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While the Graduate Division offices will be closed to the general public, we will remain operational and continue to provide support to students, staff, and faculty. Please read on for more info.

By Graduate Division Staff
Monday, March 16th, 2020 - 4:30pm

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Graduate Division services during the COVID-19 emergency

This message was sent out to graduate students, faculty graduate advisors, and graduate program staff on March 16, 2020.

Dear Graduate Students, Faculty Graduate Advisors, and Graduate Program Staff,

While we had planned to keep the Graduate Division open to foot-traffic (see messages here and here), in light of the Chancellor's recent memo on the importance of practicing social distancing (as well as the fact that five UC Santa Barbara students were placed in mandatory quarantine this weekend), we are closing the office to the general public. Please note: The Division will remain operational and continue to provide support to students, staff, and faculty. If you need to talk to an academic advisor, please email academics@graddiv.ucsb; if you have a question about financial support, please email financial@graddiv.ucsb.edu. We will either call you back or set up a Zoom chat.

Since we are closing our doors to the public to protect our staff from possible exposure to COVID-19, we are requesting that all documents be submitted electronically:

Petitions/forms (such as In Absentia, Leave of Absence, Committee Forms etc.):

Scanned forms, DocuSign signatures, and email approvals are acceptable.

Completed forms should be scanned/photographed and emailed to academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu.

Forms that require OISS signatures can be emailed to oiss@sa.ucsb.edu, and OISS staff will email to the Graduate Division.

Degrees:

  • Filing deadlines are hard deadlines. The deadline for a winter conferral is March 20th. The deadline for a spring conferral using winter fees or filing leave is March 26th.
  • Dissertations, supporting documents, and theses must be e-filed by the deadline, and committee approvals must be submitted to the Graduate Division by the deadline. Master's projects and comprehensive exams must be completed by the deadline.
  • Doctoral defenses may be conducted via Zoom/Skype. Scanned forms, DocuSign signatures, and email approvals are acceptable for the Doctoral Form III (Report on final defense or waiver).
  • Committee signature page approvals can be submitted to the Graduate Division in the following ways:

* The Graduate Division will accept a scanned/photographed version sent to academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu. This must be received by the filing deadline. DocuSign is acceptable for the signature page.

* If a scanned signature page is not obtainable, committee members can email academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu from their @ucsb email account, stating that they approve the thesis/dissertation/supporting document. If the member is from off campus, they should use their institution's email account. These email approvals must be received by the filing deadline.

For the March 20th and March 26th filing deadlines, we will waive the hard-copy, wet-signature page requirement. This means that if students submit acceptable electronic approvals as described above, we will not require them to subsequently submit hard-copy, wet-signatures.

Advancement to Candidacy:

  • Spring advancement paperwork must be submitted to the Graduate Division by the end of week 2 of spring quarter.
  • Advancement oral exams can be conducted via Zoom/Skype.
  • Scanned versions, DocuSign signatures, and email approvals are acceptable.
  • Completed forms should be scanned/photographed and emailed to academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu.
  • The advancement fee can be charged to BARC if the student is not able to come to campus to pay. The student would need to notify academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu that they request their advancement fee to be charged to their BARC accounts.
  • Don't hesitate to reach out to the Academics Unit if you have any questions: academics@graddiv.ucsb.edu.

Graduate Student Employment Exceptions

Should be submitted electronically to financial@graddiv.ucsb.edu. Requests should be emailed from a valid campus email address and can be signed by either DocuSign Signature or scanned hard copy signature. We ask that electronic submissions are complete and come in a single email message where possible. Relevant forms can be found here:

Request for Exception to Employment Policy form w/Academic Justification
Academic Progress Plan (if applicable)

Associate Cases:

Should be submitted electronically to financial@graddiv.ucsb.edu. Requests should be emailed from a valid campus email address and can be signed by either DocuSign Signature or scanned hard copy signature. We ask that electronic submissions are complete and come in a single email message where possible. Relevant forms can be found here:

Associate Appointment Form
Biography for Academic Personnel

All other documents necessary for Associates will be collected by the reviewing department

Financial Portal Fund Program Setup Request (new fund source)

Should be submitted electronically to financial@graddiv.ucsb.edu. The related form can be found here (must be logged into GradNet first for direct link to work).

GradPoint System Access Requests (Financial and/or Academic Sections)

Should be submitted electronically to graddeans@graddiv.ucsb.edu. The form to request/update permissions can be found here (must be logged into GradNet first for direct link to work).

Staff are available for consultations or advising via Zoom or Skype. Please contact the relevant staff member to schedule a virtual meeting.

In this dynamic situation, we are grateful for your understanding as we adapt to developments caused by COVID-19. We remain committed to supporting our students and continuing the important work of the Graduate Division.

Be well and stay healthy.

Sincerely,

The Graduate Division