January 12th, 2021 Events and Deadlines
This newsletter is distributed to department heads, graduate program directors, graduate program contact staff, and graduate faculty.
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Graduate Program Directors
Student Success Survey – Develop plans for supporting your students
Student persistence is a high priority at K-State. The fall semester was been challenging for many, and we want to help students succeed in the spring semester. On January 5, a very brief survey was distributed by the Office of Student Success to K-State students asking for their level of agreement to the following prompts:
- I am confident that I will continue my studies at K-State for the spring 2021 semester.
- My K-State academic experience has been good given the circumstances of the pandemic.
- I have been able to access campus services online.
The Graduate School will collect the survey responses and share the data with graduate program directors. Graduate program directors should develop plans to reach out to students who disagree with (or are neutral about) the first statement. The goal is to help address any barriers to persistence. Emails, texts, phone calls and letters could all be used to make contact with these students to learn more about their circumstances. Target dates for sharing data with graduate programs are January 11, 15, 20. We encourage following up with students based on their responses to the other survey items, but the most important connection is linked to the first item.
Graduate Faculty
New Graduate School Website
If you have not been visited the Graduate School website in the last few weeks, our site has migrated to the new design templates. The overall organization of the site is very similar to the old site, but there has been some reorganization and some sections and pages have been renamed, which changes the URL of specific pages. The Division of Communications and Marketing is creating page redirects. If you have bookmarked a page from the old site that has a different URL in the new site, you should be automatically redirected to the correct page. Still, it is recommended that you update your bookmarks with the correct URL from the new site. Problems or questions - If you encounter errors or have difficulty finding information in our site, please send your questions or concerns to Megan Miller (mmmiller@ksu.edu).
CollegeNet: Using the Updated Interface to Review your graduate applications.
After December 31, 2020, viewing videos in Admit Reader will no longer be available due to Adobe ending their support for the product. If you are still using Admit Reader for application review we recommend using the Work List in the Updated Interface. Click here for additional guidance.
Work List replaces Admit Reader for reviewing assigned applications. If you review applications directly, you can do this from the general Admit Updated Interface. To see all the guidance documents, click here for the CollegeNet webpage.
Graduate Students
New International Student Check-In
All new international graduate students are required to check in via email with International Student and Scholar Services at isss@ksu.edu upon their arrival.
They should also email the Graduate School at gradintladmt@ksu.edu to make an appointment to bring their official transcripts to the Graduate School. Graduate School needs to limit the number of people in the lobby due to COVID-19.
New students are required to complete the TB questionnaire on Lafene Health Center’s patient portal at www.k-state.edu/lafene and click on myLafene+ patient portal. They will not be able to enroll until they complete the questionnaire and Lafene Health Center officials have removed the hold on the enrollment. Any questions regarding this matter, please contact Lafene Health Center.
Complete a Survey to Help Create a Grad Student Housing Guide
The Graduate Student Council and Graduate School encourage graduate students who live in Manhattan to complete a brief survey about their housing experiences. Survey responses will be used to create a housing guide, which will be a valuable resource for incoming students. Securing housing can be one of the most challenging aspects of the transition to a new institution for graduate school. Those who complete the survey may record their name and email address at the end of the survey (on the “confirm identity” page) for a chance to win a gift from Radina’s. Complete the survey.
SPEAK Testing for International GTA Candidates
The English Language Program is offering individual SPEAK testing on Zoom for international graduate students on the following dates:
- January 19-21
To register for a test date, please contact the English Language Program at elp@ksu.edu. Testing will be available for both current students and newly admitted students for Spring of 2021.
*Please note that since each candidate must meet with an ELP instructor before testing, a minimum of one week is required between the time you register for the test and the actual test date.
Graduate Student Council Travel Awards
The GSC continues to accept travel award applications, and applications must be submitted by the appropriate deadline. However, per the announcement made on March 14, 2020, all university-affiliated or sponsored travel is banned until further notice, and students should not make travel arrangements until the ban is lifted, unless granted special university approval. At this time, GSC travel awards may be used to reimburse registration fees associated with conferences being held in a virtual format. February 1 is the deadline for graduate students to apply for GSC travel awards for travel to academic and professional events that begin anytime in April.
NSF Insights on Fellowships, Internships, and Funding STEM Pathways Webinar
This webinar specifically focuses on research and professional development opportunities for students and early career professionals. An AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow and NSF Program Officers will share the criteria and processes required to receive NSF supported fellowships and internships through programs such as the Graduate Research Fellow Program, NSF EPSCoR, and NSF INTERN, and AAAS.
Tuesday, February 2, 2021, at 3 p.m. CST. Register for the webinar.
