Graduate advisor handbook

Introduction

This handbook has been prepared to provide you with an overview of principles and practices of graduate advising. The handbook provides a discussion of the advising and mentoring of students as well as the specific procedures and policies governing graduate students and graduate student advisory committees at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF).

Although experienced faculty will find it useful, this handbook is written primarily for new faculty members. While the manual provides general information on graduate student advising and mentoring, established faculty in your department can also advise you on how to work productively with graduate students. Several departments and programs have their own handbooks for graduate students and if your department/program has one, please familiarize yourself with it. If you cannot find an answer to a specific question in your department/program or in this handbook, please contact the graduate school. The graduate school also offers workshops on chairing, advising and mentoring through the year.

Together with the , this handbook provides information about degree requirements, academic policies, and responsibilities of faculty and students. However, the UAF catalog is the ultimate authority, and this handbook does not supersede the UAF catalog.

Advising, Chairing and Mentoring

The role of an academic advisor is to guide a student’s academic progress while the role of a mentor is to advance the student’s career. Traditionally that mentorship role was interpreted narrowly in terms of seeing that the student was “placed in a good academic position”. However, the role of mentor is increasingly seen more broadly in response to both the increased breadth of backgrounds of both the graduate student population and the careers that graduate students pursue. Mentors can serve as catalysts to unleash a students’ potential for discovery, curiosity, and participation in their field. Mentoring includes a wide spectrum of roles that includes; advisor, advocate, friend, professional coach, and teacher. These roles are not always played by one person, but can be played by several persons. The specific mentoring roles you adopt will depend on your own experience and the relationship you have with the student. You can work with the student to select an advisory committee where the members can address different mentoring needs of the student. If an advisor/committee member must take leave, the advisor and the student's department should work together to identify interim support.

In this handbook we assume that as the advisor, you are also serving as chair (or co-chair) of your advisee’s graduate advisory committee, and that you are also committed to mentoring them, and use the term advisor to denote the combined roles of advisor, chair and mentor.

A fundamental rubric for advisors is that you should be “partial to the student but impartial about the student’s work”. As an advisor you can model professional responsibility and collegial behavior, demystify graduate school, oversee professional development, encourage effective use of time, and assist with finding other mentors as necessary.

The varied backgrounds of graduate students is forcing programs and advisors to reconsider what is worth preserving and transmitting in graduate education and also evaluate what is rooted in assumptions of homogeneity that should be adapted or discarded. Advisors can provide excellent mentoring to students who are not from the same background or identity. However, research nationally and at the University of Alaska, has identified the following factors regarding social identity and success in graduate school that all advisors should be aware of: need for role models; questioning the canons; feelings of isolation; burden of being a spokesperson; concern about speaking up; and suffering from stereotypes. Again, you can work with the student to develop an advisory committee and/or professional network to support their academic and professional development.

Good advising has benefits for the advisors and advisees, advances disciplines, and promotes different perspectives. For you as the advisor these include: working with students will keep you abreast of new knowledge and techniques; enhancing your reputation through student success; extending your professional networks; attracting other good students; and personally rewarding. For the advisee these include: supporting student advancement in scholarship, presentations and grant-writing; making them more resilient; building their networks and increasing their employment opportunities; and increasing their professional confidence. For the discipline; students make contributions earlier in their careers; and students have higher professional standards. For equal opportunity: support students from under-represented communities succeed; model professional environments where prejudice and discrimination are not tolerated; and improve the experience of all participants.

One of the most common issues that arises in advising graduate students is when the student and advisor have different expectations. Therefore, it is important that advisors are familiar with the procedures, policies, and regulations outlined in this handbook.

Student Professional Development

Student Responsibilities

Graduate study provides students with the opportunity to conduct independent scholarship and research that is focused on their personal and professional interests. The graduate student has the primary responsibility for the successful completion of their graduate degree. The student is resident in a department or program that offers their degree and serves as their academic “home”. The student should know the relevant departmental and graduate school rules, regulations, policies and deadlines relating to their degree. The student is responsible for proactively working with their advisor to develop their graduate study plan, form an advisory committee, and conduct their scholarship and research in a professional fashion appropriate to their discipline and consistent with university procedures, policies, and regulations.

In recent years graduate schools have recommended that advisors establish contracts with their students that explicitly define the rights and responsibilities of each party. Example contracts for students and advisors are posted under “Advisor-Advisee Contracts”.

Developing Professional Contacts

Work with your students to choose opportunities for presenting their work, seeing other research or scholarly presentations, and meeting other students, researchers, and scholars in the field. This is especially important given Fairbanks’ relatively remote location. If possible, accompany your students to a regional or national meeting or other gathering and make introductions. The graduate school offers travel grants for students. Please consult the graduate school website for details and deadlines.

Job Applications & Recommendations

Encourage your students to begin looking for jobs about six (6) months before degree completion. Suggest places that they can look for postings, such as professional society websites. Tell your students about colleagues who might have relevant positions available. UAF Career Services can help students to make appropriate contacts with businesses and agencies. Encourage your students to research , as well as .

Be prepared to write letters of recommendation, or provide a reference over the phone. If you cannot honestly provide an entirely favorable recommendation, tell the student what you will say, so as to give the student an opportunity to seek another reference. For many positions it’s crucial for the reference to arrive by a given deadline, so try to take care of this task immediately when you receive a request. Most advisors will end up writing a dozen or more letters of reference for their former students, and it’s convenient to use much the same letter. There are resources for writing fair letters, such as .

Roles and Responsibilities

Student

Graduate study provides students with the opportunity to conduct independent scholarship and research that is focused on their personal and professional interests. The graduate student has the primary responsibility for the successful completion of their graduate degree. The student is resident in a department or program that offers their degree and serves as their academic “home”. The student should know the relevant departmental and graduate school rules, regulations, policies and deadlines relating to their degree. The student is responsible for proactively working with their advisor to develop their graduate study plan, form an advisory committee, and conduct their scholarship and research in a professional fashion appropriate to their discipline and consistent with university procedures, policies, and regulations.

In recent years graduate schools have recommended that advisors establish contracts with their students that explicitly define the rights and responsibilities of each party. Example contracts for students and advisors are posted under “Advisor-Advisee Contracts”.

Advisor

As discussed earlier, the advisor guides the graduate student through their degree program and chairs their graduate committee. Beginning as early as the application stage, the advisor and student should discuss the student’s academic and career goals. Programs and faculty should accept applicants whose goals and interests are consistent with what UAF and the faculty member can offer. Once admitted, the advisor should work with the student to help them attain personal goals, consistent with the academic standards and requirements of the degree program.

In the student’s first year, the advisor works with the student to become established in their graduate program: forming a graduate student advisory committee; establishing a graduate study plan; and evaluating the student’s progress. In each following years the advisor and the graduate committee formally review the students’ progress annually. The advisor guides the student through their required examinations (i.e., qualifying examination for some MS, programs, comprehensive examination for all PhD programs), their advancement to candidacy, the defense of their dissertation/thesis/project, and the completion and submission of their dissertation/thesis/project.

Assist the student in designing their scholarship and research, review the final plan carefully, and approve it, in consultation with the other committee members, before the student begins work. Help the student to revise the design as needed based on the early results and other developments.

The advisor should describe the general scope of the dissertation, thesis or project topics that are consistent with their expertise and, if applicable, any funded projects, or potential funding sources. The advisor should fully inform the student of any restrictions on publication associated with the nature of the work or funding source(s).

If the student is offered a graduate assistantship, either as a teaching assistant or research assistant, the advisor should set clear expectations about the duration of support and the options for subsequent funding at the time the offer is made. The student should be informed as soon as possible of any substantive changes in funding. The student should be provided with a detailed description of the duties that will be required of any graduate assistantship, especially any unusual requirements (e.g., remote field work, shipboard work, travel, hazardous materials or activities, work schedule). Graduate assistantships (both teaching and research) are required to include the mandatory health insurance. We encourage faculty who are providing research assistantships to also include coverage of the student’s university fees.

The advisor serves as the chair or co-chair of the committee. Advisors may co-chair the committee for a variety of reasons. For example, if the student is working closely with you and another faculty member, combining your complementary fields and expertise, you may wish to serve as co-chairs. If you are working with a student and a faculty member based at another University of Alaska campus, the non-UAF faculty member may serve as co-chair of the committee. If you are working with a student in a department that you are not a member of, you should establish yourself as a collaborating faculty member with the department. You may be required to have a co-chair from that department. The co-chairs should determine which responsibilities they will meet individually and collectively.

Work with the student and the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), and the Institutional Review Board (IRB), to ensure that both you and the student have completed the required training, developed the necessary protocols, and obtained the University and agency approvals for research involving human subjects, vertebrate animals, marine mammals, endangered species, public lands, radioactive materials, biohazards, hazardous materials, and any other regulated activities.

Meet frequently with the student to follow progress, provide guidance, and assist with problems that arise. Work with the student to set realistic timelines for completion of the dissertation/ thesis/project. If the student is not meeting their timeline deadlines, meet with the student as soon as possible and to ascertain the reasons. Work with the student to improve their progress or alternatively revise their timeline. Use committee meetings to document progress, formally address any concerns, and identify pathways to resolve any problems.

Review drafts of the dissertation/thesis/project, or portions thereof, in a timely manner. In general, two to three weeks should be sufficient for a Master’s thesis or project, and four to six weeks for a Ph.D. thesis. Several factors may extend the review time, such as conflicting commitments on part of the advisor and committee members, or challenges with the quality of the writing or technical description. However, the advisor should communicate these special circumstances to the student promptly and tell them when the review will be completed. Thoroughly review the final draft of the thesis/project before the defense. In addition to reviewing the content, see that a high standard of writing quality is maintained throughout the thesis/project.

Chair the public defense of the dissertation/thesis/project. It is good practice to work with the student on a practice defense. A public defense of the dissertation or thesis is required, while a public defense of a project may/or may not be required by the department/program.

Carefully review the dissertation/thesis/project before it is submitted to the graduate school (or department, in the case of projects) and confirm that the changes required by the committee after the defense have been incorporated. Make certain that the final copy of the dissertation/thesis/ project conforms to the format and style requirements of the field of study, department and the graduate school.

Committee Members

The members of the graduate advisory committee review and approve the Graduate Study Plan and the Advancement to Candidacy Form, including the research plan. Check the thesis/project design before the research or project begins, and suggest needed changes. Attend committee meetings and carefully review the materials the student prepares for them, such as progress reports. Assist the student with research issues that fall within the committee member’s special area(s) of expertise. The members should review the dissertation/thesis/project before the defense and see that a high standard of scholarship and writing quality are maintained throughout. Participate in the public defense of the thesis/project. Review the dissertation/thesis/project before the final version is submitted to the graduate school, to ensure that the required corrections have been made.

Graduate Coordinator

The graduate coordinators work at the department/program level. They are employees of their departments/programs not the graduate school. They coordinators work closely with the graduate school staff to answer student questions and resolve student issues. Their specific responsibilities vary by department/program. In general, the graduate coordinators are the frontline resource for students who have questions about their program requirements and may serve as academic advisors. The coordinators review all graduate student forms, and depending on departmental/program practice may be responsible for originating the forms. The graduate coordinators also work with human resources to establish and manage graduate assistantships, and may organize department/program specific orientation activities for graduate students. You should confirm the scope of these duties and practices with the coordinator in your department/program.

Department/Program Chair

The Department or Program Chair ensures that the courses, comprehensive examination topics, and research plan included on the Graduate Study Plan and Advancement to Candidacy Form meet departmental/program requirements. Works with faculty to ensure that degree programs have appropriate requirements and standards, including standards for dissertation/thesis/project quality. Implements Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (SLOA) for graduate as well as undergraduate programs. Reviews the final form of the dissertation/thesis/project. Sees that a high standard of scholarship and high quality of writing are maintained in the dissertation thesis/project.

The chair is also available as a resource for graduate students to confidentially discuss any issues or concerns associated with their program.

College/School Dean/Director

The Dean or Director of the College or School works with faculty and departments to ensure that degree programs maintain appropriate academic standards for graduate scholarship including the quality of dissertations/theses. Reviews (or delegates a review of) sufficient portions of the dissertation/thesis to ensure that a high standard of scholarship and writing quality are maintained. Reviews and approves (as appropriate) departmental admission decisions. Review results of SLOAs for graduate as well as undergraduate programs, and support programs in making needed improvements.

Graduate School

The Graduate School Staff is a resource for information and support to graduate students, departments, schools and colleges. Promptly processes paperwork of graduate students and maintain student files. The staff provide training opportunities for graduate students, faculty, and staff. The staff conducts the final check of dissertations/theses to ensure that they meet UAF requirements for style and format.

The director of the graduate school works with faculty, departments, deans, and the Graduate Academic and Advisory Committee of the Faculty Senate to ensure that degree programs have appropriate standards for graduate scholarship and research. Administers financial assistance programs for graduate students, and work to secure more resources for those programs. Reviews and approves (as appropriate) departmental/program admission decisions. Monitor graduate student progress, as reflected in the forms and reports submitted to the graduate school. Reviews and approves (as appropriate) major academic decisions involving graduate students. Draws on Program Reviews, Outcomes Assessments, and Institutional Research, to monitor graduate programs’ quality and productivity, and assist in their improvement.

The Graduate Advisory Committee

The graduate advisory committee guides the student in developing and completing their degree program. The student’s advisor as chair of the committee leads the graduate advisory committee in fulfilling the responsibilities of the committee.

The committee should be formed within the first two academic semesters, by end of Spring (Fall) semester for students beginning in previous Fall (Spring). Different departments and programs may have different procedures about the composition of the committee (e.g., minimum number of departmental/program faculty on the committee). The committee is subject to approval by the department chair, the school or college dean or director, and the director of the graduate school. The advisory committee of Master's degree students must consist of at least three approved faculty members. All Master’s committee members must hold an earned Master’s or higher degree, with exceptions for faculty, professionals, or experts with relevant accomplishments and expertise. The advisory committee of Doctoral degree students must consist of at least four approved faculty members. All Ph.D. committee members must hold an earned doctoral degree, with rare exceptions for faculty, professionals, or experts with relevant accomplishments and expertise. Such exceptions must have the approval of the department/program chair, school or college dean, and director of the graduate school.

Research Faculty with Collaborating status in a department who are at the Associate or Full Professor rank can serve as chair of a graduate committee. Research Faculty at the Assistant Research Professor level with Collaborating department affiliation may be required to have a co-chair of tenured or tenure-track faculty in the department for student committees until a student under their supervision successfully completes a graduate degree. Retired and/or Emeritus faculty of the UAF who are collaborating with the home department may serve on or (co-)chair graduate advisory committees, upon expressed approval by the home department. Faculty from other universities and other professionals who are not employed by UAF may serve as committee members on advisory committees, upon expressed approval by the home department. Non-UAF faculty and professionals may serve as the co-chair of the committee with a UAF faculty member as the other co-chair.

The graduate committee is formally established with the chair (or co-chairs) and committee members identified. The graduate advisory committee’s major responsibilities are to formulate a graduate study plan in consultation with the student by the end of the students second semester; to develop a tentative timetable for completing all requirements for the degree program; to monitor the student’s progress in course work and research; to provide advice and feedback to the student on that progress; to attend regular committee meetings and formally evaluate the student’s progress at least once a year; to formulate and conduct the comprehensive examination and other exams as required by the department/program; to evaluate a research dissertation/thesis/project when one is required; to uphold the standards of the college/school and the university; and to inform the dean, in writing, if a student’s performance is inadequate and provide relevant recommendations.

If you are advising an interdisciplinary student, your department/program serves as the home department /program of the student. The student should establish their committee following the procedures of your department/program. For Interdisciplinary PhD students, at least one of the committee members must be a member of a PhD granting department at UAF or have served on the committee of a PhD graduate.

Staying on Track

Registration Requirements

Graduate students must be registered for at least six graduate credits per academic year (fall, spring, summer) when actively working toward a degree. Graduate students failing to register for at least six graduate credits (or 400-level credits on their Graduate Study Plan or Advancement to Candidacy) or obtain a leave of absence will be dropped from graduate study. Students who have dropped will have to apply for reinstatement to their academic program. Students generally must be registered for at least three graduate credits in the semester in which they defend their dissertation, project, or thesis. If they do not graduate in the same semester, they must register for one credit at the 600-level each subsequent semester until their degree is conferred.

Course Restrictions

The following types of courses cannot be used to meet the requirements of any graduate degree program at UAF:

500-level courses
Courses below the 400-level
Courses at the 400-level that are graded P/F or Cr/No Cr, or in which the grade earned is less than “B” (a B- is not acceptable)
Graduate courses in which the grade earned is less than “C”
Courses that have been previously used to meet the requirements of another graduate or undergraduate degree program

For students who are pursuing a second Master’s degree, 6 credits may be counted from the previous Master’s program if approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee as being relevant to the new program. Seniors who want to count 400-level or graduate courses toward a future graduate degree must reserve those courses by filing a petition during the first four weeks of the semester in which the courses are taken.

Only a limited number of credits from certain types of courses may be used to meet graduate degree requirements: Not more than 12 total credits can be from any combination of 693 and 695 (special topics) and 697 (individual study) courses; Not more than 50% of total graduate degree program credits can be courses completed as a non-degree-seeking student, i.e., before admission to a graduate program; Not more than 12 semester credits of thesis (699) and/or research (698) for thesis Master’s programs (usually requires a minimum of 6 thesis credits); Not more than 6 semester credits of research (698) in non-thesis Master’s programs.

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