Authorized Signature Form Instructions
General Information
Executive Officer
Roles Requiring Signatures
Roles Not Requiring Signatures
Forms Requiring Authorized Signatures
Additional Email Lists
Mid-year Additions/Removals/Replacements
General Information
At the beginning of each academic year, the Graduate College requests your help in updating the Graduate College Authorized Signature Forms for your unit. These forms are needed from every unit that has a graduate program, enrolls students, or offers graduate fellowships, including units offering graduate minors and concentrations. If a section on the form does not apply to your unit, it may be left blank. Please note that the Executive Officer's signature required on this form is that of the head, chair or director of the unit, not that of the Director of Graduate Study. Rubber-stamped or electronic signatures will not be accepted.
Many units have more than one program, represented by a program code. If the same individuals handle these functions for all programs in the unit, one form may be completed, and “ALL” may be checked. If various individuals handle different functions for each program, please duplicate the form and submit as many copies as are necessary. Director of Graduate Studies and Graduate Contact information should be provided on each form submitted. See additional instructions below. Please return completed forms to Wendy Wimmer, 204 Coble Hall, MC-322. Questions about Authorized Signature Forms may be directed to Wendy at (wwimmer@illinois.edu or 333-2983).
Executive Officer: The head of the unit in which the graduate program(s) reside(s). This individual can sign all Graduate College forms. This person will be included in our Executive Officer email list.
Graduate Admissions Contact*: The primary contact for admissions information and the person responsible for entering admissions decisions into the ApplyYourself system.
Pending Degree List Certifier*: The individual responsible for certification that program degree requirements for graduation have been met by all students graduating from unit programs.
Thesis Reviewer*: The person responsible for thesis format review and approval at the unit level. This person will be included in our Thesis Reviewer email list.
Graduate Faculty Authorizer*: Executive Officer’s designee responsible for updating the Graduate College relating to the status of unit faculty members and Graduate Faculty term members, including retirements, resignations, and tenure.
Director of Graduate Studies: Person responsible for decisions about the graduate program, usually a faculty member. This person will be included in our DGS email list. Please mark all forms that this person may authorize.
Departmental Contact for graduate student records: The primary contact person representing the graduate program/records office for the program. This person will be included in our Graduate Contact email list. Please mark all forms that this person may authorize.
Additional Authorized Signatures: Other individuals may be selected to approve any/all of the forms listed below for students in this graduate program. You may use an additional form if needed.
- Graduate College Petitions (P on the form)
The Graduate College requires at least two different signatures on petitions. Of these, one is usually the student's advisor and the other represents the department. In most cases, the person designated to sign petitions on behalf of the department will be a member of the graduate faculty In many instances, the person must be the Director of Graduate Study for the program. Administrative staff may be designated to handle routine petition matters. In all matters of substance, however, it is expected that a member of the graduate faculty will be involved. Please contact Wendy Wimmer (wwimmer@illinois.edu or 333-2983) or Assistant Dean Anne Kopera (akopera@illinois.edu) if you have questions about appropriate signature authority in your unit.
- Doctoral Committee Forms (DC on the form)
This allows the individuals who are authorized to sign the form requesting the appointment of doctoral committees. The Graduate College recommends that only members of the graduate faculty may be listed for this authorization.
- Certificate of Committee Approval (CCA on the form)
This allows the individuals to sign the Certificate of Committee Approval Form for theses and dissertations. The Graduate College recommends that only members of the graduate faculty may be listed for this authorization.
- Rating Forms for Fellowships and Traineeships (RF on the form)
These individuals are authorized to sign the rating form used by the Graduate College Fellowship Office to process fellowship and traineeship appointments.
- Withdrawal/Cancellation Forms (W/C on the form)
These individuals are authorized to sign all Withdrawal/Cancellation Forms before they are forwarded to the Graduate College for review.
- Late Registration and Course Change Forms (LR&CC on the form)
These individuals are authorized to sign the Late Registration and Course Change Form to allow students to add or drop courses after the printed deadline.
Additional Email lists
Those listed in this section of the form will be added to the additional email lists for the chosen groups only. Inclusion in this section does not grant these individuals any authorization ability or contact role of any type.
- Contacts Additional
- Directors Additional
- Executives Additional
If any roles or authorizers change at any point during the year, a new authorized signature form, including the Executive Officer’s signature must be submitted to the Graduate College before any changes will become effective. The new form should clearly state whether the new individual is an addition to, or will be replacing another individual.
The Authorized Signature Form may be accessed at www.grad.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/AuthorizedSignature.pdf.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Deba Dutta
Dean, Graduate College
* If more than one person fills any role, both names should be listed in that space on the form, and one should be designated as “primary.”