Graduate Coordinator Description
Graduate Coordinators (GC) are unit leaders in graduate education at East Tennessee State University. They serve as the liaison between the department’s graduate faculty, the graduate degree or certificate, and the Graduate School in all matters dealing with graduate education in all locations and delivery methods of the graduate program(s) or certificate(s). Graduate Coordinators are members of the ETSU Graduate Faculty as confirmed by the Graduate Faculty Subcommittee of Graduate Council. Each department or unit will have its own process for selecting a graduate coordinator, and the Dean of the Graduate School gives final approval of the departmental Graduate Coordinator (GC). The GC has responsibility to follow and implement all policies and procedures pertaining to graduate education at ETSU. The GC, furthermore, works in conjunction with the Graduate Program Faculty in the department to ensure that all policies and procedures, both university-wide and program-specific, are followed.
Graduate Coordinators are partners with the Graduate School. Graduate Coordinators have responsibilities in five primary areas related to their graduate program(s): (1) enrollment management; (2) matriculation, retention, and student success; (3) assistantship oversight; (4) graduate program review and assessment; (5) graduate program information consistency and accuracy. The Graduate Coordinator Handbook provides more detail on each of these areas.
Enrollment Management
The GC works with the Graduate School and with any available college personnel to:
- Recruit graduate students in collaboration with the Graduate School’s Coordinator of Marketing and Recruitment and any college-level recruitment support.
- Answer prospective student questions
- Make recommendations concerning admission to the Graduate School, following the admission procedure of the program.
- Serve as the primary advisor for new students when the program does not have a graduate advisor.
- Make recommendations on Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s applicants.
- Make recommendations about deferral requests.
Matriculation, Retention, and Student Success
The GC works collaboratively with the Graduate School and other student success units to:
- Provide an orientation to the program
- Maintain current records on program graduate students, including any provisions for admission and probationary conditions
- Provide students and faculty with information related to thesis, dissertation, internship, practicum, etc. and deadlines
- Collaborate with any program support staff to ensure accurate advising
- Keep graduate students and faculty informed of deadlines, dates, and policies related to enrollment, course program of study (CPOS), thesis/dissertation, graduation and other relevant deadlines, dates, and policies.
- Review and decide about transfer credit, dual program credit, and changes to course program of study (CPOS)
- Review student progress each semester and follow program and/or Graduate School policies and procedures related to academic progress and good standing.
- Address and help remediate student problems.
- Provide information about Graduate Student Success Specialists or other university support as needed for success
Assistantship Oversight
As relevant for programs, the GC works in coordination with the department chair and the Graduate School to:
- Oversee the assignment of graduate assistantships, including the funding letters, submission of contracts, enrollment requirements, including Supervised Teaching or Research
- Ensure the department provides appropriate training and resources for graduate teaching and research assistants.
- Ensure that graduate assistants receive an evaluation each academic year (at a minimum); submit the evaluation to the Graduate School
Graduate Program Review and Assessment
In partnership with the graduate faculty of the program, the Graduate Coordinator provides unit level leadership to:
- Ensure that the program’s courses and curriculum are appropriately rigorous.
- Foster scholarship/research in the graduate program.
- Review regularly graduate curriculum, student learning outcomes, and graduate education issues.
- Revise curriculum as needed to reflect disciplinary changes and future directions, support certification, licensure, or other credentialing requirements appropriate to the program.
- Lead program review and assessment as appropriate to the department.
Graduate Program Information Consistency and Accuracy
In what is arguably the least glamorous part of the role, the GC must:
- Ensure, in collaboration with the graduate faculty, the graduate program’s mission, learning goals, priorities, standards for admission, assistantship eligibility, program accreditation, career options for graduates, etc. are stated clearly and consistently on websites and other printed material.
- Review annually the Graduate Catalog to ensure accuracy; contact the Graduate School’s Associate Dean for Enrollment and Graduation to report discrepancies.
- Review and update program handbook (if applicable)
Workload
To serve as a graduate coordinator who grows a program and supports student success
requires a dedicated person passionate about graduate education and graduate students.
Each college should consider the important roles GCs play and consider how the workload
of a graduate coordinator is allocated in the individual’s workload plan each year.