. Details will be available on the Graduate School website.

Clarification and communication
As you are aware, changes in operating procedures have been underway for some months now in the Graduate School. As with any change, confusion and communication can result. The focus of this section of the Monthly Memo is to communicate about some of the issues and concerns.

Duplicate IDs: In the fall the problem of duplicate IDs for the same person was identified. As a result, the Graduate School worked with the Registrar’s office and Administrative Information Systems (AIS) to identify these situations and to have them corrected. A systematic check for duplicate IDs was conducted and 90% of these cases were corrected by AIS and the Graduate School. When additional duplicate IDs are identified, the Graduate School works to immediately reconcile the records and to notify AIS to remove the duplicate. As we review incomplete files, we also check documents for duplicate IDs. Please notify Jacqueline Nottingham if you identify duplicate IDs and we will work with you to resolve them. Our staff have been retrained to address these issues.

Inaccurate data in Banner: Several months ago, it was brought to our attention that CollegeNet data downloaded using the "old" format generating inaccurate data in Banner. CollegeNet was contacted and the problem was corrected. Please be assured that we are in constant contact with CollegeNet about the online applications and supplemental forms. If you have concerns, please contact Jacqueline Nottingham.

Supporting documents for Plans of Study: As we approach the re-accreditation of the university by Southern Association of Schools & Colleges (SACS), it is imperative that we have accurate records of the faculty members who serve on graduate student committees. SACS will be reviewing the qualifications of those who serve and thus, it is important that we gather the supporting documents for each committee. The supporting documents will still be needed for those who are not full-time, tenured or tenure track faculty. We need to have information on file for part-time faculty, visiting faculty, adjuncts, research faculty and those from outside of Virginia Tech who are requested to serve on committees at the time of filing the Plan of Study. If we don’t have the information about those who have already been approved for committee service, we have been asking for this information at the time of prelims or final defense. If the POS is already approved, we will not delay an examination and will honor the existing committee configuration but we will need the supporting documents. Thank you for helping us accomplish this task.

Delays in responding to emails: Earlier this spring, we had a tremendous backlog in the emails sent to the gradappl address creating unacceptable delays in responding to your emails. This has been addressed by the addition of another email account for use within VT. It has taken us some time to catch up but a response should be received within a 48 hour (during the work week) time frame.

Response time for requesting information or admissions letters: Currently the response time for requesting information or letters of applications is less than one week. Depending upon our workload, the response is much shorter. Our procedures are such that we "look up" official scores, transcripts, etc. from departmental requests on a daily basis. Please know that departments can also look up this information on Banner as well.

In an attempt to improve the efficiency in the transition of applications to departments for review, we discovered a flaw in the logic of the workflow. This led to many of the departmental recommendations being stopped rather than forwarded to the process of generating admission letters. Although it is likely that delays resulted from this, the problem was recently addressed and should no longer occur. If you have questions, please contact Jacqueline Nottingham

Current Course listings: While we are in the process of "going digital" with our catalog, you can find a complete listing of graduate courses by department on the Graduate School website via Degrees & Academic Programs, Degrees Offered by college, department or extended campus location and then clicking on current courses. All courses approved for graduate credit will be displayed. The problem of finding a complete listing of courses will disappear once the Graduate Catalog is on-line.

Announcements/Deadlines

• Graduate Education Week in Blacksburg: March 26-30, 2007
• Graduate Education Week at NCR: March 26-30, 26 – 30, 2007
• VT NCR Graduation, GMU Center for the Arts, May 13, 2007 at 2:30
• Application for Degree submission deadline : March 1, 2007
  Please note: The system will still accept submissions after this deadline.
  However, an AFD must be submitted by the deadline for the student’s name to appear in the Commencement Bulletin.

  Personnel announcements
  David Trauger, Interim Associate Dean for National Capital Region (NCR)
  effective February 1, 2007
  James Turner, Interim Associate Provost for Graduate Student Diversity Initiatives
  effective July 1, 2006

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policy (CGS&P)
The Graduate School posts the progress of course review at http://grads.vt.edu/graduate_school/gcc/

The following degree proposals were reviewed by CGS&P in February:
Virginia Tech – Georgetown University Master of Science Degree in Biomedical Technology Development and Management (approved February 7)

PhD in Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought (first reading, February 21)

Graduate Catalog Changes
The Policies and Procedures section of the Graduate Catalog has been revised and posted. The links from the contents to sections of the policies have not been established, but will be active shortly. The ability for academic programs to update their respective sections in the catalog will be forthcoming. The policies have been reorganized and updated and there is now a Table of Contents at the front of the document. If you find apparent errors or things that need clarification, please send an email to Anne McNabb for the next revision in the fall.

Revised Course Justification Request
The Graduate School has revised the Course Justification (Revalidation) form and process used to determine that a graduate student has remained current in the body of knowledge represented by all classes older then 5 years when filing a Plan of Study. Please submit the revised form as out of date forms will not be acceptable for processing. The new form, Course Justification Request, can be found in the forms section of the Graduate School website.

Graduate Education Week Details
Virginia Tech will celebrate its seventh annual Graduate Education Week March 26-30.
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 help us promote GEW events, encourage participation, and 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, 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 26 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 28.
• Visit and vote on your favorites of the graduate student art work and photos 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). If you share these photos with the Graduate School, we can include them in the slide show presented during commencement.

Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees
The Institutional Plan for Graduate Degrees has been reviewed and approved for ’07-’08. A copy of the plan is attached for your information.

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 1
• Graduate Student Award Nominations are due January 26
• Graduate Education Week is scheduled for March 26-30
• Outstanding Interdisciplinary Program Ph.D. Student Award Nominations are due Friday, February 9, 2007 to the Graduate School. Eligibility is limited to Ph.D. students in three formally approved VT interdisciplinary programs.
• All Colleges and Departments are asked to think about a potential nominee for the upcoming 2007 Graduate Alumni Achievement Award. A formal Nomination process will be sent to the Colleges shortly. The winner will receive this award at the spring 2007 Graduate Commencement ceremony.

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policy (CGS&P)
Degree proposals approved by SCHEV

• PhD Architecture and Design Research, (ADR)
• EDP Spin-Off PhD Degree – Architecture and Design
• EDP Spin-Off PhD Degree: Planning Governance and Globalization
• Online MS, Agriculture and Life Sciences

Degree proposals approved by the commission, and forwarded to University Council:

• Master of Arts in Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures
• PhD in STEM Education: Engineering Education

Online Graduate Catalog
The online Graduate Catalog will be entering its first phase of internal testing in the middle of January. We expect that testing to take place for two to three weeks. At that point we will contact a few departments to test for approximately a week. We hope to be contacting departments to add their information at the end of February or early March.

The online catalog will allow programs to update information such as graduate program faculty, and program contact information at any point in the year. Edits with details about each program can be made at any time, but will be queued to be altered at the beginning of each academic year. Detailed program information will be expanded to include test score requirements, GPA requirements and similar items. Updates and additions to graduate policy during an academic year will now be added as they become effective.

We will post the most recent version of the policies and procedures in early February.

Policies & Procedures Updates & Clarification
Independent Study (5974) and Special Study (5984) are courses available to departments that provide some flexibility for curricular offerings. Independent Study (5974) is intended for an individual student who is working closely with a faculty member on an individual project. On the other hand, Special Study 5984 is intended for a group of students who are engaged in a special course (e.g., pilot for a permanent course; one time offering). Approval and enrollments for Independent Study are handled at the department level. Special Study 5984 requires Graduate School approval prior to the start of the semester. The paperwork for establishing a pilot course as a permanent course should be prepared after the first offering to allow time for approval through the governance system (a course is limited to being offered twice as a 5984).

Quite a few students incorrectly sign up for 5974 credits without understanding the nature of Independent Study. This usually results in requests to the Grad School for late drops and other adjustments to the student’s schedule. Departments can exercise control over 5974 projects by setting the enrollment at zero. After the paperwork describing the project has been prepared and signed by the instructor, a departmental staff member can add the course to the student’s schedule. If the department requires that all 5974 projects be submitted and entered within the Add period for the semester many enrollment errors can be avoided and students can begin work on these projects in a timely manner.

Assistantships (GRA, GTA, GA) are provided as part of the academic experience for our graduate students. It is important that incoming and continuing students are informed of the responsibilities of their assistantships as well as the length of time they can expect to hold an assistantship. Most of our graduate students are seeking multi year support in terms of GRA or GTA. I encourage you to develop guidelines for providing multi year funding for graduate students and share this information within your department. Although we can’t guarantee funding, our goal should be to provide a reasonable length of assistantship support that approximates a typical time to degree.

As you know, ETDs are to be filed within two weeks following a successful final oral examination. This long standing Graduate School policy is grounded in the assumption that faculty have read the penultimate draft of the thesis/dissertation, that the student is prepared to defend the thesis/dissertation at the final examination, and that changes to the documents should need not more than two weeks to complete. Please encourage your students to review the requirements for the ETD prior to the final examination and start the process as early as possible. Please consult the website for more information.

Annual progress review
Annual progress review is an important part of the academic advising process for graduate students. Spring is the typical time for conducting the Annual Progress Reviews (see Presidential Policy 229). Please conduct these reviews, share with the graduate students, and please send us copies of the individual reviews for all the graduate students in your program.

Course Withdrawal Policy for Graduate Students
As a reminder, the course withdrawal policy can be found listed with Presidential Policy Memorandums. Students must request a Graduate Withdrawal (WG) by the Friday of the last full week of classes for the semester.

Probation letters
Probation letters will be coming out soon for all those students who dropped below a 3.0 GPA at the end of fall semester. Students have one semester to remedy their GPA deficiency and departments should work closely with these students to help them succeed in raising their GPAs.

Graduate Applications & Admissions
As with any department, there will be personnel changes. For the time being, any questions related to residency, changes (of graduate program, status, name, campus), leave of absence, graduate certificates, BS/MS or Dual students, simultaneous degree, and Commencement should be directed to Jacqueline L. Nottingham. She can be reached at 540/231-3092 or ntnghm@vt.edu.

Applications are no longer being considered for Spring 2007 enrollment. Please make sure that any applicants without a decision for Spring 2007 be completed or moved to a future term immediately. Please work directly with any students wishing to re-admit for Spring 2007 and encourage them to complete their paperwork now. Requests to re-admit later in the term will only be considered for students who are returning to defend.

The December 2006 Commencement is rapidly approaching and I encourage each of you to attend and bring other faculty members with you. Commencement is a very special time for our graduates and their families, and I hope you will join your colleagues in recognizing our graduates and celebrating their accomplishments. A new musical composition for graduate commencement will be played for the first time. See you there!

Announcements & Deadlines:

Call for Nominations for Graduate Student Awards
Nominations for the 2006-07 graduate student awards (outstanding dissertation, service, teaching, college, etc) are due January 26, 2007. Please review the list of awards, nomination criteria and further details on submission requirements at http://www.graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/honors_awards/graduate_awards/06_07_GEW_call.pdf

Graduate Preview Weekend nominations are being accepted
The nominated individual should have submitted an application for graduate study and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident residing in the United States. Graduate Preview Weekend is February 15-18, 2007. For more information, contact Marilyn Kershaw, Director of Graduate Student Recruiting at 1-2494 or at mkershaw@vt.edu.

VT National Capital Region Orientation: 1/13/07, Northern Virginia Center

Temporary Expedited Admissions Status 1/8/07-1/22/07
Occasionally, students learn about a course that they’d like to pursue at the last minute. This paper application can only be used for students who wish to apply within one week before classes begin and up to the last day to add courses. It is a one-time status and allows registration for no more than 6 credits in the semester when the student applies for this status. For more information contact GSSO gsso@nvc.vt.edu, 703-538-8327 in the National Capital Region or Jacqueline Nottingham ntnghm@vt.edu , 540-231-3092 in Blacksburg.

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.
http://www.graduateschool.vt.edu/financial/for_departments/gs_funding.html

Policies & Procedures Reminders/Updates

Enrollment
Academic units are encouraged to remind students that they should enroll in courses prior to the start of the semester and adhere to the drop/add deadlines set by the university. Departments should refrain from enrolling students so that we can avoid unnecessary drops/withdraws. Only under unusual circumstances will graduate students be allowed to add a class after the add deadline.

Instructors of record for graduate courses
Graduate School policy requires that graduate courses (4xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx) be taught by faculty members holding the appropriate terminal academic degree (e.g., PhD). Graduate students (including staff 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.

Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies

The commission approved a revision to the Applications and Admissions Statement, as follows:

Applications and all related materials for admission should reach the Graduate School Office at least eight weeks before the beginning of the semester in which enrollment is requested. Consideration for admission to the Graduate School is contingent upon receipt of:
1) An official academic transcript showing courses taken and degree(s) earned.
2) Evidence of a Bachelor’s degree from a four year or equivalent (e.g., see Bologna Process) accredited college or university.
Documentation of at least a 3.0 Grade Point Average (on a 4.0 scale) for the last half of the credits earned for the undergraduate degree; or, the completion of 12 graduate course credits with at least a 3.0 Grade Point Average

New degrees
The commission forwarded the new degree proposal, Doctor of Philosophy in STEM Education: Engineering Education, to the University Council. Currently, the commission is in the final stages of review for the degree proposal, Master of Arts in Foreign Language, Culture, and Literature.

Announcements & Deadlines:
Call for nominations for graduate student awards – submission deadline January 26, 2007. Departments and colleges are encouraged to consider nominating their students for outstanding contributions to teaching, research, service, and other scholarly accomplishments. See attached details.

Deadline to accept international students for spring 2007 – November 1
The spring 2007 deadline to accept international students residing outside the United States is November 1st. 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. Blacksburg Immigration Specialists may be reached at the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown, or 540-231-8486, igss@vt.edu

National Capital Region Open House
Virginia Tech in the National Capital Region held a Graduate School Information Fair, Wednesday, October 18, 7-9 p.m., at the Northern Virginia Center, 7054 Haycock Road, Falls Church, Virginia, for prospective students to explore opportunities in master’s, doctorate and certificate programs. If you have any questions please contact the Graduate Student Services Office at 703-538-8327 or gsso@nvc.vt.edu

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 2007 Cunningham Doctoral Scholars Program. Please review the guidelines and timelines available on the Graduate School web site , http://www.graduateschool.vt.edu/index.html

Graduate Congressional Scholarship (Spring 2007)
The Graduate School is pleased to announce the availability of a one semester Graduate Congressional Scholarship for students currently enrolled at Virginia Tech. The scholar will be able to participate in the everyday work of Congressman Boucher’s office. While specific duties will depend on the scholar’s experience and interests, as well as the needs of Congressman 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 scholarship 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 one semester 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, 2006 to Dr. Karen P. DePauw, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School, Mail Code 0325, Blacksburg, VA 24061.

New Faces at the Graduate School
Dr. James Turner (Mathematics) is serving as associate provost for diversity in the Graduate School and chairs the “Diversity Think Tank”. Ms. Sheila Steele is the new administrative assistant in the dean’s suite. Ms Kristen Hicks, Ms. Jennifer Mitra, and Ms. Mary Reed have joined the Admissions and Academic Progress team.

Enrollments & Earned Doctorates
Graduate enrollments for fall ’06 have reached an all time high of 6111 university-wide. This includes full-time and part-time enrollments in Blacksburg, extended campuses, and beyond. Doctoral students now comprise 40% of the graduate enrollment. The number of individuals who have earned doctoral degrees has also increased to 366 for ’05-’06.

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.

Commission on Graduate Studies & Policies
The Graduate Curriculum Committee has approved the Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering Education. The degree proposal will be presented to the Commission on Graduate Studies and Polices for a second reading at the November 1st meeting.

Policies & Procedures Reminders/Updates
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 in accessing or running the report, please contact the Graduate Student Services Office in the National Capital Region at 703-538-8327 gsso@nvc.vt.edu or the Admissions and & Academic Progress Office in Blacksburg at 540-231-2727.

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 07/08 academic year. The intention is that these programs would be implemented no later than Fall 2010.

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 ‘07’-’08 update to the IPGD by the end of the Spring 2007 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 “wish list” and indicate those proposals that should be removed from consideration.

Please send proposals to Karen P. DePauw in the Graduate School by February 1, 2007.

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the events for our Grand Opening,
October 2 – 6, 2006. We hope you can join us in celebrating the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown, a unique place and space for graduate education at Virginia Tech!

Monday, October 2: Marty Party! 7:00p-9:30p, GLC Multipurpose Room
The Graduate Arts Council and the Department of Theatre Arts present Obie-
Award winning solo performance artist, Marty Pottenger, for an evening of lecture/demonstration of her work, including Homeland Security and Arts & Equity Initiative.

Tuesday, October 3: Graduate School Distinguished Lecturer: Daniel Pink
4:00p-5:30p; GLC Multipurpose Room
Daniel Pink’s latest book, A Whole New Mind, provides a snapshot of the new
world of work where "right brain" thinking trumps "left brain" thinking and a host of profound new rules and strategies apply. The lecture will be followed by a book signing and reception.

Wednesday, October 4: GLC Open House; 10:00a-6:00p; GLC Lobby & Corridors
You are invited to explore the newly renovated GLC and join us for some fun!
Vote on graduate student art and photography, take a tour of the GLC, view displays, enter raffle drawing for door prizes, compete in a scavenger hunt, enjoy free samples from Au Bon Pain, and more!

Thursday, October 5: GLC Graduate Student Art Contest; 7:00a-11:00p; GLC Lobby & Corridors
Please visit the GLC and vote on the graduate student photos and artwork
displayed throughout the GLC. Students with the most votes on their art will receive prizes

NCR Graduate Alumni Organization
In an effort to promote graduate education in the National Capital Region, The Alumni Association and the Graduate Student Services office have combined forces. The first event was hosted on 9/19/06 showcasing the college of Natural Resources which included a documentary, Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South by Jim Crawford, a VT Geography Alum. The event was attended by alumni, current students, faculty and deans from college of Natural Resources. It provided a sense of community, and an opportunity to make connections. Another program will be hosted next semester.

Policies & procedures updates
Application fees
After a review of our current application fee structure, the Graduate School will be moving to a change in application fees. Beginning November 1st, all degree-seeking applicants will be charged $45 per application; all Commonwealth Campus, visiting students, expedited, and non-degree applicants, plus readmission and certificate applicants will be charged $25 per application. To compliment this change, we are asking that all students who are moving degree status (i.e., non-degree seeking to degree- seeking) submit a new application to the graduate school. This will provide a cleaner process for individuals, departments, and the graduate school, and it will also ensure that all appropriate documentation is in place for the student to be considered for the new degree level.

Commonwealth Campus Applications
Currently, the Commonwealth Campus applicant is allowed to apply directly to a department for admission. In some cases, the department will make a recommendation on the application for admission; in others, the review is being done by the Graduate School. Beginning with spring 2007 applicants, all Commonwealth Campus applicants will be listed with the "major" of Graduate Studies and will be reviewed by the Graduate School.

Admissions Decisions
The Graduate School encourages departments to make final decisions on all applicants for each upcoming term two weeks prior to the start of the new semester in which they intend to enroll. To that end, the Graduate School will be communicating directly with departments regarding their admission/enrollment cycle and the actions to be taken (accept, reject, withdraw) to clear up any outstanding decisions for the term. Your assistance in this endeavor is greatly appreciated.

Announcements/Reminders

• Graduate Fair, National Capital Region, October 18, 2006, Northern Virginia Center, Falls Church, VA 22043, room 100 at 6:30-9:00. If you have any questions, please contact the Graduate Student Services Office at 703-538-8327.
• Graduate Preview Weekend is February 15-18, 2007. Nomination forms will be available online on November 1st.

Welcome to the new academic year! This year should prove to be another exciting one for graduate education at Virginia Tech starting with the re-opening of the Graduate Life Center (GLC) at Donaldson Brown and the move of the Graduate School to the GLC. On August 4th, we closed our offices in Sandy Hall and opened our doors to the newly renovated Graduate School offices in the part of the GLC once known as Alumni Hall. Graduate student residents of the GLC moved into the building on August 12th. Although minor renovations will continue for some weeks, the entire complex, with the exception of the auditorium, will be fully operational starting August 21st. We are planning a grand opening in October but please come by to visit when you get a chance.

New faces in the Graduate School
Please join us in welcoming new Graduate School staff:

Miya T. Simpson, Ph.D., Director of Development for the Graduate School
Jennifer Catalano (Jenny), Admissions & Academic Progress
Cheng Hu, Web Application Developer
James R. Turner, Ph.D., Interim Associate Provost for Diversity

Temporary Expedited Admissions Status
Occasionally, students learn about a course that they’d like to pursue at the last minute. In order to accommodate these students, we have developed the Application for Expedited Admissions and are implementing a pilot test for this fall. This paper application can only be used for students who wish to apply within one week before classes begin and up to the last day to add courses. For fall semester, 2006, those dates are Monday, August 14th thru Friday, August 25th. This is a one-time status and allows registration for no more than 6 credits in the semester when the student applies for this status. For more information, please review recent email from, or contact, Jacqueline Nottingham, phone: 231-3092, email: ntnghm@vt.edu.

Week of Welcome a success!
The Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) workshop was a success! Phase I of the GTA Workshop for 2006 was attended by about 570 new graduate students for three half days, August 14-16. Workshop attendees also will attend two sessions in Phase II of the workshop from August to October. There were excellent presentations and panels by faculty and continuing GTAs (approximately 50 contributors) that were very well received.

Policies & procedures updates
During the spring semester, we added a site to our webpage called Procedures and Guidelines in which you can find some helpful information about recent changes in policy or procedures. We will keep you updated as new policies and procedures are reviewed and revised.

Announcements/Reminders

• September 1, 4:30 – 6:00 Graduate student welcome on Graduate School lawn
• September 2, 10:30-12:30 3rd annual Graduate Alumni Homecoming
• NCR Graduate Alumni Organization will hold its first event scheduled for September 19th, 2006 and will showcase Natural Resources
• The Graduate School gets many requests for Late Course Drops and Withdrawals that result from inattention to registration problems. Most of these could be avoided, so please consider announcing the following at departmental graduate orientation meetings at the beginning of the semester: (1) graduate students should check Hokie Spa to make sure they are enrolled in the correct courses during the first week of classes so problems can be corrected early, (2) instructors should check that all students attending their classes are on the class list available through Faculty Access before the end of the first week of classes. Students who aren’t on the class list should not be allowed to participate in a class.
• The new Graduate School brochure, Transforming Graduate Education, will be coming to your units within the next week. Please let Marilyn Kershaw (1-2494) know if you want additional copies.

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