Graduate Faculty Handbook

Summary of Changes Since AY 2025-26

• Student Financial Assistance
  • New section summarizing financial assistance now housed within the Handbook (Section 5).
• Grad Student Right to an Independent Party
  • Delineates who can serve as a third party for a student in a meeting (Section 3).
• Thesis/Dissertation Proposal Defense
  • New policy and accompanying forms require a proposal defense which is scheduled in advance with SGS and is either passed or failed (no deferral or suspension of a defense). The form for reporting the outcome includes necessary feedback for re-defense or subsequent work to complete the thesis/dissertation (Section 8).
• Graduate Assistantships policy
  • There is a new category of graduate assistant: Graduate Trainee for clinical and practical experience. Each category of assistantship has specific requirements for start/end dates, termination, etc.
  • Minimum graduate assistant (P03) stipend is $6400 per semester at 0.5 FTE; minimum stipends must be scaled proportionately for lower FTEs. Hourly (P05) or lump sum (P07) employment for students is not affected by this policy.
  • Graduate teaching assistants, graduate instructors, and graders must adhere to the Consensual Relationships policy (Section 4).
• Concurrent Research Degrees and Supervisory Committees
  • Language clarifying supervisory committee policies for graduate students enrolled in two graduate programs concurrently (i.e., masters-masters, doctoral-masters, doctoral-doctoral) (Section 7).
• Completion of RCR CITI training now tracked on the initial SCAF form
  • Completion of the required RCR CITI training is now tracked on the initial Supervisory Committee forms for master’s/doctoral students who are required to take the training. Must be completed before the approval of the SCAF form (Section 7).
• Proposal Defenses, Forms, and Approvals
  • Thesis and dissertation proposals must now be scheduled in advance with the School of Graduate Studies using newly developed forms, and TPA/ACCD forms are submitted after a successful proposal defense. Students must either pass or fail proposal defenses; they cannot be suspended. New forms include a mandatory field to document revisions needed prior to re-defense or study completion (Section 8).
• USU 7777 and Grace Semester
  • USU 7777 is no longer offered. Students who need to preserve enrolled status should use thesis/dissertation credits. Grace semester policy language to clarify that it is a time period for degree completion, independent of enrollment.
  • Thesis/dissertation edits after a successful defense must minor and be completed by the end of the grace semester. If they are not, the student will need to register and re-defend (Section 8).
• Student Rights & Responsibilities now explicitly references USU’s Respectful Workplace policy (Section 3).

Preface

The purpose of this handbook is:

• To serve as a navigational tool for graduate faculty members as they work with graduate students towards their academic success.
• To assist graduate faculty in understanding graduate student rights and responsibilities.
• To provide clarity on the rules and procedures necessary for serving as a member of the graduate faculty at Utah State University in the roles of major professor, supervisor of graduate assistants, and member of a thesis, project, or dissertation committee.

Utah State University (USU) is committed to maintaining a community environment that encourages mutual respect and facilitates collegial relationships. To build and promote trust, all USU community members are collectively responsible to set a positive example and to avoid behaving disrespectfully, including bullying, or any other behavior that would reasonably offend, intimidate, embarrass, or humiliate others, whether deliberately or unintentionally. University related interactions should be conducted with professionalism, courtesy, civility, decency, and a concern for personal dignity.