The Graduate School Awards Distinguished Thesis and Dissertation: Each year the Graduate School recognizes the outstanding work of a master’s and a doctoral student with the Distinguished Thesis and Dissertation Award. Departments are asked to submit the work of a student who has completed his or her graduate degree and is considered to have produced an exceptional original research paper. This year’s recipients will be recognized at a reception on Monday, 7 May, in the North Dakota Museum of Art at 3pm. Graduate Faculty and Graduate Students are invited to join us in congratulating this year’s winners, Charles C. Geraci - Master's Thesis (Geography) and Yongxin Zhao - Ph.D. Dissertation (Engineering). We would like to acknowledge the excellent work of their Advisory Committees Chairs and Members.
Advisory Committee for Charles C. Geraci, M.S.: Dr. Bradley Rundquist (Chair), Dr. Paul E. Todhunter and Dr. Santhosh Seelan.
Advisory Committee for Yongxin Zhao, Ph.D.: Dr. Michael Mann (Chair), Dr. Darrin Muggli, Dr. John Erjavec, Dr. Steven Benson and Dr. Edwin Olson.
For the purpose of planning refreshments, please RSVP to Kris Pavlish (krispavlish@mail.und.edu)
Graduate Student Professional Development Workshops: Look forward to a series of workshops on Graduate Student Professional Development beginning in the fall and going throughout the academic year. The workshops will focus on three themes: teaching, tricks of the trade; writing and the art of communication, and the boundaries of ethics. We need and want graduate student input in the planning and implementation of the workshops. Students interested in becoming involved should contact Bryon Grove at 777-2579 or bgrove@medicine.nodak.edu.
Council of Graduate Schools Report Urges Renewed Commitment to Graduate Education:
Support vital to American competitiveness Council of Graduate Schools
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 430 * Washington, DC 20036 (202) 223-3791 * www.cgsnet.org
Released April 26, 2007
Google, considered the world’s largest internet search engine, was developed as a research project by two graduate students. Genentech, a leading biotechnology company, grew out of the collaboration between a university researcher and the private sector. These two examples highlight the value of graduate education and research at U.S. universities.
A blue-ribbon panel assembled by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) released a report today that calls for a renewed commitment to American graduate education, recognizing its critical role in enhancing the nation’s economic competitiveness and innovation. The Advisory Committee on Graduate Education and American Competitiveness, comprised of university presidents, corporate leaders and graduate school deans, called for increased collaboration between government, higher education, and the business community to strengthen U.S. competitiveness and national security through increased support for graduate education.
At a forum held at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, Members of Congress and other stakeholders discussed their perspectives on the issues raised in the report, Graduate Education: The Backbone of American Competitiveness and Innovation, which contains findings and action items for three targeted sectors: universities, business leaders, and policymakers. The report’s release comes against the backdrop of growing evidence that other nations’ higher education systems are quickly catching up to the United States in terms of the number of graduate degrees awarded and increased emphasis on research. "U.S. scientific and technological leadership has until now been assured by the combination of graduate programs, unparalleled in excellence, and the steady supply of the nation’s and the world’s most talented students," said Debra W. Stewart, CGS president. "However, other countries have already increased their investment in graduate education, and as a result are beginning to attract top domestic and international students who would otherwise study here. We need to do more to expand and replenish the academic pipeline, both by developing our domestic talent pool and by making it easier for the world's best and brightest to pursue their graduate education at American universities.”
Several of the report’s policy recommendations have already been incorporated into legislation under consideration in Congress that addresses strengthening U.S. competitiveness in the global economy. "I urge all stakeholders to act upon the reports’ recommendations soon,” Dr. Stewart said. “Graduate education is a vital part of the U.S. education system and must be strengthened."
Irving Wladawsky-Berger, Vice President of Technical Strategy and Innovation at IBM and a member of the Advisory Committee, said that committee members are extremely concerned about maintaining a highly-skilled workforce. “We must ensure that America’s graduate schools continue to produce the next generation of scientists, researchers, and experts in fields critical to promoting economic competitiveness and innovation,” he said.
Recommendations the report calls for include:
* Collaboration among leaders in government, business, and higher education to develop a highly-educated workforce and encourage entrepreneurship in graduate education.
* Creating incentives for students, particularly from underrepresented groups, to pursue graduate education in STEM fields, the social sciences, and humanities, and identify “best practices” to reduce attrition and shorten the time required to complete a degree.
* Support for innovative graduate education programs, such as professional master’s degrees, which respond to workforce needs in such critical fields as science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM), as well as in social sciences and the humanities.
* Expanding opportunities for graduate students to pursue interdisciplinary study at the frontier of knowledge creation, using models such as those pioneered by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
* Continuing to improve and reform the visa process so that the world’s top international talent can pursue graduate study in the U.S. and contribute to our nation’s research and innovation.
* Increasing federal funds for graduate education programs by at least 10% at every agency.
* Enhancing the quality of graduate education through ongoing evaluation and research, and supporting risk-taking research programs that prepare highly-trained professionals for a knowledge-based global economy.
The full report is available on the CGS website at www.cgsnet.org or directly via the following link: http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/GR_GradEdAmComp_0407.pdf
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is an organization of over 480 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada engaged in graduate education, research and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. CGS member institutions award more than 90% of the doctoral degrees and over 75% of the master’s degrees in the U.S. The organization’s mission is to improve and advance graduate education, which it accomplishes through advocacy in the federal policy arena, research, and the development and dissemination of best practices.
The University of North Dakota is a charter member of the Council of Graduate Schools
Continuing Enrollment 996: The Continuing Enrollment Fee will be increased to $100 per credit hour beginning in the Fall 2007 semester.
The Graduate School Policy on continuing enrollment has been edited to align with current definitions of full-time enrollment and a copy as it will appear in the UND Academic Catalog for fall 2007 is as follows:
Students who previously have registered for all of the necessary credits of coursework, research, Scholarly Project (995), Independent Study (997), Thesis (998), or Dissertation (999) on their approved Program of Study, but who have not completed their independent study, thesis or dissertation, must register for 996 Continuing Enrollment each additional semester or summer session they are utilizing university facilities or the time of the faculty ( i.e., laboratories, libraries, examinations, advisement, etc.). The number of credits should be determined by the advisor to reflect the proportion of time devoted by the student to academic study that term, with a full-time student registering for nine (9) credits. Graduate Assistants must register for at least six (6) credits which may include a combination of formal coursework and continuing enrollment credits. Advisor verification of the appropriateness of the number of 996 credits may be required.
After two regular semesters of 6 to 9 credits in 996 for master’s students and after four regular semesters for doctoral students, a student wishing to enroll in additional 996 credits will be required to petition the Graduate School Dean.
Continuing Enrollment (996) credits will not count toward the requirements for the degree. All students must be enrolled for either 996 credits or other credits in the semester of graduation. Students may register for both regular credits and 996 credits in a given term if all other conditions have been met. Continuing Enrollment credits may be used to define a student’s enrollment status (i.e., part-time or full-time). The fee for Continuing Enrollment (996) cannot be waived. |
