The window to submit nominations for the Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award, originally set for Dec. 11, has been extended to Dec. 21.
Honoring excellence in graduate program administration, the Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award recognizes excellent leadership and outstanding service by a Graduate Program Director or Coordinator.
Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators are leadership positions for the University and play an important and pivotal role in the success of our graduate degrees. Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators must not only manage and shape the direction of their programs to ensure the academic success of their students, but must also serve as advocates for graduate education at all levels. Doing this well, deserves recognition and praise.
The recipient receives a cash award, an engraved plaque, and their name engraved on a perpetual trophy. For additional information and to submit a nomination visit the Reynolds Leadership Award web page.
The Graduate School will be transitioning Master’s forms to DocuSign during the first week of December to align with the Doctoral form procedure. DocuSign, a University-supported digital system, allows for the secure collection of signatures and proper electronic routing. These forms can be accessed on the Graduate School Forms website.
Scanned paper forms will still be accepted throughout the Spring 2021 semester.
Important: To ensure proper routing, please use the Graduate School’s form series and NOT a form previously developed by an academic unit or others. In addition, DocuSign recognizes only the UNC Charlotte NinerNet username email address and NOT an alias email address (use format: jdoe@uncc.edu, NOT jane.doe@uncc.edu).
Please refer to the university’s FAQ website for more information about DocuSign.
An exploration into how the home air conditioner can play a role in preventing a power outage won first place for Akintonde Abbas, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, in the 2020 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition coordinated by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL).
Other top presenters in this year’s competition included Amanda Sargent, Ph.D., Organizational Science, who took 2nd place for her research presentation, “Men Versus Women: Who Gets More Support for Work-Family Management?,” and Lena Etzel, Ph.D., Clinical Health Psychology, 3rd place for “The Future: A Looming Threat We can all Relate To!”
This year’s People’s Choice Award was presented to Remi Ketchum, Ph.D., Biology, for her presentation, “Some Like It Hot: Surviving in Extreme Environments.”
A full recording of this year’s 3MT competition, which was conducted online, is available from the Center for Graduate Life.
Academic Affairs and other UNC Charlotte leaders hosted a webinar addressing the interplay between SACSCOC, U.S. Department of Education and UNC System requirements and their impact upon the approval of new academic programs and changes to existing ones.
The session covered recent changes to the course and curriculum review process, the basics of “substantial change,” how “significant departure” is determined, and considerations for establishing new off-campus instructional sites.
The slide deck used in the presentation is available for download.
From the Center for Teaching and Learning: The two biggest learning challenges our students face this fall are managing their course workload and communicating with instructors about their courses. Here are some quick and easy ways to help you address these concerns with your students:
Managing Course Workload
Communication
An open house is a proven strategy for building relationships with prospective students. This Nov. 23 session will help you sharpen your skill for promoting and hosting an information session. Included are real stories from real Program Managers and Directors from Education and Social Work graduate programs who are currently hosting sessions.
Register in advance for this meeting at Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
2020 summer/fall semester new graduate students who haven’t submitted a final, official transcript with proof of batchelor’s degree will receive notification from Graduate Admissions in mid-November to meet the requirement by Nov. 29.
While some students may have submitted their transcript with their application, the university must receive an official copy directly from the student’s college. Instructions for submitting the transcript will be provided.
Please direct any questions to Kathy Giddings, Director of Graduate Admissions, KathyGiddings@uncc.edu.
UNC Charlotte was selected among the top 100 most military-friendly colleges in the US by OnlineU, a firm that provides informational guides for students.
Colleges that made the rankings participate in the government Tuition Assistance program and were scored based on the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs ratings for military culture, support, financial aid and flexibility. UNC Charlotte was ranked #33 nationally.
For more information and the full list, please visit OnlineU.
Finalists in this year’s 3MT competition will compete for your vote and prize money Nov. 13.
The 3-Minute Thesis (3MT), hosted by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL), is an international academic competition that challenges graduate students to describe their research in three minutes or less, using only one static slide. 3MT allows our graduate students to practice communicating the importance of their work to policy makers, potential funders, and the media.
For more information or to register to attend, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.
The Nov. 2 Zoom webinar, Funding Q&A Session for Faculty/Staff, is available to review. Access the Zoom recording with the passcode @K!P0^3N.
In response to the needs expressed by institutions and test takers, ETS is making the TOEFL iBT® test and GRE® General Test a continuing option.
At home testing appointments are currently available around the clock for both tests through the end of January, and future appointments will be available soon.
The home versions of the ETS tests were introduced earlier this year as a solution to students affected by COVID-19. More than 400,000 individuals have registered to take the at home tests for the TOEFL iBT test and GRE General Test in 163 countries and territories since March.
Graduate School Manager of Communications Karla Stanchina, presented on web page/site best practice during a recent lunch and learn for GPDs. Stanchina, a specialist in digital communications and user experience design, discussed what should be on a graduate program web page, and how a GPD can easily manage their information using the University’s branded templates. Review the presentation and download materials in the GPDNet Communications Toolkit.
The latest graduate student exit surveys have been updated on GPDNet under Assessments. The results are published by college along with 2019 results for comparison.
Graduate students are asked to complete the exit survey prior to completing their application to graduate.
Social media is a powerful tool for awareness and recruiting — and it’s free! In this session we will reveal best practices that are proven to get results. We will also share how the Graduate School is using social media to recruit students and build awareness of everything UNC Charlotte has to offer.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://uncc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYof-ihqDsoE9WJMt5FfkWx7ZuThhKBfMpN
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Dear Colleagues,
Congratulations on achieving another record graduate enrollment this semester! Despite unusual and challenging circumstances, your dedication to enroll the new class while simultaneously supporting continuing students is both admirable and appreciated.
Annually, we open the Projections Manager for Graduate Program Directors to submit graduation and enrollment projections for future years. The effort was delayed a bit this semester given the September start of classes, but the system is now available for your submissions. Fall 2021, 2022, and 2023 enrollment and graduation projections are due by Sunday, November 15th. The information is used to help guide your efforts to effectively manage your graduate program enrollment; it’s also vital from a University perspective to understand program capacity, future enrollments, and resources required to support graduate education. Similarly, affirming UNC Charlotte’s commitment to foster diversity and inclusion in graduate education, I encourage you to pay particular attention to ways your program enrollments might reflect a breadth of gender identities, races and ethnicities, nationalities, faith traditions, and other social categories and backgrounds.
Official enrollment and graduation data by degree and major is available via the institutional research interactive Fact Book at https://ir-analytics.uncc.edu/fact-book. To access projections and plans, log into GPDNet (https://egem.charlotte.edu), select PROGRAM DASHBOARD, select PROJECTIONS, click on your program, click on the plus sign (+) next to the 2021 projection year, and then enter data/information in the form. If you need access to the system, or if your program is not listed or needs to be modified, please email Amy Palmer at aagardi@uncc.edu.
To support your efforts to establish projections, and to answer any general questions related to managing graduate programs, two (identical) workshops will be held: one on Wednesday, October 21st, at 11 am, and another on Thursday, October 29th, at 2:30 pm (ZOOM link). I invite you to participate as needed whether you’re new to the role of Graduate Program Director or simply need a refresher on understanding program capacity and developing projections. Similarly, if you prefer a one-on-one meeting to support your efforts or a department-specific session, please email my assistant, Mrs. Amy Palmer, directly to schedule a mutually convenient time.
Additionally, the corresponding graduate enrollment management (GEM) plan that serves as a road map to achieve the projections should be developed in concert with your program’s projections and align to your college’s strategic plan. The plan is an iterative work-in-progress and should be updated regularly throughout the academic year. While it is certainly helpful to have a GEM plan in place by November 15th to support your projections, the November 15th deadline is only for the graduation and enrollment projections.
Warm regards,
Johnna (JohnnaWatson@uncc.edu)
Why the deadline?
The earlier the SEA forms are processed, the better. Students start worrying about balances owed to the University when the first e-bills are issued (at the beginning of December).
This deadline allows Financial Aid staff sufficient time to process awards to students’ accounts prior to the first cancellation for nonpayment (Jan. 13), and for the Graduate School to reallocate Graduate Assistant Support Plan (GASP) funds to support additional students.
Deadline to submit forms is Jan. 7
All SEA forms for spring 2021 term awards should be submitted by Jan. 7. Please communicate this deadline broadly to all in your departments who are involved with issuing student educational awards, including grant-funded participant stipends.
If SEA forms are not processed by this date, students will be at risk of class cancellation for non-payment for the spring term.
Reminder of best practices
Check the student’s registration in Banner before completing the SEA form to ensure you submit the correct payment amount for tuition and/or fees.
The SEA report in Report Central is your best friend. This report gives you a clear picture of what grant(s) your student is already receiving. (Remember the data on the report is from the prior day.)
After you submit a SEA form, review the SEA report regularly while the Spring registration period is open to monitor your students for any changes in their registered credit hours.
On the SEA form, one input field indicates the minimum number of credit hours required for the award to disburse. If the student is registered for fewer credit hours than required, the award will remain as “memoed” on their financial aid record.
Faculty may nominate students for the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award through Oct. 15, 2019.
The Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award is a part of the Graduate School’s focus on enhancing research skills. For more information, please visit the Center for Graduate Life’s Research Skills website.
Nomination information, fields of competition and more is available from the Graduate School.
If you have questions, please contact Julie Green, jhgreen@uncc.edu, Master’s Thesis Student Services and Fellowship Specialist.
