Graduate Services Coordinator Workshop June 1, 2016 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Annual Graduate Services Coordinator Workshop

June 1, 2016

go.ncsu.edu/grad-workshop

Introduction and Opening Remarks

Dean Maureen Grasso

NextGen Appointments

Siarra Dickey

Website Resources

• Find FAQs, manuals, calendars, policy explanation

and more on our website! grad.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/student-funding/

Calendar/Deadline Reminders

• All appointments should be

entered prior to the start date.

• NextGen allows actions to be

entered 60 days prior to the start of the appointment.

• Auto-Term rows are entered

Wednesday night, three weeks prior to the expected job end dates.

• Rehires can not be entered until

after the separation is entered and modification must be entered prior to the auto-term.

• Check out the calendars on
• ur website for more

information!

grad.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/student-funding/

Assistantship Job Codes

Job Title (Job Code) Expectations of Position Research Assistant (A148) The student is primarily participating in research under the guidance of a graduate faculty member in an academic department or program. Teaching Assistant (A138) The student is primarily participating in teaching in an academic department or program. They may be the instructor of record, lab instructor, lab or lecture assistant, etc. Research/Teaching Assistant (A178) The student is participating in some research and some teaching during the time of the appointment in the same department. Service Assistantship (A198) Students serving the university outside of the academic department teaching and/or research,

• r are teaching over the summer.

Summer Appointments

• Teaching

Assistantships are considered “9 month” employment and are not allowed over the summer.

• Research (A148),

Research and Teaching (A178), and Service (A198) Assistantships are available over the summer and all assistantship policies remain in affect.

• Salary range $7.25 - $34.00 an

hour.

• Service Assistants may be used for

teaching over the summer.

• Teaching account codes are

available during the summer, only, for Service Assistantships.

• Suggested dates
• Summer I 5/16/16-6/30/16
• Summer II 7/1/16-8/15/16
• Hours per week (FTE)
• Departments should appoint FTE

based on the amount of work they believe the student will produce, this is the same policy used during the academic year. Twenty hours per week, .5 FTE, is the campus norm.

Fellowship Updates

• New 2016-17 fellowship forms will be

available on the website under the fellowship tab.

• REMINDER: The fellowship year is August 1 –

July 31 each year.

• A new fellowship request system is being

looked into to make the fellowship request processes similar and increase transparency between the departments and the Graduate School.

• Keep an eye and ear out for more information
• ver the coming months.

Annual Graduate HR Meeting

• Second Week in July
• Time and location to be determined
• Speakers from all over campus will be present
• Payroll
• Tax/International Tax
• Office of International Services
• Graduate Student Support Plan
• The meeting will be also be partnered with a

summer NextGen training as we amp up for the fall 2016 academic year.

Questions?

Siarra Dickey

sydickey@ncsu.edu 919.515.1991

Graduate Student Support Plan

Caroline Ortiz-Deaton

Full-Time Requirement

Full-time enrollment is one of the central requirements of GSSP eligibility.

• No GSSP benefits are provided until all GSSP eligibility requirements are actively

met in the HR and Student Information Systems. If the student drops below full-time during the semester, they lose eligibility for GSSP benefits.

• A student must be full-time enrolled, at all time.
• What is full-time?

Policy – Full-Time/Part-Time Determination for All Graduate Students

• Audit hours do not count toward meeting full-time enrollment.

Implications of Withdraw

Please contact the Graduate School if a student withdraws that is receiving GSSP benefits. We can work with the department to determine the GSSP benefit implications to the student.

RA-TA Health Insurance Plan

Policy Renewal – 8/1/2016 – 7/31/2017

Same as Current Policy

• Gold-tier plan (~80/20)
• Option to add dependents

Changes

• Policy start date will be August 1st – monthly coverage/billing cycles

will now be calendar months

• Premium

$175.51/month (5.1% increase) -- $2,106.12/year (12 months)

Deadlines

Tuition (University Cashier’s Office) Fall: July 1st

GSSP Tuition Indicator Requests: June 30th

Spring: December 1st

GSSP Tuition Indicator Requests: November 30th

Health Insurance (Graduate School – RA-TA Plan) Fall: July 15th Spring: December 15th If all eligibility requirements are not established by these deadlines, the student will experience delays in receiving benefits. Visit the “Student Funding” page on the Graduate School website to add all GSSP deadlines (as well as, Assistantship & Fellowship deadline) to your Google Calendar.

Receiving Benefits

Once a student actively meets all eligibility requirements, the Graduate Support System automatically: (1) Creates a tuition award, (2) Adds the student to the NCSU RA-TA Health Insurance Plan, and (3) Applies benefits to the student’s billing account BUT, timely action on the part of the student and appointment sponsoring program is important. If a student fails to meet all GSSP eligibility requirements at all times, they may lose all or a portion of their benefits.

GSSP For Students: go.ncsu.edu/gssp GSSP For Administrators: go.ncsu.edu/gssp-admin Questions: ncstate-gssp@ncsu.edu

Residency for Tuition Purposes

Lauren Palermo

• 1. 12 months of physical presence in North Carolina

› Have held legal residency for 365 days by the start of the requested term › No significant breaks in physical presence

• 2. The financial capacity to establish a domicile

› Be mostly financially independent from non-NC parents (should not be claimed as tax exemption by parents)

• 3. Demonstrate legal residency aside from temporarily

residing in the state as a student

› Complete cluster of residency acts one year prior to start of requested term

Basic Requirements of Legal Residency

› Should not hold ties to another state that indicate residency in a state › Be able to explain why some residency acts may have been completed late or not at all

Application Deadlines

Residency Acts Include:

• obtaining an NC driver’s license or state ID card
• registering a motor vehicle in NC
• registering to vote in NC
• voting
• paying NC property tax
• filing an NC income tax return
• owning a home in NC
• Having a lease is not considered a residency

act

It is important to remember…

› The cluster of residency acts, must be held for 12 months › These acts are normally characteristic and expected on any resident of the state › A variety of evidence is considered when determining residency status; no single factor

• r combination of factors may be considered

conclusive evidence of residency

Good Faith Effort

› If a student’s reclassification application does not prove that they are an NC resident, they may show that they have made a good faith effort, or attempt to become a resident › If Good Faith Effort is given, the student MUST apply for residency the following semester and must show they have taken further action towards becoming a resident

Questions?

Lauren Palermo residency-officer@ncsu.edu 919-513-1287

Course Inventory Management (CIM) & Graduate Faculty

Melissa Nosbisch

Course Inventory Management (CIM)

• All course actions are now submitted electronically

through CIM– FASTER and TRANSPARENT worfkflow

• Visit https://next-catalog.ncsu.edu/courseadmin/ to

monitor the workflow status of a course action

• Preview workflow and role assignments for course

actions

• If role assignments are incorrect or need to be updated, notify

Melissa (mlnosbis@ncsu.edu or 513-8096)

• Coming Soon: updated user guides and training

Program/Department College Graduate School Registration & Records

Graduate Faculty & Non-Graduate Faculty

Graduate Faculty

Can serve as advisor and represent a specific graduate program on student committees Approved to teach at the graduate level for listed graduate programs Will appear on the program’s list of graduate faculty

Non-Graduate Faculty

Approved to teach specific graduate- level courses as listed

• n nomination

Will not appear on the program’s list of graduate faculty

Graduate Faculty & Non-Graduate Faculty

• Both nomination forms can be found here:

https://grad.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/forms/graduate-school-forms/

• Restricted access to Directors of Graduate Programs (DGPs)

and Graduate Services Coordinators (GSCs)

• Education verification by Central HR is required
• This step may cause delay in processing the nomination if the

education is not verified in HR

• Helpful queries to favorite (Query Viewer-Reporting):
• SIS_GRADUATE_FACULTY_LIST = All NCSU Active Graduate Faculty
• SIS_GRADUATE_FAC_BY_PROGRAM = All Graduate Faculty in Program
• SIS_GRADUATE_FAC_PGMS_BY_ID = All Programs for Faculty Member

Questions?

Melissa Nosbisch, mlnosbis@ncsu.edu 513-8096

Office of International Services (OIS)

Thomas Greene

Arrivals Employment Start Eligibility Reduced Course Load (RCL) Adjustment Issues Resources Students of Concern Behavioral Assessment Team

• What legally defines an international student?

Sponsorship for either an F-1, (M-1), or a J-1 (“student” category) visa F-2s, J-2s, E-2s, H-1Bs, H-4s, Permanent Residents, or any

• ther immigrant or non-immigrant “status” are not for legal

purposes considered to be “international students”

How do we define international student?

Arrival to the US – What International Graduate Students Must Do

To begin on campus employment international students must:

• Legally be in the U.S. in an F-1 or J1 status
• Check in with his/her academic department
• Schedule and attend Check-in with OIS (necessary

for E-Verify, I-9, and SSn purposes.)

• Students do not need to wait to check-in with OIS prior to

registering for classes or obtaining a campus ID card

• OIS check-in is required before OIS can activate the students’ F-1
• r J-1 record which is needed for SSn, DMV, E-verify purposes
• Check-in schedule and details are posted here:

https://internationalservices.ncsu.edu/future-students/orientation-7/check-in- schedule/

• Student can begin scheduling for Fall semester

check-ins beginning July 1.

Other Fall 2016 Reminders

• International Student Orientation: Begins Wed., August 10th (mandatory!)
• All students with on campus employment need to meet with Michelle

Anderson - foreignnationaltax@ncsu.edu

• OIS is arranging for the Social Security Administration to visit campus on

August 24; more information will be provided by the start of OIS check-ins

• SSA requires a letter from OIS and an offer letter from the hiring unit

confirming employment. The Social Security Administration requires that the

• ffer letter
• Have an original hand signed ink signature by the hiring official (electronic, stamped or

copied signatures will not be accepted by the Social Security Administration)

• Be on departmental letterhead
• Include the job title
• Include the employment start Date
• Include the work location
• Include the salary

New Students Arriving Late

• The reporting date (I-20 and DS-2019 start dates) for F-1 and J-1

students is 08/10/2015 (orientation date).

• OIS does not “authorize” late arrivals.
• The very latest that a new F-1 or J-1 student can arrive and report

to campus is Wednesday, August 24

• Students unable to make it by this date should defer to the next

semester.

• Web page to refer your students to about arriving after the

semester starts:

https://internationalservices.ncsu.edu/late-arrival/

F-1/J-1 Student Employment Reminders

• J-1 students need written work authorization from OIS before starting

any employment. F-1 students do not need separate authorization for on-campus employment but they need a letter from OIS if they are applying for a SSn.

• F-1/J-1 students can work up to 20 hours per week. Please check to

make sure there are no other active appointments in the system before hiring the student.

• F-1/J-1 students cannot work beyond the end date on their I-20/DS-

2019 or the last day of their final semester of required enrollment, whichever is sooner.

Enrollment Reminders

• F-1 and J-1 students must be enrolled full time (according to

the definition of the Graduate School), and must make good academic progress.

• Graduate students may only enroll for 1 DE course as part of

their full time enrollment; DE cannot be the only course they are enrolled for.

• There are certain exceptions to the full time enrollment

requirement

Summer Completions

• Program end date is the last day of the student’s last

semester of required enrollment (summer session end dates based on enrollment may be 6/21/2016 or 7/29/2016)

• The program end date is not based on the graduation

date/degree conferral date

Reduced Course Load (RCL) Options

A student may be eligible for a RCL if:

• the student is medically unable to maintain a full time course load

(requires documentation from a medical professional including Counseling Center)

• the student has been placed in or advised by their academic

advisor to take a course at an improper course level OR the student is unfamiliar with American teaching methods (requires letter from DGP)

• the student is having difficulty during the first semester due to (1)

initial difficulties with English language or (2) reading requirements

• the student is in his/her final semester

Cultural adjustment Challenges are real

Learning Environment

Learning environments should be addressing all three of these challenges simultaneously

Resources for that All Students Should Use

• Academic Department
• Graduate School
• OIS
• Tutoring Center
• Graduate Writing Center
• Writing Speaking Services
• Counseling Center
• Student Conduct
• Student Organizations

Additional Resources that Might Need to be Used:

• Students of Concern:

https://studentsofconcern.dasa.ncsu.edu/

• Behavioral Assessment Teams (BAT):

http://vptm.ehps.ncsu.edu/behavior-assessment-team/

Questions?

Thomas Greene tjgreen2@ncsu.edu

FERPA & Legal Issues

NC State Office of General Counsel

Sarah Lannon, Associate General Counsel Shawn Troxler, Assistant General Counsel Brad Trahan, University Compliance Manager

Topics of Discussion

• FERPA
• Affordable Care Act Compliance
• FLSA Regulations

FERPA

• FERPA prohibits NC

State from disclosing student education records (or information from education records) to anyone

• ther than the student,

unless the student provides consent or an exception applies.

FERPA Education Records

• Education records are

not limited to academic records but any record related to a student which is maintained by NC State – emails, schedules, accounts, financial aid records, applications.

FERPA Exceptions

• Directory Information
• School Officials with a Legitimate Educational

Interest

• Health or safety emergency

FERPA and Student Applications

• When do FERPA rights

attach?

• What is Directory

Information from an Application?

• Who are School Officials?
• What is a Legitimate

Educational Interest?

Collection of Application Information

• “Apply Yourself”
• Bio/Demo Info, Obj statement, Recs, Transcripts, Personal

Statements, CV/Resume, Test Scores, Campus Safety Qs,

• Should never be soliciting Fin Aid Info or ADA Info.
• Privacy Related Terms and Conditions
• “Next Gen Admissions”
• Only authorized users should be permitted to access Next Gen

Admissions (i.e. – School Officials with a Legitimate Educational Interest) Application Information contains PII and thus can only be maintained in certain locations on campus that have been approved by NC State OIT Security and Compliance

Affordable Care Act Compliance

• ACA Basic Employer Coverage Rule
• Subject to excise tax if we fail to offer appropriate

coverage to our employees

• “Employee” is not defined in the ACA
• DOL
• NLRB
• NC Law
• FLSA

ACA: Student Health Plans

• “Nothing in the ACA prohibits

universities from offering student health plans, to the extent such requirement is

• therwise permitted under

law”

• Essentially, NC State is subject

to the ACA

• Student plans are individual

market plans

ACA: Employee Health Plans

• HRAs and employer

payment plans that pay

• r reimburse common

law employees for all or some of the premium of an individual market plan violates the ACA

• Distinguishable from

Group Plans

ACA: Graduate Students

• Graduate Students are generally considered

common law employees, thus NC State is not permitted to provide subsidies to Research Assistants and Teaching Assistants to purchase their own (individual market) plan.

• Some Good news: We have some time to figure

this out and we have options.

FLSA Regulations

• FLSA sets wage and hour standards for

employees.

• Employees are either “exempt” or “non-exempt”

for being subject to overtime requirements.

• “Non-exempt” employees are subject to

timekeeping requirements and include SHRA, EHRA Non-faculty, Temporary, and Post Docs.

• Currently, “exempt” employees must:
• Be paid a salary of $466/week ($23,660/year); and
• Have duties that fall under a “white collar” exemption

FLSA Regulation Changes

• The “duties” test stays the same; however, the

DOL has increased the salary threshold to nearly double the current rate to $913/week ($47,476/year).

• Thus, employees who earn less than this amount

cannot be “exempt” regardless of their duties, unless an exception applies.

• The most relevant exception for NC State is

employees who have teaching as a primary responsibility (Coaches, Teaching Assistants and some Post Docs are included in the exception)

FLSA Department Considerations

• If feasible, raising salaries of employees to meet the new

threshold

• Adjust employee hours to reduce overtime
• Use of flexible scheduling to accommodate occasional hours
• utside of the typical scheduled workweek
• If feasible, hiring additional employees to supplement the

existing workforce to avoid overtime of current employees who work more than 40 hours per week on a consistent basis

• Provide compensatory time off rather than cash time and a half
• Strategic budget planning in grant proposals to account for

higher salaries

Questions?

NC State Office of General Counsel Sarah Lannon, Associate General Counsel Shawn Troxler, Assistant General Counsel Brad Trahan, University Compliance Manager

Lunch & Roundtable Discussion

Best Practices

Admissions

Lindsay Gentile

Admissions

• PTE Academic (Pearson’s test of English)
• Timely response and decisions
• Student newsletter email
• New website – grad.ncsu.edu
• How to update program info and deadlines
• FAQ system

Grad Student Newsletter

• Sent monthly, via

email

• Short and

Relevant

• GSC can opt-in to

receive

Admissions

• PTE Academic (Pearson’s test of English)
• Timely response and decisions
• Student newsletter email
• New website – grad.ncsu.edu
• How to update program info and deadlines
• FAQ system

Questions?

Lindsay Gentile lwgentil@ncsu.edu

SIS Updates / Reminders

Lian Lynch

Patent Agreement Query

• Must be approved by the end of 1st term
• Can be approved without completing Graduate

Plan of Work

• SIS_GRAD_OUTSTANDING_PATENT_AG

Preliminary Exam Time-Limit

• 6 years
• SIS_GRAD_NO_PRELIM_6YRS
• Preliminary Exam Time-Limit Extension Form
• Show expected term of prelim exam

Monitor Graduation Applications

• Students must take action
• No automatic application to future term for students

denied

Questions?

Lian Lynch Lian_Lynch@ncsu.edu

Handbook Revisions & Policies

Peter Harries

Policies

• Goal of the Handbook revisions: Make the

policies reflect best and actual practice

• Try to make them as reasonable as possible

and have them make sense

• Follow them as closely as possible
• But… exceptions to virtually all of them arise
• The need for clarity as to the ‘why’
• Justifications

Handbook Revisions

• On-going with an expected completion date of next Spring – initial

Grad School edits completed; continued review by ADs, DGPs, and GSCs; Admin Board approval

• Then on to the Rules
• Initial updates  July 1, 2016
• 1.2 Graduate Student Responsibilities
• 1.4 Directors of Graduate Programs
• 1.5 Graduate Service Coordinators
• 2.1 Applications
• 2.2 Application Deadlines (unchanged)
• 2.3 Graduate School Admissions
• 2.4 International Student Admissions
• 3.4 Annual Progress Review
• Section 3.3 Plan of Work (won’t be implemented until accompanying

programming is completed)

Withdrawal Policies

• If all goes as planned, this process will change

for grad students starting in Fall, 2016

• The process will be web based, and managed

by the Graduate School and using referrals to relevant offices where needed

• Mental health issues  Counseling Center
• Physical health issues  Student Health
• The use of holds

Provisional Admits

• Holistic review suggests that at times a student

with a GPA below 3.00 has the potential for success

• Provisional is a pathway, but why not PBS?
• Justification centered on the evidence that

suggest they will be academically successful

• Often have ‘strange’ letters

Orientation

• In person: August 15th in McKimmon –

‘required’

• A-L: 9:00 AM
• M-Z: 1:30 PM
• Information Fair in between
• Also an on-line (Moodle) component – being

refreshed for this year

• Required with holds put on

INs

INs

• Need to be given for students who have

completed at least 50% (and probably more of a course)

• Need to have clear and continuing

communication between the student and instructor so that it’s clear what needs to be done and by when

• Extensions need a justification

Questions?

Peter Harries pjharrie@ncsu.edu

pjharrie@ncsu.edu

Refreshment Break

Lab Safety for Graduate Students

Ken Kretchman

Objective

• Assure all Incoming Graduate Students Obtain

Proper and Timely Safety Orientation

Assistance Needed

• DGP - Assure Robust Department Process is

in Place and Sustainable (SOP)

• Emergency Procedures Conveyed to All
• Manager Checklist reviewed by Employee and PI for

those conducting research or field work

Template and Process Description

• Available at

http://www.ncsu.edu/ehs/training/graduate_student_safety_training.pdf

Measuring Success

• EHS Receives Quarterly Feed of New Graduate

Students

• Checks to see if either Emergency Procedure or

Mgr Checklist is Received (but can’t tell which of these should have been received

• DGP help needed

Questions?

Ken Kretchman kwkretch@ncsu.edu

NC State Graduate Student Association (GSA – formerly UGSA)

Tyler Allen - President Rachel Atkins - Secretary

Student participation in GSA

• 1-2 representatives from every Grad Student

Association

• All members serve on an internal committee
• All-Council Meeting: Last Monday of every

month, 6:45 pm in Talley Senate Chamber

Internal Committees

• Community Service
• Departmental outreach and leadership
• Publicity
• Research Recognition
• Special Projects
• Teaching Effectiveness
• Social

GSA funding and recognition for all graduate students

• Conference travel awards – up to $1,500

(HIGHLY competitive)

• Fall deadline: September 15
• Spring deadline: February 15
• Teaching awards
• Graduate Research Symposium

Funding and recognition for participation in GSA

• For individual representatives: committee

participation and recognition

• For GSAs (must be in good standing): chapter

rebates, block grants, start-up funds, Best Practices Award

Other benefits of GSA participation

• Bring graduate student perspectives to

administrators’ attention

• Learn about NCSU resources
• Meet other grad students in other

disciplines

• Practice professionalism
• Free food 

GSA’s requests for GSCs

• Think of GSA as another resource and
• pportunity for graduate students
• Let us know how we can be a resource for

you

• How can we improve Graduate Student

Orientation?

Questions?

Graduate Student Association GSA

Open Forum / Questions

All

Door Prizes