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.
The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently conducted an audit of F-1 students working in the United States through the Optional Practice Training (OPT) program. OPT allows international students to work in their field of study after graduation for up to 12 months, with a possibility for a 24 month extension for those who earned STEM degrees.
ISSO reminds us of a few important points:
As a service, ISSO monitors all immigration-related announcements and proudly serves the UNC Charlotte international community with advising, programming, and referral services. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact them.
Honoring her many contributions to student success and graduate program management, Lara Vetter was presented with the 2020 Reynolds Leadership Award in a ceremony last week. Although they couldn’t attend, several of her English master’s students offered praise to her tireless efforts in support of graduate education. Read more.To provide accommodations during the fall 2020 semester, UNC Charlotte has expanded its withdrawal practices to allow students to withdraw with extenuating circumstances (WE) if they have personal issues that have negatively impacted their studies as a result of COVID-19. Course withdrawals for this reason will not count against any institutional limits. Withdrawals prior to the deadline of November 3 are automatically converted to a WE. No additional documentation will be necessary. After November 3, students must submit a Graduate Academic Petition to the Graduate School. Please note that graduate students are not held to a withdrawal cap.
The Graduate School continues to navigate rapidly evolving conditions, including COVID-related consulate/embassy closures affecting the issuance of new visas, travel restrictions, and economic volatility, but will continue to try and support funding for new students admitted to the Spring 2021 as budget becomes available. As necessary, students may be placed on a funding waitlist.
If you are uncertain if funding is secured for a new Spring 2021 student, please check eGPS for details. Please feel free to attend one of our bi-weekly Question/Answer Drop-in Session with the Graduate School’s Funding Team. Visit the GPDNet Calendar for dates. And, as always, the Funding Team is available via email, virtual meet or phone.
The Graduate School is happy to announce the end of yet another paper-based system. Also known as the Doctoral Form Series, all Exam Reports, Committee Appointment, Proposal/Final Defense, ETD and Embargo forms will be transitioning to DocuSign, effective October 14. 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 however.
Important: In order to ensure proper routing, please make sure to only use the Graduate School’s Form Series and NOT a Form previously developed by an academic unit or otherwise. In addition, DocuSign’s routing system only recognizes UNC Charlotte NinerNet username email addresses and NOT alias email addresses (use format: jdoe@uncc.edu, NOT jane.doe@uncc.edu).
Please refer to the university’s FAQ website for more information about DocuSign.
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.
The Young Professionals of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte (YPWACC) and the Office of International Programs will host a panel discussion on graduate school via Zoom Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. Panelists will address how to select an internationally-focused program, prepare a competitive application.
For more information and to register, please visit the YPWACC registration page.
BuzzFeed News Editor Craig Silverman addresses “Election 2020: How to Verify What You Read, See and Hear Online,” in a Zoom conference Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. hosted by J. Murray Atkins Library.
For more information and to register, please visit Atkins Library.
Graduate Admissions will host a webinar Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. to share best practices for recruiting graduate students. Admissions staff continually monitor nationwide recruiting trends in graduate education and will share effective strategies for recruiting the most diverse and best qualified applicants.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://uncc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMoce-trD8uHNQo5SpVGMAyW7p6b89GVCJU
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The ISSO has fielded several inquiries related to the Chancellor’s recent announcement and its impact on international student enrollment. They offer some clarifications as follows:
Per Tarek Elshayeb, ISSO Director, “Based on our standing interpretation of the Fall 2020 SEVP-issued immigration guidance, newly admitted international students (excluding transfers and change of education level) who entered the U.S. before the Chancellor’s September 22nd announcement, and who meet both requirements below, remain in valid F-1 status.”
The requirements are:
“As long as these students meet the criteria above, their immigration status will not be adversely affected if their courses classified as either “in-person” or “hybrid” remain fully online from October 1st to December 23rd in light of UNC Charlotte’s September 22nd announcement, adds Elshayeb. “These students will be able to fulfill the U.S. government’s Fall 2020 COVID-19 enrollment requirements and maintain their F-1 status.”
Additional questions can be sent to ISSO or found on their FAQs.
Graduate students will have an opportunity again this year to compact their thesis or dissertation into a powerful, three-minute presentation.
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.
Ventureprise is seeking research ideas with potential commercial application from UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students. The program provides commercialization training and up to an initial $5000 in NSF funding.
The goal of the program is to identify potential commercial uses and prepare for more substantial commercialization funding opportunities. Ventureprise® is UNC Charlotte’s innovation and entrepreneurship center serving the campus and Charlotte region as a center of excellence for evidence based entrepreneurship.
The next stage is a six month $50,000 NSF I-Corps Teams grant. The cohort will begin October 8 (rolling applications; last day to submit is October 2). A complete schedule and application form can be found on the NSF I-Corps webpage. Contact: Devin Collins or Laura Smailes.
Congratulations to the 2020 Graduate School Fellowship Award Recipients! We are so proud of you, your academic accomplishments, as well as your dedication and commitment in attaining your advanced degrees. We also want to say thank you to the generous donors who have the vision and foresight to give selflessly of their time and treasure in order to help our graduate students be successful. Your gifts also help support research that cannot be found anywhere else in the region and bring internationally recognized faculty to instruct our students on cutting edge issues. We couldn’t do this without you. Thank You!
ETS recently announced updates on GRE testing through the TOEFL iBT® Special Home Edition and GRE® General Test at home, and the expansion of in-person testing in China.
TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and the GRE General Test at home have been extended through October, possibly later. Home testing remains available even in areas where test centers have reopened so that students have a choice.
The Chinese government’s National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) expanded the number of test dates and test centers through the end of September for the in-person TOEFL iBT test and GRE General Test.
