One Stop limited closure Wednesday, Oct. 23

The West Bank and St. Paul One Stop Student Services locations will be closed from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 for a staff event. The Science Teaching and Student Services location will be open with full service.

Student Degree Progress update

The fall 2009 cohort graduation rates will be finalized in the next few weeks, and colleges have been asked to follow up with students to ensure timely degree progress. To reach the University's goal of a 60% graduation rate, a total of 3,229 degrees must be posted. Currently, 96 are still needed. Colleges are reminded that it is appropriate to backdate a degree to the last term the student was enrolled in degree-applicable courses.

Student data for the second year through sixth year cohorts will also be sent to colleges. This information will help the University become more proactive regarding student degree progress.

Passing of Laurel Carroll

The Twin Cities campus community lost a valued colleague this month with the passing of Laurel Carroll. Laurel was a highly respected staff member in the Office of Undergraduate Education. For more than 35 years, Laurel played important roles in numerous areas that support undergraduate education on the Twin Cities campus, including admissions, placement testing, degree requirements, curricular changes, course access, educational policy, the four-year graduation plan, and liberal education requirements.

One of Laurel's most important and valued roles was in coordinating and supporting the operations of the Council on Liberal Education. Her dedication to the work of the committee was vital to the development and implementation of the new Liberal Education requirements in 2010. Her attention to the myriad of details, policy implications, and processes of implementation were exemplary.

A memorial event for Laurel will be held Wednesday, November 20, from 3-5 p.m. in the Campus Club of Coffman Memorial Union. Additional information will be announced soon.

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum clarification

There have recently been questions regarding the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC). The MnTC is the result of a collaborative effort by all two- and four-year colleges and universities in Minnesota to help students transfer their work in lower-division general education. The University has clarified the policy to waive Liberal Education (LE) requirements by indicating that previous Minnesota community college AA degrees and the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) must be completed prior to the first term of enrollment at the University of Minnesota. Many community colleges require students to request the MnTC designation on their transcript, but if there is no date of MnTC achievement, it is difficult to understand how and when a student achieved the MnTC.
Some considerations Admissions uses in determining when to post the LE waiver flag for a MnTC include the following:

-If it is clear on the community college transcript that no University of Minnesota courses were transferred back, we will add the MnTC.

-If it is clear that the AA degree was achieved prior to a student's first term of enrollment at the University of Minnesota, a student's LEs will be waived. (The AA degree is dated on a community college transcript.)

-If courses from the University of Minnesota were transferred to the community college, the MnTC will not be added.

Students who completed the MnTC after enrolling at the University of Minnesota may be eligible to have the policy waived, but they must fill out an Academic Policy Petition.

Visa to be accepted for tuition payments

Effective Monday, October 7, the University of Minnesota will accept Visa credit and debit cards for online tuition and fee payments. The University's credit card processing vendor assesses a non-refundable 2.75% service fee whenever a credit or debit card is used. Those planning on paying with a debit card can avoid that service fee by paying directly from a bank account. Select the eCheck payment option and enter both a bank account and routing number. Questions? Contact One Stop Student Services at onestop@umn.edu or 612-624-1111.

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowships available

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowships are available to support outstanding Ph.D. students whose current or proposed dissertation topic is interdisciplinary and who would benefit from interaction with faculty at one of the University's interdisciplinary centers or institutes. Many centers and institutes have early application deadlines, starting October 18. For deadlines and more information, see Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowships.

College sign-off on Petition form

Just a reminder that colleges or designated representatives must sign-off on the Petition form before submitting to Graduate Student Services & Progress (GSSP). If the form is turned in without the required signature, the petition will be sent back to the graduate program.