The program director promotes excellence in graduate education by:
- Admitting, educating, and graduating a cohort of the best possible students from diverse backgrounds.
- Supporting students academically and promoting successful completion of the degree by:
- Assisting students who have academic concerns
- Providing effective and regular mentoring
- Providing continuity during faculty leaves, especially for thesis work
- Working with Chair(s) (and appropriate dean) to assure the uninterrupted availability of courses in the program curriculum
- Maintaining a clear, fair, and effective admissions process
- Connecting students with appropriate campus resources and contacts
- Supporting students financially by:
- Overseeing a fair and timely process for nominating and assigning students for Graduate Service Appointments (GSAs) and grant opportunities
- Ensuring GSA assignments are reported to the Office of Graduate Studies
- Providing information to all students about funding for research, travel, and professional development opportunities
- Assisting in the successful job placement of graduates and aiding and tracking their careers by:
- Providing opportunities to help students consider potential career paths
- Circulating information about career opportunities
- Tracking the career success of graduates and making this information available to current and prospective students
It is helpful to work with program staff to produce a program handbook and update it annually. A handbook is a useful way to ensure that uniform information about the program and its policies and procedures is available to students, faculty, and administrators. It provides specific expectations and procedures pertinent to the successful completion of the program. It contains course and program requirements (including those for examinations), describes processes for the selection of faculty advisors, and provides information about other program-specific policies and processes. The handbook should outline a typical course of study from entry through graduation that includes expectations and milestones for each year. It is good practice to include a checklist of annual student tasks and deadlines. Other information may include:
- Internal and external funding opportunities, including GSAs and funding from the department, college, and the Office of Graduate Studies
- Overview of EWU academic policies with links to relevant sites
- Links to university resources
- Contact information
EWU is committed to diversity and inclusivity. One of the very important ways in which you as the program director provide leadership is in the active recruitment of graduate students from groups underrepresented in your graduate student population. You may use a variety of strategies, including encouraging broad departmental involvement in outreach to attract applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, inviting prospective students to campus, attending relevant events, and identifying faculty and current graduate students who are interested in helping you to recruit underrepresented students.
The EWU website can direct you (and prospective students) to EWU diversity resources, including statistics, rules, documents, and more.
