Commenting On & Grading Student Writing: A Workshop for Teaching Assistants

Teaching assistants new to grading and commenting will have opportunities to become familiar with strategies and resources supporting effective and efficient practices. Seasoned teaching assistants looking for a tune-up are welcomed as well.

Wednesday, August 28 - Thursday, August 29
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Location TBA
Cost: FREE

Important information related to registration:

• registration is required


• registrants are expected to attend both afternoon sessions


• TAs must register themselves


• a letter of participation will be provided for those who complete the workshop

Participants will...

• become familiar with the attributes of MINIMAL marking


• practice commenting on a diverse sampling of student writing


• recognize the functions of comments in provoking revision


• discuss methods for identifying and using fair grading criteria and for working with criteria supplied by others


• practice assigning grades to an array of of student writing from social sciences sciences, humanities, etc.


• learn strategies recommended by a panel of experienced TAs

This workshop has been well received by graduate students in the past; many indicate that it provided them with pragmatic, foundational response practices.

Please forward this message to any interested graduate student TAs.

Funding for Interdisciplinary Grad Groups (IGG) announced

Five new and four existing interdisciplinary graduate groups received funding in the 2013 Graduate School competition. Intended to facilitate collaboration among faculty, staff, and students with similar interdisciplinary interests, Interdisciplinary Graduate Groups (IGG) also seek and support the development of research, educational, or training activities that expand and enhance interdisciplinary graduate and professional education.

For more information, see the funding announcement.

Transcript fee increase

Effective July 1, 2013, the price of all transcripts, regardless of ordering method or format, will increase from $12 per transcript to $15. The International Priority delivery fee will increase from $20 to $25 for each address. The International Priority delivery fee for duplicate diplomas will also increase from $20 to $25 for each address. This cost increase is effective for all system campuses.

All paper transcripts will continue to be processed within one business day (certified PDF transcripts can be processed and delivered within minutes of being ordered, regardless of the time of day).

The updated form will be available July 1. Please discard any outdated materials and update any documents, websites, etc. to reflect this change.

This price increase will ensure that the University is able to continue providing fast and efficient service to students and alumni.

Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education Henning Schroeder appointed CGS/NSF Dean-in-Residence

Dr. Henning Schroeder has been offered a prestigious 12-month appointment as Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/National Science Foundation (NSF) Dean-in-Residence in Washington D.C., beginning September 2013. To ensure continued leadership in graduate education, Provost Hanson has appointed Dr. Sally Kohlstedt to serve as acting vice provost and dean of graduate education while Vice Provost Schroeder is away from his position.

Click here for more information.

Graduate Education Council (GEC) election results

Results from the spring 2013 Graduate Education Council (GEC) election are now available. Created in response to the recommendations for restructuring graduate education, the GEC serves as a University-wide advisory body to the vice provost and dean of graduate education. The five newly-elected faculty members will begin serving three-year terms in fall 2013.

FERPA Q&A: Orientation and student FERPA rights

Question: When do students' rights begin under FERPA?

Answer: Student rights, as they relate to his or her University record, begin as soon as a record is created. This means that all students attending orientation are protected under FERPA, even though they have not yet officially registered.

During orientation, some colleges may use peer advisers or other student staff to assist students with questions or registration. Student employees have responsibilities related to FERPA just as any full-time employee at the University does. Staff with access to student record information should only access what they need to fulfill their job duties. Student staff have the same duty to keep record information about other students private.

One Stop closed on May 29

On May 29, all One Stop Student Services locations will close at 11:30 a.m. for a staff event. Walk-in, phone, and email services will not be available during that time at any of the four One Stop Student Services locations. Full service will resume in all locations at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 30.

One Stop limited service on May 22

On May 22, the St. Paul, West Bank and Williamson One Stop Student Services locations will be closed from 8:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for a staff event. If you need to meet with a counselor during this time, please come to the location in Science Teaching and Student Services.

Update on Faculty Roles List database

Improvements continue to be made to the Faculty Roles List database. Reported issues of application error by non-authenticated users has been fixed. Non-authenticated users should now have access to the database, but it has been ensured that they do not have access to or can change program faculty responsibility records. Issues of slow loading on the "Search by faculty" function has also been corrected.

Portal Priorities Survey | Closes May 20

The Enterprise Portal team is gathering opportunities and needs for a new portal planned for late 2014. Your input will help as the team starts to prioritize opportunities and begin the design work. Please fill out this 10-15 minute survey by May 20.

Follow this link to participate in the survey or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://umn.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4Hm9ub7ZW8DrpcN

One Stop academic calendar feedback

Academic Support Resources (ASR) staff are in the process of reviewing the One Stop Student Services academic calendar. The goal is to include academic dates that are the most useful and important to students, faculty,and staff, using more student friendly language. The review team welcomes your thoughts and suggestions. If you have a recommendation, please email Tina Falkner.

Repeat policy update

As mentioned previously, a PDF has been posted on the One Stop website that contains guidelines for undergraduate students petitioning to enroll in a course for a third time. These guidelines reflect the University's policy on repeating a course, which states students may repeat a U of M course or its equivalent once. So far, enforcement of the policy has been well received, and few issues have been reported.

Upcoming change to event scheduling

On May 20, 2013, OCM will launch a new electronic room reservation system called Astra Schedule. A quick start guide will be available that includes instructions on how to request a classroom for an event using the new system. Scheduling staff will conduct demonstrations of the new request process and calendar functionality of the new software at the following locations across campus:

Saint Paul: Tuesday, May 21, 9-10 a.m., Ruttan B35
West Bank: Wednesday, May 22, 2:30-3:30 p.m., Blegen 10
East Bank: Thursday, May 23, 9-10 a.m., Nicholson 155

If you have any questions about this change, email OCMSoftwareHELP@umn.edu.

Policy best practice session: Application of Graduate Credits to Degree Requirements

These policy best practice sessions are related to the transition of review and accountability of the graduate degree plan from Graduate Student Services & Progress to programs and colleges on July 1.

Upcoming sessions:

-Thursday, May 23, 10-11:30 a.m. - St. Paul (McNeal Hall, Room 146)
-Thursday, May 30, 2:30-4 p.m. - East Bank (Nicholson Hall, Room 125)

No RSVP necessary.

New graduation packet messaging

Effective immediately, graduate students will experience a new interface and different messaging when requesting their graduation packet online. Eligibility milestones (e.g. active status, approved degree plan, approved final committee) for a student will now be checked at the time they log in to request a packet.

If a student has not completed one or more of the milestones listed, a message displays explaining what they are missing and steps they must take to correct it. We would like you to be aware of this new interface and messaging as it may generate questions from students.

If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact GSSP at gssp@umn.edu.