GPS General Meeting

October 23, 2008

10:00-11:30 a.m.

Kyle Morrow Room

Introductions Celeste Boudreaux

Paula Sanders, Dean Celeste Boudreaux,

Assistant Dean Cindy Wilkes, Budget &

Financial Aid Manager

Kate Wright, Admissions & Enrollment Manager

Carol Schanzmeyer, Technical Projects Manager

Neshia Brown, Executive Assistant

Oversight of graduate programs

Administration of GPS office; assisting dean

Stipends, grad PAs, tuition waivers, fellowships, medical insurance subsidies, reduced rate tuition, away status

Admissions process, GSDB, academic progress, enrollment statuses

CollegeNET applications, GSDB

Thesis submissions, answering main line and graduate@rice.edu

A word from the Dean Dr. Paula Sanders

“We must strengthen our graduate and postdoctoral programs to attract and recruit high-caliber students and young researchers.”

Policy 501-01 Our guiding principles:

*accountability

*institutional integrity

*quality assurance

*equity

*efficiency

Celeste

Boudreaux Current and Upcoming Projects

Online grad PA GradTrack: student

tracking system Electronic processing of

new matriculants via Esther

GradShare

NEW!

Online Grad PA

Project approved and funded Admin Systems will be working on this year Uses Banner Web Apps (Edgar) When you put in an existing grad student’s

name/ID, will pull in info currently in Banner You change what needs to be changed or

added Route for electronic signatures Check status of PA in grad PA queue Let Celeste know if you’d like to be on the

development committee

GradTrack

Grad student tracking system Currently being developed by IT’s Web Services Will pull together info from different systems into

a single reporting tool to track students from recruitment through alum

Will integrate with existing GSDB and interface with other systems, including Banner and Millennium

No data should be entered twice in different systems

GradTrack, continued

Departments able to customize user defined fields and design and produce custom reports available as Excel or PDF downloads.

Produce class lists, graduation lists, create mail merge files, e-mail lists, load prospects from a spreadsheet

Conversion of historical data from separate department systems will be separate projects at department expense

Working on issue with Banner security

Electronic Processing – Esther Virtually paperless processing of incoming

grad students Launched in Fall 08 for undergrads Focus group meetings underway Focus groups will develop general templates

Each department able to customize own template

Includes questionnaires to collect additional data from new students

Electronic Processing, cont.

Inform them about your department plans for orientation, training, welcome events, academic advising, class registration, payroll documentation needed, etc.

Collect electronic forms using electronic signatures

Advertise various special interest groups, solicit participation, collect sign-ups

Future uses of Esther for communication and/or exchange of documents with grad students: posting of individualized academic deadlines, thesis submission info

GradShare

Online graduate student community Sponsored by ProQuest (UMI dissertation

services) Graduate student issues discussion board When grad students log in as Rice students,

will see a column on the right with links to Rice-specific resources

GradShare will launch today!

Other News & Developments

GradNews: Submission of achievements for 2007-08

starts this week Due by November 10th

GPS website: Will undergo major overhaul in next 6

months!

GPS Navigators Advisory Group

Bridgitt Ayers, Physics & Astronomy Linda Evans, English Joyce Galiette, Technology Transfer Daria Lawrence, CAAM Rachel Miller, Dean of

Natural Sciences Ann Mikus, Political Science Debra Purtee, Office of

Research

Grad Coordinator Support

Grad Coordinator Mentoring “Office of Graduate

Studies” Oracle calendar Grad Studies Notebook

Optional Training Modules

Sign up at table by the door: Recruiting Roundtable GSDB 2.0 training Admissions Roundtable Tuition waivers: qualifications, setting up,

relation to stipend, exception requests

More optional training modules

Enrollment statuses: Leaves of absence, withdrawal, disenrollment, away status

Stipends and graduate PA forms Fellowships and training grants:

administration of tuition, fee, insurance and other designated funds

Data reporting: getting the info you need from Banner, the GSDB and other sources for reports and surveys

OISS Updates Sandra Bloem-Curtis

New OISS website Quick procedure updates Summer International College

GSDB 2.0 Carol Schanzmeyer

“Go Live” Date is Nov. 4th! Login is now with NETID New functions will be rolled out on a

bi-weekly basis Online letters of recommendation and other

online documents added Fee waiver request emails 2009: Focus groups with departments to

continue improvements

GSDB 2.0 Home Page

IMPROVED!

GSDB 2.0 Edit Page

Online LOR –Student View

Link to CollegeNET Help

Confidentiality Statement

Online LOR – Recommender

Online Application - Main Menu

Returning applicants can continue

application, review activity, change

password

New applicants have 2 places to link to the

application as well as directions and

forms for forgotten username/password

Currently non-degree seeking applicants

must fill out a paper application

Online Application – Review Activity

Status of online LOR by recommender

Multiple applications

allowed

Kate Wright

Changes to Petition for Candidacy

REMOVED: Conferral check boxes Date applicant fulfilled

requirements Language requirements (now

part of departmental checklist) “Return to Graduate Studies” at

the bottom

Checklist or description of how

student has met department’s

requirements for candidacy

Now either chair or director of graduate

studies can sign with their approval.

Now coordinators sign so that students

don’t turn it in directly without all the needed parts.

Returned to the coordinator first,

then to GPS so you can make a copy.

# 4 on New Candidacy Petition: The Checklist

Every department is different, this is customizable to match YOUR department.

Will reduce questions and clarifications and decrease turn around time.

If a checklist is started when a student starts, it can be used as a tracking system that will help you know when they’ve reached candidacy.

# 4 on New Candidacy Petition: Checklist Samples

HELPS DEPARTMEN

T AND STUDENT

TRACK PROGRESS

Shows each requirement and what was done to fulfill it (and when)

Shows what courses the department

counts toward total credit hours.

NEW!

# 4 on New Candidacy Petition: Checklist Samples

Color coded to match highlighting

on transcript.

# 4 on New Candidacy Petition: Checklist Samples

IMPROVED!

Thesis Submission Website

Soon the thesis submission packet (green & blue packets) will be fully available online for students to print before they submit their thesis.

One Stop,

all the forms…

Thesis Submission Website

This is so that the forms are up to date and aren’t lost between candidacy and thesis submission (sometimes several years).

Designated Thesis Submission Hours

Starting January 2009 submission hours will be:

1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Monday – Friday or by appointment

(x 4002).

Hours will extend to 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. two weeks before each semester deadline.

Cindy Wilkes

General Financial Information

Tuition worksheets Spring tuition worksheets are

due Friday October 31, 2008 Payroll download will show

you each student’s current funding source and the student title: RA, TA or fellow

Revisions to tuition support

Stipends

Rule: Must be enrolled fulltime to receive a grad stipend.

First spring semester paycheck (Jan. 15) WILL BE HELD pending registration of at least 9 hours!

PA’s for the Spring semester-tentative duedate will be Monday January 5, 2009

Tuition Waivers

Full time Graduate Student Must be receiving stipend support as

an RA, TA, or Fellow at the minimum levels.

When exceptional case arises, you may submit a “Tuition waiver exception request”

Tuition Awards

Graduate Studies should be made aware of any tuition awards received both within Rice and outside of Rice

Outside awards with no specific budget will be applied first to tuition costs. If any funds are still available after tuition has been fully covered, and if the grant allows it, they may be applied next to required fees, then to health insurance.

RICE POLICY

GPS General Meeting

Thanks for coming!

(Don’t forget to sign up for training modules!)