Administration
1.1 Graduate College, Academic Affairs, Faculty Governance
GRADUATE COLLEGE
The Graduate College is primarily responsible for:
1) The ongoing training for both academic and vocational needs of graduate students inclusive of OPT/CPT, in partnership with Career Services, Academic Affairs, Intentional Center, Student Success, and Elevate Programs.
2) OPT placement and tracking in line with the goals of our education and training goals in partnership with the Career Services.
3) Internal placement recommendations for graduate assistants around the school, in partnership with Academic Affairs.
4) Management of graduate studies committee (GSC), with close cooperation between Academic Affairs and the Graduate College with the Dean of the Graduate College continuing as the chair-designee of GSC on behalf of and in consultation with the VP of Academic Affairs.
5) Synergy with the center of learning innovation. Under the leadership of the Dean of the Graduate College, the center for learning innovation is well poised to support the goals (1-4) of support of graduate education and co-curricular development.
Academic Affairs
The Office of Academic Affairs is responsible for administration, interpretation, the appeal of, and enforcement of academic policies and procedures including the recommendation of candidates for graduate degrees to the President, and the support of graduate study (inclusive of research pertaining to graduate study in partnership with the Office of Research) where these functions are not otherwise assigned.
Graduate Studies Committee
The Faculty Handbook describes the roles of the faculty, the University faculty council, and the Graduate studies committee. In particular, Appendix B. The Graduate Studies Committee is described herein: Appendix B, Article V, Section E
Research
University research is supported by the Office of Research, headed by the Vice Provost for Research. The Office of Research includes the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs, the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, and the Office of Technology Development. For more information on research at Illinois Tech, please visit research.iit.edu.
The Office of Sponsored Research and Programs provides comprehensive services for faculty and staff on the preparation, review, approval, management, non-financial reporting requirements, and closeout procedures of sponsored project proposals. These services extend to providing oversight for the pre-administration of awards for grants, contracts, and other sponsored-related award instruments for federal and non-federal projects, including industry agreements. The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance is responsible for ensuring compliance for research projects involving human subjects, biosafety, and animal studies. The office also provides training for compliance in responsible conduct of research, financial conflict of interest, and laboratory safety. The Office of Technology Development promotes research faculty interactions with companies, brings intellectual property (IP) research outcomes to the marketplace for public use and benefit, and provides the ideal lab and office premises and environment for retention and success of technology-based start-ups from international and local academic institutions, particularly Illinois Tech.
https://research.iit.edu/osrp
An external committee appointed by the Office of the Provost evaluates each academic unit on a rotational basis, about once in six years. This committee interviews the faculty, students, and the dean of the college after studying the relevant statistics of enrollment, research funding, publications, and graduation list. Generally, two to three academic units are evaluated each academic year and the reports from the committees are presented to the Provost. Questions regarding this external review process may be addressed to the Office of the Provost
Certificate Programs
A number of academic units offer graduate certificate programs. Students receive a certificate for completing three to four courses in a chosen concentration. If they wish to continue toward a master’s degree and if they are admitted to the degree program, these courses may be included in the 30 to 32-credit-hour master’s programs to complete the degree requirements.
Academic Progress
The Office of Academic Affairs monitors the academic progress of admitted students. Each semester, students with a GPA below 3.00 are placed on probation. It is the student’s responsibility, in consultation with their academic adviser, to provide a plan of action to achieve an improved GPA. If the GPA does not improve, the VP of Academic Affairs or their designee may dismiss them from the program. Each semester, the Office of Academic Affairs completes a graduation checklist of the students who submit an application for graduation. At the conclusion of each semester, students who have satisfactorily completed their programs of study, by published deadlines, are awarded the earned degree.
The Graduate College is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools, the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools, and the Illinois Association of Graduate Schools.
The Office of Academic Affairs in partnership with academic units and other administrative offices tracks graduate student progress toward the completion of graduate degree requirements. The Office of Academic Affairs sends welcome communications to new and continuing degree-seeking, certificate-seeking, and non-degree seeking students each semester, which summarize academic policies, procedures, and deadlines. At the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, the office conducts academic standing reviews and mandatory probation meetings with students who fail to make requisite academic progress. Upon application for graduation, the office certifies the completion of degree requirements and confers the degree. Questions regarding the completion of academic forms, audit worksheet, semester deadlines, application for graduation, and completion of outstanding degree requirements may be addressed to the Office of Academic Affairs at gradcoll@iit.edu or 312.567.3024.
The Thesis Examiner and Graduate Service Specialist is responsible for the completion of the master's thesis and doctoral dissertation documents for compliance with institutional thesis standards. The thesis examiner also conducts workshops each semester to enhance the thesis writing experience. All thesis students are required to make and keep a minimum of two examination appointments with the thesis examiner during the thesis writing and examination period. A copy of the thesis manual is available on the Graduate College website (web.iit.edu/gaa/thesis). LaTeX and Microsoft Word thesis templates are also available on this website.
