New GPD/Coordinator Systems Access Guide

Assistantship contracts are created and managed through a comprehensive university-wide Graduate Contract System accessible to hiring departments, the Graduate School, Bursar’s Office, and HR. Access is based on HR enterer and approver privileges.

Request access:      Submit request through  Banner HR enterer or approver access (must be logged in with VT google credentials to access site).

Training:

• The Graduate Student Assistantship Management and Funding Guide provides extensive information about managing assistantships from contract creation through tuition remission awarding, HR entry, and terminations (must be logged in with VT google credentials to access site).
• Training sessions are offered periodically by the Graduate School, and one-on-one assistance is available as well by contacting gradfinance@vt.edu.
• Use the Banner HR Guide for assistance with HR entry and approval.

Banner 9 is used to manage student records from admission decision through graduation; assistantship appointments and tuition remission; and student accounts. 

Quick Guide -- list of frequently used Banner forms 

Request access:

Student record access is requested from the Registrar’s Office for some functions and from the Graduate School for graduate-only functions:

• Download Banner student access and other request forms  from the Registrar's Office website under the Forms section and follow the directions for submission. FERPA training is required of everyone who has access to student data and must be renewed every two years. 
  
• Graduate School request: Complete the Graduate School Administrative System Access Request to get access to Plan of Study and graduate admissions data . 
  

Training:

• The Registrar's Office provides some Banner Student training. Visit their website for details. Online on-demand FERPA training is available through the PageUp Learning Management System. If you experience problems please contact David Green.

Request to be added to any or all of the following communication tools to receive regular or ad-hoc messages from the Graduate School:

• Graduate Program Directors (GPD) list:  messages sent semi-monthly on the 1st and 16th or ad hoc, including administrative announcements and events of particular relevance to GPDs
• Graduate Coordinators (GC) list: messages sent semi-monthly on the 1st and 16th and ad hoc, including administrative announcements and events of particular relevance to GCs
• Assistantship Management Group (AMG): AMG bulletin sent quarterly or ad hoc to share timely information about assistantship management, including deadlines, policy and procedure changes and contract system updates
• GLC Weekly: weekly messages sent on Mondays to all currently enrolled graduate students at all campuses except Washington DC metro area regarding events, services, administrative announcements and job opportunities, curated specifically for graduate students
• Dean's Weekly Update: sent weekly on Fridays during the academic year to graduate students at all campuses to share insights and updates from the dean of the Graduate School

The Electronic Signature Approval System is used for scheduling preliminary and final exams, documenting exam outcomes, and uploading and approving ETDs.

Request access:

• The system automatically provides faculty access based on information in Banner, but graduate coordinators may need to request access when taking a new position.
• Email Janice Austin, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions and Academic Progress for the Graduate School, at jamarti1@vt.edu, or to the Graduate School general account, grads@vt.edu, to request access. 

The Graduate Catalog provides a comprehensive listing of graduate programs and academic policies. It is reviewed and updated annually and serves as an official record of graduate program offerings at Virginia Tech.

Access:

• When a new program is approved by SCHEV and the Registrar’s Office notifies the Graduate School, the Graduate School will add the program to the Graduate Catalog and reach out to the program (typically to department head) to determine who should be granted update access. Initial set up is the responsibility of Graduate School IT staff.
  
• Departments/programs determine who have catalog-update access. This might be a Department Head/Chair and/or a Graduate Program Director along with a Graduate Program Coordinator or other administrative employee. Designated faculty and/or staff member(s) are responsible for maintaining accurate program information in the catalog and adding or removing departmental personnel access with catalog update authority.
• The Graduate School can verify the current list of designated faculty/staff for each department/program. If all designated faculty/staff are unavailable to update departmental access, the Graduate School IT staff can manage access updates for the department/program.

Content management:

• Catalog content must be reviewed and updated annually.  The review is initiated by the department or program (including certificate programs), then reviewed by the college’s associate dean responsible for graduate education, and is completed with a review by the Graduate School.
  
  • Admission deadlines, requirements and program information must be reviewed and verified annually, whether changes are made or not, with automated notifications sent to authorized personnel between April and July. Once the Graduate Catalog is finalized in early August for the upcoming academic year, this information cannot be modified.
  • Faculty information and contact information can be updated at any time.

The Navigate platform combines predictive analytics and communication tools for the academic advising and support of currently enrolled VT students. Graduate programs may use Navigate to:

• track advising conversations
• look up student academic information
• refer students to a variety of services
• proactively contact students who meet a particular set of criteria
• schedule advising meetings
• and more.

Request access:

• Complete the Access to Student Records form to request Navigate access. Check the “Advising Platform Access Requested” box.
• Submit signed form to the Registrar’s Office.
• Complete Navigate training through Canvas: https://canvas.vt.edu/courses/122839. Contact Heather Whedbee at heathaw@vt.edu if you need access to the course.  

Slate is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool used by the Graduate School to manage graduate prospect recruitment, applications, admission, and enrollment decisions.  Users can review and manage all interactions, communications, applications, test scores, relationships, and materials in one comprehensive area.  Academic Applications integrates data from the Student Information System (Banner) to and from Slate.

Request access: Submit a Slate User Access/Permissions form. Choose “Slate user access/permissions” and complete the form.

Training:  Slate training sessions are offered periodically through Zoom; all Slate users are notified of upcoming training dates by email. Individual training sessions can be scheduled by request through the Slate User Training Request.

Annually recurring events and deadlines have been compiled into a calendar for your quick overview.

The Graduate School dashboard provides extensive data about graduate student applications, admissions, enrollment and employment.

Request access:   Visit https://udc.vt.edu/ click on Graduate School; when prompted, send the required details to the email address specified.