Student Services
Student Services supports graduate students pursuing doctoral, specialist, and master’s degrees, and graduate certificate programs.
Students are managing many life responsibilities while pursuing their graduate degree/certificate. Should their responsibilities interfere with their ability to focus on school, we assist them with filing special leave of absence, late drop, late add, late withdrawal, or medical withdrawal requests. Other key responsibilities of this office include monitoring students’ academic progress and performance, coordinating the doctoral hooding ceremony, and certifying degrees.
In addition to supporting students, this office is a resource for graduate faculty and program staff. Our team reviews graduate faculty nominations and ensures that faculty are credentialed to teach graduate-level courses and serve on thesis and dissertation committees. We communicate regularly with graduate programs when policies and business processes change to ensure we support the needs of our students, while also aligning with state mandates.
Growth and Productivity
The Student Services team expanded this year to include additional evaluators, coordinators, and an additional administrative assistant. As a result, our coordinators and evaluators have been able to prioritize key initiatives and respond to requests promptly. Our administrative assistants have organized the medical withdrawal submission process and followed up on outstanding requests, allowing students to either withdraw their request or to move forward in having their appeal reviewed.
Our evaluators have organized their worklist by archiving outdated eForm requests and processing those received. Their efforts resulted in zero pending eForms as of July 10, 2024. This achievement also streamlined degree certification. Our coordinators completed the academic progress review for spring and summer before the start of the following term, allowing CGS to inform students and programs of their academic standing which is instrumental to course planning. Similarly, thesis and dissertation committees and candidacy nominations were also processed early, enabling prompt enrollment.
Internal Transfer Coursework
The Internal Transfer Coursework initiative was a significant effort for Student Services this year. In collaboration with our CGS business analysts and graduate program faculty and staff, the Graduate Plan of Study was updated to include a requirement line identifying UCF coursework completed before the semester of a student‘s admissions. Evaluators worked with faculty and graduate program staff to update degree audits, ensuring transfer credits aligned with the updated Transfer Credit policy that went info effect Spring 2023.
Graduate Appeals/Petitions
Across the 2023-2024 academic year, 14 graduate appeal meetings were held with 154 graduate students petitioning during that time. (See charts below)
2023-2024 Graduate Appeal Petitions Submitted
| Academic Term | Summer 2023 | Fall 2023 | Spring 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSP30D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| GSP7YR | 8 | 25 | 34 | 67 |
| GSP9MA | 1 | 4 | 11 | 16 |
| GSPCAT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GSPCER | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| GSPIND | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GSPTR6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| GSPW50 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| GSPOTH | 10 | 22 | 22 | 54 |
| Total Number of Petitions | 27 | 58 | 69 | 154 |
GSP9MA: More than the allowable hours of transfer work into a master’s program
GSPCAT: Reverting to old catalog year
GSPCER: Graduate certificate course substitution
GSPIND: Independent study hours: More than 6 hours applied to a master’s program
GSPTR6: Transfer more than 6 hours of Traveling Scholar hours
GSPW50: Waiver of 1/2 of min. degree requirements at 6000 level
GSPOTH: Other
2023-2024 Graduate Appeals Committee Meetings Held
| Academic Term | Summer 2023 | Fall 2023 | Spring 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
Commencement
Across 13 commencement ceremonies, Student Services planned hooding ceremonies for doctoral candidates:
121 in Summer 2023
77 in Fall 2023
116 in Spring 2024
From Summer 2023 through Spring 2024 total
3,423 graduate degrees and certificates were awarded.
2023-2024 Degrees Awarded
| Academic Term | Summer 2023 | Fall 2023 | Spring 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctoral | 151 | 102 | 141 | 394 |
| Master’s | 588 | 890 | 1,194 | 2,672 |
| Certificates | 103 | 121 | 113 | 337 |
| Specialist | 5 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| Total | 847 | 1,115 | 1,461 | 3,423 |
Graduate Faculty
To participate in graduate education, including teaching courses, overseeing thesis and dissertation committees, and mentoring graduate students, faculty must hold appointments as Graduate Faculty or Graduate Faculty Scholars. These educators bring unique expertise and skills that enrich the graduate academic journey. During the 2023-2024 academic year, 393 faculty members were appointed to these roles, reflecting our commitment to excellence in graduate education.