News from the Graduate School

FALL 2025 NEWS

Greetings! As we start a new academic year, I write to provide you with some good news and important updates to some of our processes. Please read carefully and don’t forget our GPD LEAD series where you can learn more about key areas of Graduate Program Administration.

Update on Graduate Admissions

Starting this Fall, your program will need to indicate directly in SLATE the funding you will be offering to incoming doctoral students and upload a copy of the funding offer letter. We will also continue the process we started last spring requiring that you work with your College leadership to establish enrollment thresholds for the number of doctoral students you can sponsor with full-time funding.

New! Guidance on Supervising and Training Graduate Teaching Assistants

Guidance for effectively working with graduate student teaching assistants and associates is now available. Developed by Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow Neena Thota in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Graduate School, resources include a handbook, thorough checklists, sample compacts, ideas for providing feedback to TAs and other resources. An overview is posted here and more resources will be available on the Sharepoint site the week of Sept. 8. An in-person workshop is planned for October 2, 10-11:30 am, in 551 Goodell.

Expanding Career Support for Graduate Students

Over the past year, several colleges have hired career services staff who will work directly with graduate students. We encourage you to check to see what your college is now offering.

Grad Tracker: Your Program Data at a Glance

Grad Tracker is a new tool we have launched in collaboration with UAIR to help you to assess your program. Find key data points on your master’s and doctoral programs all in one spot, including enrollment and graduation data, time-to-degree, the number of SOL extension requests, faculty who have completed mentor training and graduate appointments. You can find Grad Tracker in Flagship Analytics.

Gen AI Guidance for Graduate Education and Research

Has your program conveyed expectations on how graduate students may use Gen AI in fulfilling their graduate requirements? Do you have a plan for ensuring your graduate students are familiar with and understand responsible use of GEN AI? The joint subcommittee of the Graduate and Research Councils worked over the summer to assemble some key issues to consider. This will be released in early Fall after the Councils have reviewed the recommendations.

Federal Actions Webpage

For the latest updates on federal executive orders and related actions, please monitor the UMass federal actions page. This page will continue to collect and share resources for students in response to these federal changes. For students impacted by grant termination, you should first contact The Office of Research and Engagement and the Dean of your College to explore applying for ResCoE funds.

New Campus Pantry Opening – Open to All Students and Staff

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Many of our graduate students face food insecurity. Please let your students know they have resources nearby. The newly expanded pantry is a collaboration with the Amherst Survival Center. Volunteers are also welcome. Location and hours can all be found on their website. 

Grad Registrar Announces Degree Milestone Reporting in Spire!

We continue to work on making reporting of student progress more streamlined. In Spring 2024, the degree eligibility form went online. With help from IT, we are now moving mandatory milestone reporting into SPIRE (candidacy, prospectus defense, etc). This should be complete by end of October. Until then, please continue to use the forms available on our Sharepoint site. We will provide more information and training in the near future. No more forms!

Change to Deadlines for Grad School Grants

Starting this academic year, we are moving to one application cycle per year for the Predissertation, Fieldwork, and MFA Thesis Grants. All application materials for these three grant programs will be due November 15. This change will allow the Graduate School to more effectively manage the budget for these programs while providing award decisions to students with more time to plan summer research.

Statute of Limitations Extension Request Forms Modified

Forms for SOL extension requests have been modified. Requests for extensions must include an academic plan that provides details on the student’s academic goals (diss chapters, exams, etc.) and target dates for each goal during the extension period, as well as a clear schedule of meetings with the advisor. Providing this information is good for the student and helps expedite approval of your request.

Graduate Assistantship Office

Most graduate appointment forms other than the EGFAF are now processed through Kuali Build. Training videos and guides are available here.

Got questions on appointments? Don’t hesitate to contact us at: gradappt [at] grad [dot] umass [dot] edu (subject: ) (gradappt[at]grad[dot]umass[dot]edu)

Sharepoint Resources and Trainings for Graduate Program Directors

Please explore the tab “Faculty & Staff” on our website which takes you to the SharePoint site where we house a lot of the guidance and forms you need including:

• The GPD Manual: a guide to some of the most common tasks of Graduate Degree administration. This is a must have reference for all GPDs.
• An Archive of all GPD LEAD workshops and materials
• Graduate Degree Handbooks – check this guide for what your handbook should contain
• Managing and Resolving Conflict: Guidance for GPDs.

We will keep you updated on more developments as they happen. We thank all of you who in countless ways devote your time to supporting the success of our graduate students and degree programs.

Best wishes for the start of the new academic year,

Jacqueline Urla

Senior Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School