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NCCGS Virtual Workshop is Jan. 18

January 17, 2019 by White, Brian

The North Carolina Council of Graduate Schools (NCCGS) 2019 Virtual Workshop series launches Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. with Holistic Admissions: Why It Matters and How Programs Are Addressing It Now.

This session will be led by Steven W. Matson, Ph.D., Dean, The Graduate School, UNC-CH and Julie Shurts, Associate Director, Global Client Relations, Educations Testing Service, UNC-CH.

This workshop will examine how the combination of the right applicant skills, attributes and experiences helps achieve program goals and student success. Hear about promising practices for implementing a holistic admissions system, curated from 71 interviews with deans and faculty in graduate schools and programs nationwide.

To connect with your WebEx account:
Access code: 736 124 895

By Phone: Toll: +1-415-655-0003
Access code: 736 124 895

a. It is recommended that you use a conference phone or your desk telephone for the audio connection rather than your computer’s microphone.
b. When you click “Join Meeting” you can select “Dial In” or “Call Me” from the pull down menu. If you select “Call Me” you will be prompted to enter your phone number. The WebEx application will call your local phone number and participants will see your name when you’re speaking.
c. Don’t connect using your computer audio and your telephone as strong feedback will result.
d. A WebEx smartphone app is also available (Android and iOS)

Information on this and the entire workshop schedule is available to download.

Faculty Judges Sought for March Symposium

January 07, 2019 by White, Brian

The Graduate & Professional Student Government (GPSG) is seeking faculty volunteers to judge entries in the annual Graduate Research Symposium March 15.

The Symposium will include poster and oral presentations. Goals of the Symposium are to:

Foster and promote graduate student research
Encourage research skills including preparation and presentation
Expose students to research across the disciplines
Provide opportunities to network with faculty and peers

More information is available from the GPSG Research Symposium site. To volunteer as a judge, visit Symposium sign-up page.

Research Proposals Sought for Charlotte Incubator

December 13, 2018 by White, Brian

The City of Charlotte is seeking proposals from UNC Charlotte to conduct sustainability research and scholarly engagement through a resource called The Innovation Barn near Uptown, a 39,000 sq. ft. space the city has committed $3.4 million to renovate over the next four years.

The project has dedicated 24,000 sq. ft. of the Barn for UNC Charlotte projects. Proposals for space must be submitted by Jan. 11, 2019.

Download a copy of the Call for Proposals for details and application information.

Urge Students to Apply for Paid Summer Research Programs

December 11, 2018 by White, Brian

PathwaystoScience.org provides a searchable database of programs at to find and apply for STEM paid summer research programs.

Sponsored by the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP), the database has over 650 paid summer research programs, including programs for both undergraduate and graduate students. 60 programs have deadlines within the next 45 days.

With the site’s advanced search feature, you can filter by discipline, level of study, citizenship status, and more.

For assistance, contact Liv Detrick at IBP.

New Faculty Guide for Student Writers Available

November 29, 2018 by White, Brian

Purdue University’s Writing Lab has just released a resource to help faculty work more effectively with graduate-level writers.

The resource, Working with Graduate Student Writers (Faculty Guide), provides an accessible introduction to writing at the graduate-level. The guide presents best practices for responding to student writing, helping students to develop competence in disciplinary writing, assisting multilingual writers, working with students on theses and dissertations, and more.

To access this free resource, please follow this link: https://owl.purdue.edu/writinglab/faculty/documents/Writing_Lab_Faculty_Guide_Summer_%202018.pdf

Prepare Students for Dec 5 Spring Bill Due Date & Payment Plan Changes

November 28, 2018 by White, Brian

Students who have registered for spring classes have begun receiving their spring bills. Please review this information carefully as there are some significant changes that you should be aware of when talking to students. It is important for you to understand these changes to discuss with students if needed.

For details, please visit Niner Central.

NCUR Conference Set for April

November 26, 2018 by White, Brian

The National Council on Undergraduate Research Conference is set for Kennesaw State University April 11-13. The NCUR Conference attracts more than 3,000 with research presentations on many disciplines.

Room registration is open some hotels are already fully booked. Conference registration begins in February.

From the organizer: “NCUR provides students with the opportunity to present their scholarly research in a professional setting and interact with their peers, in addition to meeting with graduate school and corporate recruiters.”

For more information, visit the NCUR website. Hotel options are available on NCUR’s Conference Hotels site.

Dec. 13 Webinar To Cover Education Market Opportunities in Brazil, Columbia

November 21, 2018 by White, Brian

The U.S. Dept. of Commerce is sponsoring a free webinar Dec. 13 entitled Education Market Opportunities in Brazil and Colombia.

The webinar will include information on Salão do Estudante fairs coming to six major Brazilian cities in March. The events will include opportunities to meet high school counselors, agents and directors of Brazilian universities.

For more information and to register, please visit the DOC’s Exports site.

DegreeWorks Survey Published

November 16, 2018 by White, Brian

A recent survey of Graduate Program Directors assessing usage level and soliciting suggestions for improvement has been published.

The summary of results of the survey is available for download.

Dean Introduces New Leadership Award

November 14, 2018 by White, Brian

The Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award program honoring excellence in graduate program administration will launch in spring 2019.

The award will be presented to a Graduate Program Director or Graduate Program Coordinator selected by a committee of Graduate School staff, Graduate Council, Graduate and Professional Student Government and previous winners.

In launching the award, Dean Reynolds said, “In addition to managing enrollment, Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators track and manage their students while implementing programs and services to promote their success. Doing this well deserves recognition and praise.”

The award will be made annually. The winner will receive $1000, an engraved plaque, and his or her name will be engraved on a perpetual trophy.

For more information on award criteria, please download the Information Sheet. To submit a nomination, please use the Reynolds Leadership Award Google Form.

New Teaching Course Planned for Spring

October 30, 2018 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life (CGL) will introduce a new course for graduate students who teach, or undergraduates who want to learn, to identify and build effective classroom practices.

Read the full story in the Graduate School‘s News section.

GA Taps Play Therapy Association for Recruitment

October 16, 2018 by White, Brian

Graduate School graduate assistant Krystal Turner, MA, Counseling, recently participated in the annual conference of the Association of Play Therapy (APT) in Phoenix where she helped promote graduate education at UNC Charlotte and presented on the research project “Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) for Adoptive Families: Parents’ Lived Experiences.”

“We ran a booth to promote the UNC Charlotte Graduate School as well as the UNC Charlotte Multicultural Play Therapy Center,” Turner said.

Visit the Graduate School News page for the full story.

SACNAS Draws 4,000 STEM Student Candidates

October 12, 2018 by White, Brian

UNC Charlotte graduate faculty and staff attended this year’s conference of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Oct. 11-13 in San Antonio.

The Diversity in STEM conference attracted more than 4000 students, faculty and speakers who participated in poster presentations, classes, mentoring and cultural activities.

UNC Charlotte was represented by (from left) Marianne Williford, graduate admissions counselor for the Graduate School, Dr. Yvette Huet, director for the UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Diversity Office and a professor of Kinesiology, and Lauren Slane, Bioinformatics graduate program coordinator.

Events such as these provide an excellent opportunity for program directors to recruit bright, motivated students to graduate programs at UNC Charlotte. Participants are typically from underrepresented minorities with strong academic potential. Graduate Admissions sends a representative to a select number of recruitment event and provides recruitment materials to faculty, staff and students who attend.

For recruiting tips, contacts and more information on this and other recruiting opportunities, visit GPDNet’s GPD News & Info page.

CGL Offers 3MT Communication Skill Enhancement

September 26, 2018 by White, Brian

Graduate students will have an opportunity again this year to compact their thesis or dissertation into a powerful, three-minute presentation for a chance to win cash prizes and a trip to the Conference of Southern Graduate School’s annual meeting.

Through the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) program offered by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL), contestants vie for the most compelling presentation of research to an audience that may not share the same expertise. The 3MT competition originated at the University of Queensland, Australia in 2008 and has expanded worldwide.

Encourage students to register for the competition through Oct. 8 at the Center for Graduate Life.

Bill Due Date, Payment Plan Changes Coming

September 26, 2018 by White, Brian

Beginning November 12, students will begin receiving their spring bills. Please review the below information carefully as there are some significant changes that you should be aware of when talking to students.

Reason for the changes

For the past year, a committee from Academic Affairs and Business Affairs has reviewed barriers to student success and progression related to registration holds, cancellation processes, and payment plans.

On average, every semester, 845 students have their courses cancelled for non-payment during the first cancellation process, and only 56.8% of the students cancelled re-register for that term.

Based on survey results, data studies, comparison to other UNC system schools, and student feedback, the below changes will be made for the spring billing cycle in order to improve student retention.

Students will be notified of these changes in October. It is important for you to understand these changes to discuss with students if need be.

New spring bill due date: December 5

In past years, the bills for spring were due in the first week of January.
Beginning this year, the new spring bill due date is December 5.
We realize that moving the due date a few weeks earlier is a significant change, so we are providing students with advance notice of this change and giving them more time to make payments.

New payment plan splits amount due into 5 payments

Beginning with their spring bill, the optional payment plan divides their account balance into 5 payments.
This 5-payment plan allows students to pay smaller payments each month!
If students choose to sign up for the plan instead of paying their bill in full, they must do so by December 5 to avoid cancellation of classes.
A $55 setup fee is required when they opt-in to the plan.

This new 5-payment plan does NOT require a 10% down payment like the old plan.
The first payment for this plan is due December 31. The remaining payments are due Jan 31, Feb 28, Mar 31, and Apr 30.

Action date: December 5

By December 5, students need to either pay their balance in full or sign up for the payment plan.
At 11:59 p.m. on December 5, their classes will be cancelled if they haven’t paid their balance in full or signed up for a payment plan.

Nominate Your Best Master's Students

September 18, 2018 by White, Brian

Faculty nominations of student candidates for the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award will be accepted through Oct. 19.

The Master’s Thesis Award is presented annually to a student whose thesis makes an “unusually significant contribution” to their discipline. The award focuses on students who completed their master’s degree requirements and thesis between Fall 2016 and Summer 2018.

More information is on the Center for Graduate Life’s Graduate Student Competitions site.

Ventureprise Launch NSF I-Corps Seeking Research Ideas

September 05, 2018 by White, Brian

Ventureprise is seeking particpants for its fall 2018 Ventureprise Launch National Science Foundation I-Corps cohort. The six-week program provides UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students with commercialization training and an initial $3,000 in NSF funding.

The goal of the program is to identify potential commercial uses and prepare for more substantial commercialization funding opportunities, including a six-month $50,000 NSF I-Corps Teams grant.

Applications are due September 14 and the cohort begins September 21.

For a complete schedule and application, please visit the Ventureprise Launch site. For more information, contact PI Devin Collins at devin.collins@uncc.edu or 704-687-8058.

Review Your Program Dashboard

August 21, 2018 by Stanchina, Karla

As we begin a new semester, it’s a good time to review the information on your Program Dashboard. Many of you experienced a website migration over the summer, which caused your program’s web link to change. You can also update contact information or your program description. Here are some helpful instructions. Note: Because it can be confusing to the reader, it’s best not to use your Graduate Catalog page feed for this particular purpose, but instead direct students to a page within your program/department/college website. From those pages you can link to the Catalog.

Remember, the information found on your Program Dashboard, is pushed to the Graduate Admissions website for prospective student use. Should you have any questions, please use the Comment box below, or contact us in Graduate School Communications.

Misconduct Case Takes Toll on Research Program

August 14, 2018 by Stanchina, Karla

Earlier this year, important cancer research findings were retracted and the lead researcher was forced out of his job at Ohio State University after an investigation discovered evidence of falsified data in eight papers spanning as many years.*

At UNC Charlotte we have solid policies governing the conduct of researchers and an educational program to ensure research teams understand those policies. We also have instituted a Research Integrity Office to coordinate investigations into cases of possible research misconduct.

Headed by Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Tom Reynolds, the Office is responsible for investigating allegations of plagiarism, falsification, and fabrication of research materials.

“Fortunately, we see few cases of suspected misconduct,” Reynolds said. “And the ones we investigate we often can resolve without damaging the reputation of our researchers or hampering progress of the research. Still, we must be vigilant to avoid even the appearance of misconduct.”

Information on how to safely and confidentially raise questions or report possible research misconduct is located on the Graduate School’s website.

* https://news.osu.edu/news/2018/03/30/misconduct-investigation/

Team Up with the Graduate Admissions Staff at Popular Recruiting Events

July 18, 2018 by White, Brian

The Graduate Admissions team is holding seats at two popular recruiting events, but they will go fast.

Tables are reserved for the already sold out Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Indianapolis Nov. 14-17 and for the annual conference of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) set for Oct. 11-13 in San Antonio.

Events such as these provide an excellent opportunity for program directors to recruit bright, motivated, and academically excellent students to graduate programs at UNC Charlotte. Participants are typically from underrepresented minorities with strong academic potential. The SACNAS conference typically draws over 4,000 participants pursuing careers in STEM fields. ABRCMS is one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

More details on these recruitment events and other local and out-of-state opportunities are included in the Fall 2018 Recruitment Events list, which is updated regularly. Graduate Admissions sends a representative to a select number of recruitment events, and will provide recruitment materials to faculty, staff and students to support recruiting efforts at the program level.

To reserve your spot for ABRCMS or SACNAS, or to request materials to support your recruitment, contact Maryanne Maree-Sams, MaryanneMaree-Sams@uncc.edu or 704-687-7243. The Graduate School provides