| Graduate College Update |
| Dear Graduate Faculty, Graduate Secretaries and Staff Members, |
| The Graduate College is committed to meet the needs of our students, faculty, and staff this Spring/Summer semester 2020. Please refer to our updated policies, thesis/dissertation/research guide and general information for graduate students and departments. We appreciate your cooperation and flexibility through this unusual time. Should you need assistance, please reach out to gradcollege@uni.edu. |
| Very soon, the sun will shine again. |
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Office Closed
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| Effective March 19, 2020, the Graduate College office is closed to walk-ins. Support will continue to be offered via electronic means. Please contact the Graduate College office @ gradcollege@uni.edu and (319) 273-2748 |
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Policies
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- Credit/No Credit
- Graduate students can complete a student request through April 9th to switch from graded credit to credit/no credit. Graduate students need to seek guidance from their graduate program coordinator or major professors before making the decision.
- The Graduate College will make the following exceptions for spring 2020 courses:
- Graduate students may take up to 6 credit hours as credit/no credit during spring 2020. This will be in addition to the 1 course they can take as credit/no credit. (Note: credit/no credit course may impact entry into Doctoral programs or licensure )
- Students who take a course credit/no credit during spring 2020 will still be eligible for a GA/tuition scholarship for fall 2020.
- The probation/suspension procedure will not apply if the GPA is below 3.0 for students who enroll in 3-6 hrs as credit/no credit.
- Extensions to Recency
- Graduate students who are unable to complete the degree within the time limits may request the program and the Graduate College one extension for up to 24 months. Please see the Academic Catalog for more information.
- Second extensions are not allowed. For spring 2020, summer 2020, and fall 2020, these will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Graduate College at gradcollege@uni.edu
- Incomplete Grades
- The Dean of the Graduate College can provide an exception to allow funding (i.e., GAs and Tuition Scholarships) to students with an incomplete. See the GA Handbook for more information
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Thesis & Dissertation
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The Graduate College understands the need for flexibility and time to coordinate thesis / dissertation defenses. We also have adjusted the requirements for submission to allow for this work to be done electronically. The changes are as follows:
- Students must submit an electronic copy by April 3, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. This is not expected to be a final copy but rather a copy that can be used to start the reference check to keep approvals processed on time.
- Approval pages will be submitted electronically by no later than May 1, 2020 at 4:30 p.m.
- If a defense has been completed, students will be asked to email a scanned copy or a photo of the signed hard copy approval page to gradcollege@uni.edu
- If a defense has not been completed, new electronic approval pages will be sent to students. These will only require one departmental signature (recommended either Department Head or Program coordinator).
- Committee members should email their vote to the committee chair. The chair will then collate the votes and inform the program coordinator (or delegate) via email of the student's approval and will cc: gradcollege@uni.edu
- Once the program coordinator has signed (electronically or via printing, signing, and scanning the page), they should email it to gradcollege@uni.edu.
- The student will send the final electronic copy of the thesis/dissertation to gradcollege@uni.edu by no later than May 1, 2020 at 4:30 p.m.
- Submission does not guarantee approval. An additional check will occur; further steps will be communicated to the student at the time of submission.
- There will not be a collection of print copies. The electronic copies will be stored in ScholarWorks (either accessible with permission or in a hidden drive for retention) and by the Graduate College. Programs will receive an emailed copy of all final approvals and final copies.
All appointments with the Thesis & Dissertation Reviewer will be moved to Zoom. They can be scheduled: https://uni.libcal.com/appointments/meetwithkat |
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Research Projects
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| This is ultimately up to programs to decide how to meet this requirement. Please be adaptable and flexible to maximize student graduation. |
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Student Writing and Research Support
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Graduate Assistants
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Supervisors should ensure our GAs complete responsibilities/tasks and receive their salary through the end of the semester. Supervisors should use their judgment in determining how GAs engage in their work. This may include:
- Allowing GAs to work remotely
- Helping TAs know available technology to move their class to an electronic format
- Preparing departmental-level projects that GAs can do remotely
- Note: If the student is not completing his/her duties as assigned, please inform the Grad College
Remember, GAs who travelled out of state during spring break are strongly encouraged to self-isolate for 14 days. |
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Application for Graduation
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| The deadline for completing the Application for Graduation is April 1 at 4:30 p.m. Students completing their final degree requirements during the Spring semester and plan to have a degree awarded in May should be advised to complete this item. More information can be found at Office of Registrar. |
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Updated GA and TS Dates
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| The Graduate College has decided to be flexible with deadlines related to the GA and TS process for academic year 20-21. Sending offers to students as soon as possible is advised due to ensure their enrollment and financial support status. The new dates are as follows: |
| March 27: Deadline for academic departments & support units to submit Extra Allocations and Re-Allocations Requests via online form. |
| April 15: Deadline for academic departments & support units to send GA and/or TS offers to all students. |
| April 29: Deadline for students to accept/decline offers. |
| May 6: Deadline for academic departments & support units to offer declined funding. |
| May 15: Deadline for supervisors to perform appraisal evaluation (Spring 2020 AY). |
| May 20: Deadline for students to accept/decline re-offered funding. |
| May 22: Unused GA and TS allocations will return back to the Graduate College. |
| Looking Ahead |
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Graduate Student Advising
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| Graduate Student priority registration is on March 30, 2020. |
| Coordinators should be prepared to use a variety of technologies (Zoom, email, telephones, online messaging, etc.) to meet the needs and technology access of all students. Please use the recommended communication resources for virtual advising from the IT Remote Services and Support Website for additional guidance. |
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Admissions
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| We ask that coordinators continue processing applications for Fall and Summer admission in a timely manner. The Graduate College will remain available to assist with any troubleshooting or issues you encounter with reviewing applications remotely. Please remember you cannot view application documents off-campus unless you have remote desktop access and OnBase installed on your computer. Please contact jason.cox@uni.edu with any GARP-related issues or other questions. The Graduate College will continue to remain in close contact with Admissions in navigating any changes we may need to address in the coming weeks and months. |
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PDAs and Summer Research Fellowships
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| The Graduate College is aware that faculty may need flexibility in fulfilling their PDA and summer research fellowship due to global response to the COVID-19. We are currently exploring this and more information will be forthcoming. |
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Annua
Graduate Faculty Meeting
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| Note from Chair of Graduate Faculty, Dr. Darcie Davis-Gage: Our Annual Graduate Faculty Meeting & Award Ceremony on April 16 has been cancelled due to COVID-19. |
