One Stop closed until 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 24

One Stop Student Services will be closed from 8 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 for a staff event. Staff will not be available to assist walk-ins, and responses to phone and email inquiries will not be available during this time at all four One Stop Student Services locations:

333 Science Teaching & Student Services (East Bank campus)
160 Williamson Hall (East Bank campus)
130 West Bank Skyway (West Bank campus)
130 Coffey Hall (St. Paul campus)

Full service will resume at all One Stop Student Services centers at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 24.

Sign up for the Graduate and Professional Student Update

Staff and faculty can sign up to receive the Graduate and Professional Student Update (GPU) by filling out a form on the GPU website. After you complete the signup form, a confirmation email will be sent to you. Once you receive it, follow the instructions in the email to verify your subscription.

New policy allows grad students up to two-year leave of absence

Graduate students are now permitted to take a leave of absence. A leave of absence allows students to return to the University under the same rules and policies that were in place when they left, and without affecting their time to degree.

Students who receive financial aid from the University should talk with their graduate program and/or department, Graduate Assistant Employment, Student Financial Aid, International Student and Scholar Services, Graduate School Fellowship Office, and/or a One Stop counselor to learn about any effects a leave of absence might have on loan repayment. Students who receive funding from a source outside of the University should talk with that agency to learn about any effects a leave of absence might have.

During the period of an approved leave of absence, students may not use student amenities and services, laboratories, equipment, and other research facilities, nor may they use the services of faculty or administrative staff, except as needed to return to active status. For more information, please refer to the complete policy.

Process for declaring a minor remains unchanged

Though several graduate education policies have recently changed, the process for graduate students to declare a minor has not. Per the usual process, students declare their minor as part of the Graduate Degree Plan. For doctoral students, this must be completed before their prelim oral exam.

Students must list their minor and minor field coursework, as well as obtain the approval signature of their minor field Director of Graduate Studies.

Students who have declared a minor must include a representative from the minor field on their examining committee when submitting the committee assignment workflow.

The start of fall 2012 for One Stop

The first week of term and the week before are the busiest times of the year for One Stop Student Services. The start-of-term statistics from fall 2012 are now available and include the new location in Williamson Hall.

Link added to One Stop Graduate Resources page

As requested at the last College Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting, a quick link to "request a registration exception" has been added to the One Stop Graduate Student Resources page and to the Faculty/Staff page on the Graduate School website.

New scheduling tool

A new scheduling tool called Schedule Builder launched October 1, 2012. All University of Minnesota students will be able to use Schedule Builder to create class schedules based on selected courses. Students using Graduation Planner will be able to send in the courses they've placed in their graduation plans as well. It also allows students to email possible schedules to their inbox and/or print for reference during registration.

Additionally, Schedule Builder will help advisers limit the amount of time spent identifying schedule conflicts, allowing more time for the student and adviser to discuss academic goals, interests, opportunities, and resources for success.