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SISGradAdvising
Marley Crutcher
sisallgrad-L@listserv.american.edu
Grad Advising Bulletin 8/17/15 - Add/Drop Express Advising and Registration FAQs, SRP/internship registration
deadlines, New Academic Regs, GSC Updates, SIS-600 Skills Refresher, Changes in Advisors
08/17/2015 02:05 PM
Grad Advising News and Announcements
NEW Express Advising Starting Mon, Aug 24 - Now scheduled online
and in-advance, in-person or via phone
Graduate advisors will be holding Express Advising hours Monday, August 24 Friday, September 18. Unlike Appointments, Express Advising meetings are 15
minutes in length and should be used for immediate questions related to fall
registration. (30 minute appointments for long term degree planning will resume
Monday, September 21.) STUDENTS WILL NOW SCHEDULE EXPRESS
ADVISING MEETINGS ONLINE AND IN-ADVANCE, AND ALL EXPRESS
ADVISING MEETINGS WILL NOW BE AVAILABLE EITHER IN-PERSON
OR VIA PHONE. We hope that this increased flexibility will better accommodates
our students' busy schedules. We will no longer be able to guarantee same-day
availability, so students should schedule in advance if they wish to meet with their
advisor. Starting Wednesday, August 19,students may schedule an Express
Advising meeting with their advisor at: https://sisgraduateadvisingexpressadvising.youcanbook.me/. If you have any questions about Express
Advising, please call the Graduate Advising office at 202-885-1690.
NEW Fall 2015 Add/Drop Registration FAQs
Fall 2015 classes begin Monday, August 31 and the last day of the add/drop
period (the last day to make changes to your schedule for a 100% refund and without
a 'W') is Monday, September 14. All internships (academic credit or non-credit)
and independent studies (including SRPs and theses) must be registered by
Thursday, September 10 (see below for more information). STUDENTS ARE
RECOMMENDED TO REVIEW THE FALL ADD/DROP REGISTRATION
FAQs FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FALL REGISTRATION. FAQ
topics include:
· Add/Drop Registration Deadlines and Information
· Approved Second-Level Methods Courses
· Waitlists
· SRP, Thesis, Independent Study Registration
· MA Professional Experience Requirement
· Internship (Academic Credit or No-Credit)
NEW Internship and Independent Study (including SRP and thesis)
Registration Deadline
Students registering Internships (for academic credit or non-credit to fulfill the
professional experience requirement) or Independent Studies (including
SRPs and theses) for the fall 2015 semester are required to submit their completed
registration materials (including any necessary approvals and attachments) to the
Graduate Advising office by Thursday, September 10 to allow time for
processing before Monday, September 14.
10. Incomplete paperwork will not be
processed. Students who anticipate securing a fall internship after the
registration deadline, or who will be unable to complete registration
paperwork by the deadline for any reason, should contact their
academic advisor in advance of the deadline to discuss options. For
information on registering independent studies (including SRPs and theses) and
internships, please review the FALL ADD/DROP REGISTRATION FAQs or visit
the SIS Graduate Advising website.
NEW Non-credit internships and the SIS Professional Experience
Requirement
Students completing an internship this spring to fulfill the SIS MA
Professional Experience requirement must register the internship.
Internships can be registered either for non-credit (no tuition charge, only fulfills the
Professional Experience requirement) or for academic credit (tuition charges apply,
may fulfill the Elective requirement in addition to the Professional Experience
requirement). For more information about the SIS Professional Experience
requirement visit the SIS Graduate Advising website. For more information on
registering internships, please see above or review the FALL ADD/DROP
REGISTRATION FAQs or visit the SIS Graduate Advising website.
NEW New AU Graduate Academic Regulations
The AU Faculty Senate has approved updates to the Graduate Academic Regulations
effective Fall 2015. These regulations will govern all AU students enrolled in
graduate degree or certificate programs or registered for graduate non-degree
coursework beginning August 31, 2015. To read the announcement from the AU
Office of Graduate Studies, click here. Changes relevant to SIS graduate students
include changes to the regulations governing academic probation and dual-degrees.
Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the new AU Graduate
Academic Regulations found here.
NEW Graduate Student Council New Officers and Task Force
Representatives
After careful consideration and in line with the SIS GSC Bylaws, two representatives
have been selected for the SIS Task Force on MA Education: Analicia Carpio is a 2nd
year MA candidate in International Communications and Lucas Olson is a 2nd year
MA candidate in International Development, as well as President of GSC.
Additionally, new Executive Officer positions have been finalized: the GSC Vice
President is Jonathan Hunn-Broadnax, a 2nd year MA candidate in Int’l Peace and
Conflict Resolution and the Director of Communications is Parsa Ghahramani, a 2nd
year MA Candidate in Comparative Regional Studies. Per the Bylaws, mandated
elections for the GSC Executive Council were waived due to the number of qualified
applicants. More information will be soon forthcoming on how to get involved with the
Task Force process and your Graduate Student Council. In the meantime, you can
learn more about the GSC via our Facebook page
at https://www.facebook.com/SISGSC.
NEW SIS-600 Int'l Affairs Stats & Methods Skills Refresher on
Blackboard
Students who are registered for SIS-600 International Affairs Statistics and Methods
for fall 2015, or planning to take the course in a future semester, are encouraged to
visit the SIS-600 Skills Refresher on Blackboard. On this course page, you'll find the
following resources to help you feel ready for success in SIS-600.
A quick self-assessment to help you gauge your familiarity with the
mathematical tools you'll need for SIS-600 or any other stats course.
Tutorials to get you up to speed. You'll find brief videos, instructional guides,
and practice problems focusing on the mathematical concepts we use in
class.
Advanced training and review for those interested in pursuing more
advanced training after SIS-600.
Information about SIS-600 and the Professors who teach it.
Please note, not all SIS graduate students are required to take SIS-600. For For
questions about your program requirements, please contact your academic advisor
and/or review your program worksheet on the Graduate Advising website at:
http://www.american.edu/sis/gradadvising/worksheets.cfm If you have any questions
or comments about the refresher or do not have access to the course on Blackboard,
please email Professor Austin Hart at ahart@american.edu.
UPDATED Advisor Transitions in Grad Advising (EPGA, IC, IM, IER, IE
and GEP)
As of Monday, August 24, the Global Environmental Politics
(GEP) program will be advised by Marisa Rivero (mrivero@american.edu). Click
here to read the announcement about the new GEP advisor.
As of Monday, July 20, the following programs were assigned new graduate
academic advisors:
Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs (EPGA): Mike Rosenberger
(rosenber@american.edu)
Intercultural and International Communication (IC) and International
Media (IM): Annie Belott (abelott@american.edu)
International Economic Relations (IER) and International Economics
(IE): Marisa Rivero (mrivero@american.edu)
Click here to read the full announcement about advisor transitions in EPGA, IC,IM,
IER and IE, including more information about each advisor.
NEW Apply to Graduate for Fall 2015
Students planning to complete all degree requirements in the Fall 2015 semester
must apply to graduate via their myAU portal (under Academics – Apply to
Graduate). We recommend that you complete the application now (the application
takes less than 5 minutes) if you plan to graduate in fall. Click here for information
about the December 2015 AU Commencement ceremony.
NEW Economics Placement Exam (October 8-10) Registration
Students wishing to take the SIS economics placement exam to waive the ECON603 prerequisite to register for SIS-616 International Economics, SIS-620 Intro. to
Environmental Economics, SIS-635 Intro. to Economic Development, or other
economics courses may now register for the next available exam in October. Some
MA programs may allow students to waive ECON-603 based on other criteria, so
students should check with their academic advisor if they have any questions about
whether they should take the exam.
The online economics placement exam is offered live and is proctored (students must
be on webcam during the test administration). The exam consists of 50 multiplechoice questions that cover both microeconomic and macroeconomic principles.
Students have 90 minutes to complete the exam. Students may only take the
examination once as an SIS graduate student. A passing score is a 74%. There are
three different time options available in October:
Thurs, Oct 8: 5:30-7:30pm EDT
Fri, Oct 9: 9:30-11am EDT
Sat, Oct 10: 10-11:30am EDT
Please click here to register for the exam. The registration deadline
is Thursday, October 1. After registering, you will receive information about how
to access the online testing space. This is the only exam period that will be
offered prior to Spring 2016 registration beginning.
Upcoming Events
Fall 2015 SIS Graduate Orientation NEW STUDENTS ONLY
Thursday, August 27 - Friday, August 28 SIS is excited to welcome new graduate students at Graduate Orientation later this
month! Thursday attendance is mandatory, and new students are highly recommend
to attend the Friday optional sessions. Students are advised to consult their invitation
for more schedule details. Continuing students should please be aware that
academic advisors will not be holding appointments or Express Advising hours on
these days, but the Graduate Advising office will be open for general questions. New
students can view a tentative schedule and RSVP here.
FOR SIS EVENTS: http://www.american.edu/sis/events
TO ACCESS TO SIS GRADUATE ADVISING WEEKLY BULLETINS ON
THE WEB: http://www.american.edu/sis/gradadvising/News-andAnnouncements.cfm
To schedule an appointment, please call the Graduate Advising Office at (202)
885-1690. For advising resources, and Express Advising schedules (as applicable),
please visit the Graduate Advising website at: www.american.edu/sis/gradadvising.
For up to date advising information, please visit our News and Announcements
page at: http://www.american.edu/sis/gradadvising/News-and-Announcements.cfm.