Graduate Programs and Registration Policy
Resources for Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Programs
What can graduate chairs or directors do to plan for the next academic year?
Graduate chairs and directors should know the eligibility criteria as well as the process for your program to obtain resources for tuition support from your school or college. Please inform your faculty, staff, and students about your departmental process for obtaining tuition support.
How do I process my students’ funding for the next fall or winter term?
The Student Billing and Planning calendar provides guidelines for processing awards and appointments. The calendar is available in My LINK. The recommended timing of processing an appointment (GSI, GSSA, GSRA) is six weeks before the first day of the term. Similarly, fellowships that include tuition or stipend should be processed four weeks before the first day of the term.
Students should have an official status (registered, approved leave of absence, approved for Extramural Study status) by the end of the drop/add period (third-week of the term). If an emergent situation necessitates a change in the student’s status after the drop/add period, contact Rackham’s Office of Academic Records and Dissertations to help facilitate a status change.
Benefits of Continuous Enrollment
Benefits That Accrue To Students
- Encourages and supports degree completion
- Fosters strong connections between students and their department and program, which research shows are important factors in students’ success
- Confers an official student status that carries with it access to faculty and department services, as well as to other University services and resources
- Provides continuity of University services and access to resources through the recognition of “active” student status in the summer months even though not registered
- Creates a regular need for programs to confirm students’ progress toward degree and provides opportunities to address possible obstacles
- Satisfies rules for loan deferrals
- Allows access to more types of financial aid
- Creates consistency of treatment between international and domestic students
Benefits from the Perspective of Graduate Programs
- Promotes better tracking of students and their progress
- Extends support systems for enrolled students to cover all students (e-mail accounts, internet access, library privileges, and other University or school level items) year round
- Encourages and supports degree completion
Benefits for Administration (School, College, Program, Departmental, and University Administrators)
- Fosters communication with active students, enables provision of services that are important to them, and provides a better understanding of what students need and how they are progressing
- Provides a more accurate reflection of the enrollment of the Ph.D. population
- Promotes better decisions in both policy and practice matters, and supports more effective financial planning for student support