Options for the Doctoral Students
of Faculty Newly Recruited by Stanford

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The following memo announces a new classification of non-matriculated graduate student, to be implemented in Autumn Quarter 2011.

To:         Department Chairs and School Deans

From:     Patricia J. Gumport, Vice Provost for Graduate Education

Re:        New Policies and Procedures regarding Students of New Faculty

Date:     April 21, 2011 [updated with 2012-13 costs]

Faculty members recruited by Stanford University may be coming from positions where they have been advising doctoral students. This memo provides guidance about the options available for these students, and explains a new option to be introduced Autumn quarter, 2011-12. The options outlined in this memo also pertain to students of faculty recruited into non-Academic Council positions (e.g., Medical Center Line), bearing in mind that non-Academic Council members cannot be primary academic advisors to Stanford doctoral students.

• OPTION 1. The student stays enrolled at the home institution and completes the degree program there.
• OPTION 2. The student applies to, is accepted by, and matriculates in a doctoral program at Stanford and completes the degree program here. All Stanford policies apply; and all decisions regarding timing, procedures, and outcome of the student’s application for admission rest solely with the Stanford degree-granting program.
• OPTION 3 (NEW). The student stays enrolled at the home institution, but moves to Stanford for a limited period of time to complete research under the direct guidance of the newly hired faculty member. The degree is awarded by the home institution. A new status of non-matriculated graduate student is being established at Stanford, effective Autumn quarter, 2011-12, to facilitate this option.

The appropriate option depends on:

• the circumstances of the particular student, including his/her stage of the doctoral program;
• the policies of the home institution;
• the circumstances of the recruited faculty member, including their grants and where those grants will be administered;
• the start-up funding package negotiated at Stanford, including discretionary (unrestricted) resources available to the new faculty member;
• the policies and practices of the graduate program at Stanford; and
• Stanford University graduate academic and research policies.

All decisions about arrangements for these students should be made in consultation with the appropriate officials at the student’s home institution, as well as the student, the recruited faculty member, the relevant Stanford department chair and the School dean’s office. These decisions should be made as part of the recruitment and appointment process for the new faculty member. Staff in the VPGE office are available to consult with you, the recruited faculty member, and the School dean’s staff who work with graduate students, to discuss the circumstances of particular students and help determine the best course of action in each case.

If the student is going to assume a role in the recruited faculty member’s research at Stanford (beyond an occasional brief visit), the student must be appointed to an appropriate Stanford status. This allows the University to account for and provide services to all students, especially in emergencies, and to ensure that all individuals in our research labs are properly trained.

Detailed description of each of the three options, including the Stanford policies and the financial implications, follows below. Questions should be directed to Chris Golde, Associate Vice Provost ([email protected]) and the dean’s office of the Stanford School hiring the faculty member.

Option 1

The student stays enrolled at the home institution and completes the degree program there.

If the home institution’s policies permit, the recruited faculty member may have continuing formal involvement with the student, such as, for example, serving as a member of the student’s dissertation reading committee. The student can remain in touch with the recruited faculty member through periodic short visits or by electronic means. The faculty member may want to make provision for sufficient funds to return to the student’s home institution to participate in a dissertation defense.

Option 2

The student applies to, is accepted by, and matriculates in a doctoral program at Stanford and completes the degree program here.

Stanford does not have a formal graduate transfer option. Students enrolled in another doctoral program may apply for admission to Stanford. The admission process, requirements, and decisions reside with the faculty of each degree-granting program. It is possible that admission cycles and decisions may not coincide with the time when the faculty member is being recruited.

Admitted graduate students are eligible to transfer up to 45 units of prior coursework toward Stanford residency requirements [https://gap.stanford.edu/3-2.html ]. Programs may, at their discretion, consider counting course work completed elsewhere for departmental requirements. All other Stanford requirements apply. For example, prior to advancement to candidacy, a student is required to take three units of coursework with each of four different Stanford faculty members [https://gap.stanford.edu/4-6.html ].

There are several factors to consider:

1. Does Stanford offer an appropriate doctoral degree program?
2. Is the student admissible by department and program standards?
3. Would admissions be part of the normal admissions pool and cycle, or would the student be admitted through other processes?
4. The faculty member should ensure that the student will have sufficient funds while at Stanford. Is the faculty member expected to provide funding for the student? If so, for how long and from which sources?

Option 3

The student stays enrolled at the home institution, but moves to Stanford for a limited period of time to complete research under the direct guidance of the newly hired faculty member. The degree is awarded by the home institution.

In keeping with a desire to preserve pre-existing doctoral advising relationships, and to support the students advised by the new faculty member to complete their doctoral research in a timely manner, Stanford has established a new non-matriculated graduate student status to facilitate this option beginning Autumn quarter, 2011-12. This option replaces other mechanisms used in the past (i.e., appointing the student as a Visiting Researcher or appointing the student as a short-term employee). We refer to this enrollment status as Student of New Faculty (SNF). SNF students must remain in good academic standing at the home institution (e.g., leave of absence) as governed by the policies of that institution.

Implementation procedures related to this new status are still in development. Details will be posted in the Graduate Academic Policy and Procedures on-line handbook (https://gap.stanford.edu) in Chapter 2, Admissions and Matriculation.

[Note: The policy on "Students of New Faculty" was added to the GAP handbook in July 2011.]

   3.1 Eligibility, Appointment, Privileges and Responsibilities

Students may be appointed into SNF status if they: (a) have completed degree requirements equivalent to those required for Stanford�s TGR status (i.e., curricular requirements, candidacy, and residency), and (b) are in good academic standing at their home institution, and remain so while at Stanford, and (c) have the approval of the home institution. Appointment must be recommended by the department and approved by the School dean at Stanford, with the concurrence of the appropriate office at the student�s home institution. The names of the students, the proposed funding arrangements, and necessary approvals will be documented in an Affiliation Agreement to be signed by both institutions. (This agreement is currently being drafted, and will be posted as a link from the policy).

[Note: The Affiliation Agreement was formalized as a downloadable Word form, and included in the "Students of New Faculty" policy.]

Students are appointed to SNF status for one year at a time, up to a limit of three years. International students who have been granted F or J visa sponsorship by their home institution will remain on that visa during their appointment at Stanford. The Stanford department may request extensions beyond the third year. Approval requires the concurrence of the Stanford School dean�s office and the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, along with the appropriate office at the student�s home institution.

SNF students have the same access to Stanford�s recreational, computing and library facilities as matriculated graduate students. SNF students must register each quarter for the appropriate zero-unit TGR course, similar to Stanford doctoral students enrolled in TGR 4 status. This enrollment status permits the student to take up to three units in a quarter, with the understanding that those units are not required for degree completion. SNF students will receive a Stanford transcript. They are eligible for on-campus student housing, on a space-available basis. When they leave Stanford, their SNF status must be terminated.

SNF students are subject to Stanford�s Honor Code and Fundamental Standard, and are subject to Stanford intellectual property rules. To comply with Stanford policies and external requirements, they must complete required forms and training, including, for example, any required health and safety training.

   3.2 Associated Costs and Allowable Sources of Funding

SNF students are charged Stanford�s TGR tuition each quarter in which they are enrolled ($2,682 in 2012-13). They are charged the one-time Document Fee ($200), the quarterly Campus Health Services Fee ($179), and ASSU fees. They are required to enroll in Stanford�s Cardinal Care health insurance plan (unless they can demonstrate adequate alternative coverage, including coverage from the home institution). In addition, SNF students may be required to pay tuition or fees at the home institution to maintain good standing.

The SNF student is responsible for the payment of all tuition and fees; there is no requirement for the faculty advisor to pay these expenses on behalf of these students, nor to provide salary or stipend for living expenses. However, the new faculty member or the department may pay some or all of these expenses from unrestricted funds, including the faculty member�s �start-up� funds.

Students in SNF status may be appointed as Research Assistants, allowing the student�s salary and tuition to be charged to the research grants of the new faculty member. This provision departs from historical practice. Stanford is notifying the federal government of our intention to permit this, starting autumn quarter 2011.

SNF students are not eligible for any Stanford University fellowship support, nor for appointments as Teaching Assistants. These funds are intended solely for the support of matriculated Stanford University graduate students.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions ([email protected]; 650-736-0775). Staff in the VPGE office are available to discuss the circumstances of particular students and help determine the best course of action in each case.

 

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