Departments and programs are expected to have their own minimum guidelines, which may mimic the A&S rules or be stiffer still. It is important that these rules be clearly posted on the departmental www site and that they be made known to students.
Offices and Contact information
Dr. Pfeffer has an office in Bingham Humanities 328A; she also has an office in Gardiner 10B (garden level). Dr. Pfeffer’s email is pfeffer@louisville.edu.
Rick VanIttersum, her staffperson, has an office in Gardiner Hall 10A (garden level). His phone number is 852.3397; his email: rick.vanittersum@louisville.edu
Dr. Pfeffer receives mail sent to her departmental address (CML) or to the dean’s office.
Every department in A&S has least one graduate degree.
Some departments have degrees that combine undergraduate and graduate work.
Students taking undergraduate courses that will apply also to the graduate degree are expected to complete graduate-level work in those (frequently cross-listed) courses.
For students who complete these degree programs, it is recommended that a Transfer of Credit form be completed (see below), so that the Registrar can recognize the undergraduate courses as forming part of the graduate degree.
Some departments have doctoral degrees.
There also exist a growing number of certificate programs in A&S, some based within a single department; others interdisciplinary.
A student can be admitted in good standing = application is complete.
If student is admitted with provisions (essentially, an incomplete application, missing pieces, such as letters of recommendation, transcripts, test scores if required), DGS needs to keep track of the missing pieces, confirming that they do arrive.
A student can be admitted as a probationary student, under “special conditions” which must be made clear to the student in the letter of admittance. Examples can include a requirement to take certain preparatory course work in the first semester or to complete some other requirement specific to this student. This category can be useful for a student who does not meet all the normal criteria for admission.
Department sends a letter telling students they’ve been admitted (once all processes are completed). Although SIGS offered to send letters in the past, they are ending that practice.
Letter should include
Student’s ID number
Student’s residency status for tuition purposes (resident or non-resident)
Information regarding admissions status:
provisional?
probationary?
normal?
Copy of the letter should stay in the department
An e-copy of this letter should be sent to A&S Advising for e-files (asgrad@louisville.edu).
GTAships
Technically separate from admissions
GTA letters of offer have contractual status. Be sure to include:
Something about the benefits of the GTAship (salary and tuition remission, at a minimum)
Details about what the GTA has to do
What constitutes failure by the GTA to meet obligations, with specific mention that these actions can lead to loss of GTAship
Other Important Items
SIGS has a forms www page, with these forms available on-line: GA Waiver Request, Listserv Removal Request, Nomination Form for Graduate Student Award or Honors, Ph.D. Qualifying Comps Exam Results, Results of Ph.D. Qualifying Comps Exam, Recruitment Visit Evaluation Form, Request to Schedule Thesis/Dissertation Final Oral Examination, and Tuition Remission Form. The URL is https://graduate.louisville.edu/forms. Note that, SIGS may be changing all its URLs shortly. The URLs given here are correct as of 2/3/2010.
The master list of mentors is maintained by Dr. Pfeffer and Dr. Buchanan--either one can answer questions about who is on the list. Their staffpeople, Rick VanIttersum and LyShanna Cunningham, can also answer questions about who is on the list.
All committee members must be members of Graduate faculty in A&S
Committee members not in A&S need ad-hoc appointments to graduate status in A&S
The chair of the department should write a letter to Dr. Buchanan requesting an ad hoc graduate appointment for these faculty. Attach a current CV to the memo.
UofL faculty, if they are NOT A&S faculty members, need ad-hoc appointments within A&S if they are to serve on a thesis committee.
Medical School faculty, for example, may hold graduate status in that School, but this does not grant them that status within A&S.
Send the committee form to Dr. Pfeffer for college signature
Thesis/Dissertation Final Oral Examination Schedule
Confirm that the principal advisor holds mentor status.
Send form to Dr. Pfeffer for college signature.
Note that SIGS is supposed to be notified 2 weeks before the oral defense. In order to accommodate that schedule, please send forms to A&S 16 days before date of exam.
It has been noted that a student is capable of completing this form without any departmental signature. SIGS has been notified of this concern; we can hope they will address it.
Change of grade
Please remember to indicate why the grade change is requested, e.g. completion of work, recalculation of grade by faculty member.
Send the form to Dr. Pfeffer for college signature.
Independent Study forms
Complete upper part of form.
Get signatures in department or program.
Be sure to assign a title to the course. Remember that titles can have no more than 24 characters (spaces count).
Send to Dr. Pfeffer for college signatures.
Students can hand-carry these forms.
Late drop/add forms
Students who request late drops need good advising. If these students are receiving funding, it is important that their status (full vs. part-time) not change as a result of the schedule change.
Graduate students do NOT complete the forms for late drop/add used by undergraduate students.
Students can hand-carry these forms.
Alternatively, the DGS can help the student accomplish this purpose by email. Be sure to include Courtney Kerr in the loop (courtney.kerr@louisville.edu).
The student or DGS can begin the form on line (much depends on what the variance is for), but it will need to be printed for subsequent signatures and approvals.
Leave of Absence
Students need to initiate this form, giving reasons for leave and specific dates requested.
Leave of absence can be a useful tool in dealing with time to degree (approval stops the clock).
Students will need to follow procedures when they come back to class/the U.
Time Extension
Students need to provide strong reasons explaining why they have not completed their degrees within the allotted timeframe.
DGS can add supporting arguments.
Students should also spell out how much more time they need.
Not all requests are granted.
Transfer Credit
The one request that probably does start with the DGS.
Be sure to attach to the variance form a copy of the transcript showing courses; there is also a form from the Registrar’s Office that needs to accompany the variance request.
Old rules: coursework had to be no more than 6 years old at time of matriculation
New rules (as of Fall 2009): coursework has to be no more than 3 years old at time of matriculation.
Exceptions can be made, but will require strong arguments for currency of the coursework in question.
Overload
Students need to explain why they need the overload and how extra coursework will not impede their progress.
The DGS might add a word here too, noting the student’s GPA, for example.
Residency
This request has nothing to do with where the student lives and everything to do with how many hours of coursework have been completed at UofL for a UofL degree.
Masters Time Limitation
Normal time to degree for the Master’s is 6 years.
Students need to provide strong reasons why they haven’t completed their degree within that time frame.
Other
This option demonstrates that this form can be used for many things. Permission to do something out of the ordinary might constitute an example of “Other.” Make a strong case and see how SIGS rules.
Graduate Orientation
A&S assigns to departments the responsibility to provide discipline-specific appropriate orientation for new and continuing students.
SIGS continues to provide some new student and new GTA training before the beginning of the Fall semester.
It is recommended that departmental orientation occur no later than the week immediately before the beginning of the Fall semester.
Departments may wish to consider the need for another orientation session before the beginning of the Spring semester. If not needed, such orientation need not occur.
The College of Arts and Sciences encourages departments to include diversity training in their orientation activities.
Dismissals and Probation--official notification comes from the Dean of A&S.
Probation
If a department seeks to place a student on probation, give the Assistant Dean the arguments (e-mail will work).
Be sure to provide a mechanism by which the student can come off probation, e.g.
Raising GPA
Passing exams
If the dean supports the request, the dean will write a letter to the student, incorporating both the rationale for probation and the mechanisms for coming off probation.
Only the dean can dismiss a student.
Provide dean with reasons why a department seeks to dismiss a student. Some examples of reasons:
Poor grades
Dangerous lab activities
Failure to pass comprehensive exams
Academic Dishonesty
Procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty vary from faculty member to faculty member and from department to department. Regardless, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty should be discouraged at all times. UofL policy is stated in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities (Sections 5. and 6.) and is available online at: http://louisville.edu/dos/policies-and-procedures/code-of-student-rights-and-responsibilities.html
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