The Graduate Student Request for Change of Status is used for a variety of academic situations such as a change in degree program due to adding an MS degree, switching programs, and a leave of absence. The form cannot be used to add a PhD program. Regular admissions procedures apply to students wanting to add or switch doctoral programs.
The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities sets forth the Student Bill of Rights along with the national, state and city laws and Rensselaer policies that guide Institute and judicial actions in support of Rensselaer student success.
The Graduate Student Supplement to the Rensselaer Student Handbook of Rights & Responsibilities sets guidelines specifically applied to graduate students and graduate education
FIVE STEPS GRIEVANCE PROCESS TO FOLLOW
Definition: a grievance is a charge that (1) a decision made, or action taken, is improper or unfair and directly affects the student and (2) there is a dispute between the student and the person who made the decision. For additional examples, see note 5 below.
Exceptions: Grievances do not include incidents of discrimination, harassment, (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking), retaliation and/or unethical conduct/misconduct against faculty, staff, and students. Such incidents must be reported here: https://info.rpi.edu/report-a-concern.
For all other concerns, follow the five-step process above. Always begin by communicating with the directly concerned individual. If the grievance concerns the GPD or department head directly, please skip that step in the process.
The general process for dealing with grievances is shown in he above diagram. For any grievance, please follow these five steps:
Step 1. talk to the directly involved party. For example, if your advisor did or said something that made you anxious, schedule a time to talk to the advisor and explain your concern. You can watch this video for how to manage difficult conversations. You can also reach out to your personal networks, to the graduate Ombuds, or to the Dean of Graduate Experience for advice on how to handle this conversation.
Step 2. If the issue was not resolved through direct conversation with involved party, schedule a time to meet with your graduate program director to request their help in resolving the issue.
Step 3. If the graduate program director was unable to help, bring the matter to the attention of your department head.
Step 4. If needed, bring your school's associate dean for graduate programs into the discussion
Step 5. If all else fails, schedule a time to meet and discuss the issue with the Dean of Graduate Education.
At any point along the process, use your support network for help and guidance.
Notes:
1 The list of GPDs can be found here: https://graduate.rpi.edu/about/contact-us
2 The Department Head will be listed on your department’s Website under ‘people’ or ‘faculty’
3 Associate Deans: School of Engineering: Agung Julius; School of Science: Sibel Adali; Architecture: Chris Perry; Lally: Hakan Hekimoglu/Brian Clark; HASS: Ken Simons
4 Forms of Support and Advice: Advice on how to approach the person; Guidance through the grievance process; Support for effective communication; Advice on documenting the process
5 Examples of grievances: Delayed academic progress; Excessive or unreasonable demands; Hostile academic environment; Unclear expectations and performance metrics; For additional examples please review the section on student-advisor relationship on page 4 of the graduate student handbook supplement
PhD students working as graduate assistants (either TA or RA) are expected to work an average of 20 hours/week. In addition, graduate assistants must be registered as full time students with a minimum of 9 credits each semester.
OGE recognizes that opportunities outside the campus assistantships can be beneficial in preparing students for their careers, and is generally supportive of such opportunities, under the following conditions:
- Any potential conflict of interest must be disclosed to the research advisor or to OGE
- Students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic progress as well as perform all duties required for the assistantship
- It is recommended that students limit any outside work to no more than 9 hours/week to ensure successful progress toward their degree
- For international students, outside work must be pursued through the CPT process and students should be registered for a 3 credit CPT course
OPT:
- International students who are full time students and hold a graduate assistantship will not be authorized to apply for OPT that starts before they graduate
- International students who are ABD and in their final semester and don't hold any graduate assistantship position may change to part time status and be authorized to apply for OPT in their final semester. Please note that in this case students must graduate in that semester and no time to degree extension will be given under any circumstances
Other items:
- Students cannot hold another position on campus (such as in the rec center, library, or similar) beyond their 20 hours of graduate assistantship
- Students on institute fellowships (such as the Rensselaer Graduate Fellowship) are not permitted to engage in outside work. The objective of a fellowship is to allow the student to focus solely on their academic work. For external fellowships please review the specific fellowship terms.
