Organization of Graduate Studies

M.J. Soileau, Ph.D.	Interim Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
Patricia Bishop, Ph.D	Director of Graduate Studies
	(407) 823-6432...................pbishop@mail.ucf.edu
Tracy Jones	Coordinator, Admissions and Registration
	(407) 823-2766......................tjones@mail.ucf.edu
Debra Winter	Asst. Director, Thesis and Publications Editor
	(407) 823-3567......................editor@mail.ucf.edu
TBA	Fellowships Coordinator
	(407) 823-6497...................gradfaid@mail.ucf.edu
Joanne Muratori	Academic Coordinator
	(407) 823-6432..................jmurator@mail.ucf.edu
Solan Ngan	Specialist, Computer Applications
	(407) 823-2846.....................nsolan@mail.ucf.edu
The Office of Research and
Graduate Studies Website	......................................http://www.orgs.ucf.edu

The Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies is responsible for overseeing all activities related to research and graduate studies at UCF. The Director of Graduate Studies oversees the admissions, records, policies, appeals, and graduation of graduate students. Graduate Studies works in conjunction with the Faculty Senate Committees and the college and department graduate coordinators and is responsible for developing university-wide graduate policies, coordinating graduate activities, distributing tuition fee waivers to the colleges, assisting with the adoption of new graduate programs, and coordinating recruitment of graduate applicants and admitting graduate students to the university. Students apply to the university through this office and their files are sent to the colleges and departments for enrollment decisions. Graduate student records are kept indicating the status of the student and are updated by this office as students progress through their academic programs. Any policy questions about graduate issues should be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies, the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee, or the Graduate Council. Operational procedures should be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies (AD 243) or to the individual college or department coordinators. The Coordinator, Admissions and Registration supervises the day-to-day workflow associated with processing graduate applications and making changes to student records. She works with the colleges and their staff, as well as with other UCF offices, concerning graduate applicants and students. In addition, the Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that residency requirements for tuition purposes and Board of Regents policies and practices are implemented in Graduate Studies. She reports to the Director of Graduate Studies. The Thesis and Publications Editor is responsible for assisting graduate students in preparing theses and dissertations. The goal is to support students, faculty, and staff through the thesis/dissertation process and to facilitate effective scholarly communication. In support of these efforts, the editor holds workshops for graduate students to provide guidance and explain in detail the policies and procedures associated with writing a thesis or dissertation. The editor performs the final review and ensures that all theses and dissertations are acceptable to University Microfilms International (UMI) standards. The Fellowships Coordinator is responsible for keeping the office up-to-date on changes in financial assistance for graduate students. The coordinator formulates and recommends policies and procedures to effectively administer programs for graduate students in areas of fellowships, assistantships, tuition waivers, and other forms of support for graduate students. In addition, the coordinator assists in resolving specific graduate student financial assistance problems, and in disseminating information in regard to university rules. The Academic Coordinator handles Course Action Requests and Special Topics for the Graduate Council, serves as a liaison for the Graduate Policy and Curriculum and Graduate Coordinators committees, and coordinates the graduation certification process for the university. The coordinator also records information, petitions, appeals and handles grade change requests and traveling scholar forms. The Specialist, Computer Applications responds to external surveys concerning enrollment information, provides summary information for the programs concerning the inquiry, admissions, and registration processes, and designs and maintains database information important to the functioning of Graduate Studies. College and Department Coordinators College Graduate Coordinators work with Graduate Studies to coordinate graduate department activities, recruit graduate students, distribute fee waivers to the departments, ensure program standards for the colleges, and prepare an annual report to Graduate Studies on their activities. The Program Coordinators work with the College Graduate Coordinators and are responsible for recruiting graduate students, distributing tuition fee waivers to individual students, ensuring program standards in their department, and preparing an annual report to the College Graduate Coordinators on their activities. Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee The Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee is a standing committee of the Faculty Senate and reports to the Senate on Graduate Policy and Curriculum matters. The Committee consists of 14 members, at least five of whom are current Faculty Senate members. The composition of the committee consists of a nonvoting library representative, two members from each college, except Arts and Sciences which has four. The Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies are ex-officio members of this committee. The Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee deals with policy issues and standards for the university. New graduate program requests are reviewed by the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee. The program proposals will be sent to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies for initial review. The proposal may undergo some editing changes, corrections, and format changes to meet Board of Regents requirements. Once the final program review request is ready, it is forwarded to the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee for final approval. The Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee will then transmit its recommendations to the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies for submittal to the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Board of Regents. Duties of the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee: Reviews and recommends university-wide graduate policies and standards. Reviews all new proposals for Board of Regents planning and implementation of graduate programs including deletion of existing programs. Reviews all matters referred by the Graduate Council. Transmits its recommendations to the Faculty Senate Steering Committee, which normally submits these recommendations to Graduate Studies on behalf of the Provost. Graduate Council A subcommittee, the Graduate Council, hears petitions for variances from graduate policies and procedures, reviews graduate course action requests, and monitors the maintenance of graduate program quality. The Graduate Council consists of six faculty members, one representative from each College except for Arts and Sciences, which has two members, and the Director of Graduate Studies who serves as an ex-officio member. Recommendations concerning petitions and course action requests will normally be forwarded from the Graduate Council to Graduate Studies for action. Course action requests will then be forwarded to the Board of Regents for common course numbering. A student petition will be considered in the Graduate Council when the department and college have reviewed the request and denied the petition or when the student is requesting exception to university policies or regulations. Results of student petitions will be forwarded from the Graduate Council to the Graduate Studies Office, which will notify the student and department of the action taken and return the file to the department. Duties of the Graduate Council (Subcommittee): Reviews annual reports from all the colleges on the status of the graduate programs and makes necessary recommendations to the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee. Reviews graduate course additions, revisions, and deletions. Reviews new tracks, options, or speciality areas proposed within an existing degree-granting program. Hears academic exceptions to graduate policy and procedures from students or coordinators after consideration by the department and college. Reviews all graduate programs on a periodic basis, including the five-year SUS Program Review. Recommends the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award Recipient each year. Recommends to the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee policies and procedures which it deems appropriate.