SGS Student Services General Meeting for Graduate Administrators Friday, February 28, 2014 2:00-4:00 p.m. GB 202, Galbraith.

SGS Student Services

General Meeting for Graduate Administrators

Friday, February 28, 20142:00-4:00 p.m.

GB 202, Galbraith

AGENDA

• Welcome • Update from Systems & Records• Update from Information Systems• Update from the Quality Assurance & Governance

Offices• Update from the Post-Doctoral & Doctoral Examinations

Office• Update from the Graduate Awards Office• Update from Student Services • Piloting and Implementation of e-Marks• Questions

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Update fromStudent Systems & Records

Josie LalondeAssociate Director, Student Services

SGS Information Systems

Project UpdatesFebruary 28, 2014

SGS Information Systems

• Overview– The team providing infrastructure and support to

SGS systems and services which support the graduate community (SGS Drive, Online Application, Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Website, etc.)

– Update on two projects• Video Conferencing• Graduate Student Progress Tracker

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SGS Information Systems

– Video Conferencing For Final Oral Examinations• Cisco TelePresence equipment is being installed in 63

St. George, Room 111 – a 70” digital display and white board– a dedicated computer– an HD video camera– a surround sound system– microphones (wireless and table mics)– Table mounted electrical/video connections– Touch-screen controls

• This room is accessible

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SGS Information Systems

– Video Conferencing For Final Oral Examinations• The room is being renovated (right now!)

– Bookshelves have been removed– New electrical and data connections are being installed– A new conference table is arriving (as we speak)– Patching and painting

• Next week– Equipment installation and setup– Training of SGS staff

• A announcement will be made regarding the official opening of the room

– Procedures / protocols will be distributed at that time

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker

• An interactive web-based tool to help students, supervisors, and grad coordinators track research stream student progress

• Provide you a tool to view basic student information and capture progress / committee reports

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker• Since we last talked, we have presented and requested

feed back at…– Graduate Administrators – Fall 2013– Academic Administrators – Fall 2013– Joint Committee of Student Matters and Committee of

Program Matters – Fall 2013– Council of Graduate Deans – Summer / Fall 2013– Deans of Single Department Faculties – Winter 2013

• Following these, some units have emailed ideas and sample forms

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker• We have met with ITS / EASI to ensure

1. We align with current or planned NGSIS/Kuali projects2. We do not duplicate efforts or functionality of current or

upcoming systems 3. We develop a system on which we can build and grow

collaboratively

• From these consultations, we have started to finalize our requirements

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker• Extremely fortunate to receive funding from the

government as part of a multi-university grant– We have resources to hire a contract developer to be

dedicated to this projects– But the funding comes with some very tight deadlines

» March 2013 to September 2013» Work may continue after this point, but must be funded

by SGS

• We need to work quickly and may not be able to perform as much consultation as we would like

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker• To maximize our opportunity…

– Our system will compliment the tracking offered by existing systems

– We will focus the requirements on tracking the annual supervisory committee meetings

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker• Next Steps…

– We will be distributing a link to the requirements as well as wireframes next week

» Target: Wednesday March 5, 2014

– We welcome feedback from all but will need to receive it quickly (probably within 1 week)

» All feedback will be collected and prioritized» We will integrate feedback where we can where others

may need to be deferred for future development

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker• Next Steps…

– The update requirements will be reviewed by a focus group including students, faculty and staff

– The feedback will form the final requirements for the developer

– Developer will be hired to perform the work– Development will occur (March 2014 to Aug 2014)– Testing and bug fixes (Aug 2014)– Pilot project in Fall 2014– Larger scale roll out of the application

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SGS Information Systems

– Graduate Student Progress Tracker

• This is not the end of the conversation, just the beginning

• We want to create the foundation on which we can develop the system further after the funding ends

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SGS Information Systems

• Contact Information– General Support

• [email protected]

Corey DalesDirector, Information [email protected]

416-978-6115

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Update from Quality Assurance and Governance

Emma Thacker, Governance & Policy Coordinator

Lily Yee-Sloan, Communications Officer

February 28, 2014

Communications Update

• Calendar Production Update• Timing of Calendar Outputs

– HTML - June 30– PDF - July 31

• Calendar Deadlines– Graduate Faculty Membership (GFM) Requests – Feb 28– Editorial Revisions – Mar 7 (multi-dept Faculties), Mar 14 (single-dept

Faculties)

• Sessional Registration Notation • Memo, dated November 4, 2013• Indicates the time a student is expected to be in the program and clarifies the

associated minimum degree fee• Inclusion of the notation into 2014/2015 SGS Calendar • You will see it included at calendar proofreading• e.g. Program Length: 3 sessions (typical registration sequence: F/W/S)

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Governance Update – New Guidelines

Termination of Registration Guidelines • Guidelines completed December 2013• Now posted to the SGS website - Memo sent February 3, 2014• Guidelines outline the University regulatory framework involving termination and

academic progress, provides step-by-step procedures, references and contact information.

Termination - Info for Graduate Students: Webpage (and hand out)• Provides overview to explain ‘what is termination of registration’ and outlines the

process when facing a potential recommendation for termination. • FAQ section provides information about withdrawal, appeals, mediation and

information disclosure.

Graduate Courses Guidelines• SGS Working Group currently consulting to update existing document• Revisions will clarify and update • Expected to be completed for Fall 2014

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SGS Contact Information

Lily Yee-Sloan

Communications Officer

Phone: 416.978.5015

[email protected]

Emma Thacker

Governance and Policy Coordinator

Phone: 416.946.3427

[email protected]

WEB: www.sgs.utoronto.ca 20

Update from the SGS Post-Doctoral & Doctoral Examinations Office

Lisa Haley

Post-Doctoral Advisor

Thesis Submission & Graduation• Thesis Submission

New Digital Repository – LAC form not required

T-Space continues to be U of T repositoryThesis submission determines doctoral fees

• GraduationDegree Recommendations & AuditsDiploma HoldsBoD Fees

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Postdoctoral Fellows

• PDFs: Employees vs. TraineesFunding SourceLetters

• Bargaining with CUPE 3902

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Graduate Awards Updates

Laura Stathopoulos, Senior Awards Officer School of Graduate Studies

Award Updates

1. The W. Garfield Weston Doctoral Fellowship Program

2. 3 Minute Thesis Competition

3. The JJ Berry Smith Award for Doctoral Supervision

4. Mitacs Globalink Research Award

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The W. Garfield Weston Doctoral Fellowship Program

What is it?• An award for top-tier doctoral students who are conducting research travel

outside of Canadian in their 3rd or 4th year of study• For research travel of 8 – 12 Months• First 16 Weston Fellows are currently conducting research in over 17 countries

across Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Value• The value of the Weston Fellowships are $50,000 per student• Up to16 Fellowships will be awarded; distributed across all Divisions

Eligibility• Conducting research that will have an impact on Canada and Canadians• Be registered as a full-time doctoral student (from any division)• Be a Canadian citizen• Conduct research outside of Canada (preferably outside North America)

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3 Minute Thesis Competition

What is it?• A public speaking competition for doctoral students• Students have 3-minutes to present their dissertation research to

a panel of non-specialist judges• Divisional heats will take place on March 18, 20, & 21st

• U of T Final on Wed. March 26th at 7pm• The winner and runner-up will represent the University of Toronto

at the provincial final at McMaster University on April 18th

Inaugural 2013 Winners: Provincial Final• Jasdeep Saggar – 1st Place• Abraham Heifets – 2nd Place

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The JJ Berry Smith Award for Doctoral Supervision

What is it?• An award recognizing outstanding performance as a doctoral

supervisor• Two awards: one in Humanities & Social Science; one in Life and

Physical Sciences• Awarded annually to an active graduate faculty member who, over a

15 year period, has demonstrated excellence in supervision by: inspiring and guiding students to reach excellence in scholarship; providing an environment that is supportive and stimulating; enabling students to learn the essential methodologies, concepts and cultures of their

discipline; introducing students to the wider content of the discipline and relevant communities of

scholars; positioning students for future careers both within and outside academe; fostering a strong sense of academic integrity.

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Value• Award Certificate• Name added to plaque housed at the SGS• An SGS Conference or Travel Grant to be awarded by recipient to a current

doctoral student

Process• Each Faculty forwards nominations to the Dean of the School of Graduate

Studies• Nominations may be submitted through your local Faculty Dean or Vice

Dean Graduate Education• Deadline is April 1st

Inaugural Winners• Prof. Brenda Andrews: Molecular Genetics• Prof. Clifford Orwin: Political Science

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Mitacs Globalink Research Award

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What is it?

• Travel award for graduate students • Travel to Mitacs partner countries in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam • Project/travel period is approximately 12-24 weeks

Value:

• Up to $5000 cover travel and accommodation costs• Provided as research grant to the home university supervisor

Eligibility:

• Registered for full-time studies as a graduate student ( domestic or international)• All academic disciplines are eligible • Have identified host academic supervisor with a faculty appointment at an accredited

university in a Mitacs partner country• Compliant with all departmental and Safety Abroad Office guidelines prior to travel

Quick facts:

• No deadlines - applications accepted any time, sent directly to MITACS• Application assessed based on strength of the research project proposal • Results typically provided in four weeks

Updates from Student Services

Don MacMillan

Director, Student Services

Science without Borders (CsF)Brazilian Scholarship Program

for Doctoral Students

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• For Brazilian students entering a doctoral program, primarily in the STEM disciplines.

• Provides full international tuition and fees plus a living and travel allowance and health insurance for a maximum of 4 years.

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Scholarship Highlights

• Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) liaises with the Brazilian government to determine the student’s preliminary eligibility for the scholarship.

• Students then apply to U of T on-line using the normal procedures and deadlines.

• Student must meet U of T language proficiency requirements and meet all other eligibility requirements.

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Admission

• If a student receives an offer, it will be conditional upon funding. CBIE liaises with Brazil to finalize the scholarship.

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Admission

• According to the original terms of CsF scholarship, any student that did not complete the PhD within 48 months would be required to repay the entire amount (Approx. $120,000).

• U of T was able to negotiate a full year extension at the expense of the graduate unit. The 5th year extension of funding must be agreed upon in writing before the student receives an offer of admission.

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Funding

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eMarks for SGSMargaret Bura

eMarks Team Lead

Enterprise Applications and Solutions Integration

Josie Lalonde

Rodney Branch

School of Graduate Studies

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And now your questions…