These workshops focus on WebEx and Canvas for instruction and general communication with students.
Please visit the CTL for more information.
The Center for Graduate Life is working to convert some workshops and all courses so that they can be delivered virtually. The CGL space is currently closed, but most services and all staff will be available via email, phone or WebEx, as appropriate. They have confirmed the following virtual services for UNC Charlotte graduate students with more to come:
Social distancing measures related to the Coronavirus may prevent a thesis or dissertation committee from meeting face-to-face. When illness or caution prevent someone on the committee from attending the defense, remote participation is appropriate.
The Graduate School will be very flexible regarding defenses. Committee chairs and students should agree on the best method for a given defense. ALL committee members must participate in the defense, whether in person or virtually. This flexibility extends to students who need to defend remotely.
It is the chair’s responsibility to ensure that all committee members sign-off on the final defense form. Scanned signatures are allowed and additional time will be extended so that a form can be signed by all members. When this is not possible, we will accept the defense form with the chair’s signature, accompanied by emails from each committee member stating their approval.
Please remember that milestone forms are needed in order for the Graduate School to clear students for graduation. Please do your best to send the forms electronically as soon as possible following a defense.
Final and proposal defense thesis forms should be sent to Julie Green (jhgreen@uncc.edu) and final and proposal defense dissertation forms should be sent to Aura Young (Aura.Young@uncc.edu).
This flexible interpretation of our policy will remain in effect for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester.
Existing contracts for GAs should not be shortened or reduced in hours except under the most extreme circumstances. If a program wishes to change a contract for any reason, they should contact the Graduate School at gradassist@uncc.edu first to discuss. As a reminder, under this special circumstance only, GAs are eligible for Paid Administrative Leave as long as they remain on their current contract. It is critical to keep a student’s contract in place to ensure no disruption in the students’ pay. The Graduate School monitors any change or cancellation of a graduate assistantship.
With closures to many testing centers around the world, particularly in China, we encourage holistic review of available application materials for 2020 summer and fall applicants. In light of required English language proficiency and testing center closures abroad, Graduate Admissions is investigating the possibility of using a Remote English Proficiency Assessment tool on an interim basis. Stay tuned on more information.
Of utmost importance is the timely review of application materials for applicants so they may be nominated for graduate assistantships and funding prior to the April 15th National Signing Day. If you need assistance with the review process, please contact Graduate Admissions.
With your help, we can enroll the 2020 fall class. If you don’t already, please consider the following:
The Center for Teaching and Learning has developed an extensive resources to help faculty remain productive during crisis.
Included are a worksheet to help develop a continuity plan for courses and tips for staying productive while working remotely.
Learn more by visiting the CTL’s website
In the coming days, the UNC System and our Chancellor will be issuing guidance as to how various units work through the coronavirus pandemic. We do plan to operate under the guidance provided.
Please know that GPDNet will be an active resource for the most up-to-date information regarding Graduate School process and policy. Our goal is to be as flexible as possible with graduate students and faculty when it comes to graduate enrollment management, graduate academic affairs and graduate student affairs. Next week we will launch an FAQ here on GPDNet as a new resource. We will also send out email blasts to our GPD/C audience as warranted by changes and updates. Once again, please bookmark GPDNet, and use the Comments box below if you have questions you’d like answered by Graduate School staff.
ETS announced this week they are implementing a secure online GRE and TOEFL® testing solution to allow students in some areas affected by the coronavirus outbreak to take the test from home until test centers reopen.
In a related move, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) has published a list of testing centers that have been temporarily closed and is encouraging students who are ill to stay away.
ETS said, in a published statement, “We are targeting this solution to be introduced by the end of March in selected locations outside Mainland China. ETS is also working closely with the relevant government agencies in Mainland China on ways to launch this solution there as soon as possible.”
For updates on testing, visit IELTS or check “Important Updates” on the ETS website.
Concerns over the spread of coronavirus has delayed the annual convention of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), originally planned for San Antonio in late-March. The event will be rescheduled.
Another recruiting opportunity will be available when the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) holds its annual conference in September. The conference will be held at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando Sept. 21-24.
For updates on both conferences, please visit NSBE and NOBCChE.
The Graduate School will conduct an information session March 18th from 12-1 pm for University employees who wish to pursue their graduate education. Graduate School staff will explain the easy application process, and share information about the tuition waiver and free textbook rental programs. The session will be held in Cato 248.
Full-time employees can take three classes per year, tuition free. Additionally, employees can apply easily apply for admission as a post-baccalaureate (non-degree) student, without standardized tests, transcripts, or recommendation requirements.
To reserve your seat, complete the online registration.
The School of Data Science is accepting research proposals through Mar. 15 for summer 2020 funding.
This grant opportunity provides up to $30,000 per award for UNC Charlotte and partnering faculty and researchers. Proposals must be submitted by teams composed primarily of UNC Charlotte researchers.
Proposals must be submitted as one single PDF via email to jhertel@ucc.edu. For more information, visit the School of Data Science.
The Office of Undergraduate Research, the Graduate School and other community partners will be celebrating the exciting research that is happening at UNC Charlotte through a partnership with Discovery Place Science. We are recruiting both undergraduate and graduate students to present their research at this event. The event will take place at Discovery Place Science on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 from 10 am-1 pm.
For more information on this event or how to sign up, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research, 704-687-5316, or undergradresearch@uncc.edu. Students can also sign up online at Discovery Place Science Participation Form.
The call for participation for this event will close on February 10, 2020.
Aura Young, Assistant Director of Professional Development and Doctoral Support for the Graduate School, recently was named to the board of the U.S. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Association (USETDA).
USETDA is a non-profit association that develops and disseminates best practices information for electronic thesis and dissertation submission.
Young has led thesis and dissertation administration for UNC Charlotte since 2017. She holds a master’s degree from Duke University and a PhD from Yale University.
Dr. Manuel Perez Quinones, College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) professor and Graduate School Faculty Fellow, was named a Distinguished Member by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for his outstanding contributions to computing education.
For more information, please visit the College of Computing and Infomatics.
Dr. Florence Martin, Education Leadership, is the recipient of the inaugural Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award for excellence in graduate program administration. She is a professor in Learning, Design and Technology, Graduate Program Director (GPD) of the Post-Master’s Certificate of University and College Teaching and Program Coordinator of the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Learning, Design and Technology.
For more information on Dr. Martin and the Graduate Program Leadership Award, please view Recent News on the Graduate School website.
On June 28, the Federal Student Aid office of the U.S. Depart of Education (DOE), issued a notification that a “rule rescinding the Department’s gainful employment regulations” would be published in the Federal Register.
The new rule includes instructions for how institutions can do should they choose early implementation.
Institutions that do not early implement the rule are expected to comply with the 2014 rule until the rescission becomes effective on July 1, 2020.
To read the entire memo, please visit the Federal Student Aid website.
Dr. Chuang Wang, Professor of Educational Research and 2018 recipient of the 2018 Harshini V. De Silva Graduate Mentor Award, was recently selected to receive the UNC Charlotte’s 2019 International Education Faculty Award.
More information on Dr. Wang’s latest award can be found in the Academic Affairs Weekly Digest.
Yuehan Shao, Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, and Katie Wilkers, MS, Kinesiology, were named Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistants (TA) for 2018-19.
More information on the awards can be found in Graduate School News.
UNC Charlotte Chancellor’s Professor Steven Rogelberg is the 2019 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal, UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious faculty award in recognition of excellence in research. He was honored formally at an awards ceremony Tuesday, April 2, at the Harris Alumni Center at Johnson Glen.
Read more on Inside UNC Charlotte.
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) recently released its annual International Graduate Admissions Survey report, revealing a second consecutive year of decline in international graduate applications in the U.S.
Nationally, the 240 colleges and universities participating in the survey had a 4% decline in international graduate applications, and a 1% decline in first-time enrollment from 2017-18. For the same period, UNC Charlotte’s international graduate applications declined 21%, while first-time enrollment actually increased by almost 15%.
CGS attributed the slowdown in international graduate applications to “uncertainty over U.S. visa policies, political rhetoric regarding immigration and strained relations with China.” Hardest hit fields were engineering, physical and earth sciences and public administration and services.
“UNC Charlotte is a great place for international students to call home,” said Johnna Watson, Associate Dean for Graduate Enrollment. “They choose us because of our stellar faculty and graduate programs, but also because of the warm welcome provided by the entire University community and the City of Charlotte.”
More information on the study is available from the Council of Graduate Schools.
