Annual Academic Progress Reviews of Graduate Students
In April 2011, the Graduate College Executive Committee approved a policy that will require graduate programs to conduct annual academic reviews of all graduate students enrolled in graduate degree-seeking programs, including degree seeking students in online programs. The policy will go into effect in AY 2012-13.
Program representatives who missed the informational session about Annual Progress Reviews at the Graduate College Annual Workshop held last October or the Partnership for Graduate Student Success meeting earlier this month, may wish to attend one of the following two sessions this spring. Advance registration is requested.
- Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. in 304 Coble Hall
Register at: https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/4177361
- Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in 304 Coble Hall
Register at: https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/6501060
The Graduate College is offering these informational sessions to help programs design effective and efficient annual review procedures, and answer any questions you may have.
Annual academic progress reviews help students by offering timely diagnosis of their performance, clarification of expectations for academic progress, and identification of areas for improvement.
Because of the differences among the size and structure of our graduate programs, there is no single model for annual reviews that would work universally for all programs.
We want programs to have the flexibility to design a process that works best for them. The policy does, however, require the following:
- reviews must be conducted for all graduate students enrolled in degree-seeking programs at least once every academic year
- a written copy of the review must be given to the student and be placed in the student’s academic file
Many graduate programs already conduct annual reviews and have a successful process in place that meets these requirements. Programs with review processes that do not meet the above requirements or those without a review process will need to determine practices, approve them, and insert them into their departmental handbooks in preparation for AY 2012-13. Annual academic progress review also featured prominently in the recently completed assessment of doctoral programs, and appropriate recommendations were included in the committee reports sent to programs.
Information about the annual review policy is online.
Questions should be addressed to Andrea Golato, associate dean in the Graduate College, at golato@illinois.edu