iSchool Graduation FAQ
April 30th, 2008 — KathleenThis will likely be my last post as Co-Director, President of SASI, and I wanted to thank all of you for making SASI such a great organization. You’ve accomplished so much this year, and all deserve a round of applause!
As graduation approached this spring, I realized there was a whole new set of information I had to parse… and so I thought I’d do an update to SASI’s FAQ Page to include all the info I’ve learned about the process of graduation. Basically, I’ve asked all the stupid questions so you don’t have to!
iSchool Graduation FAQ (also, check out the iSchool’s checklist…)
- Early in the spring semester, you should fill out the Masters Graduation Application form that indicates your intention to graduate this semester. You can fill it out online before the end of March with just a few clicks…but after the deadline, you’ll have to fill out the paper version.
- At the end of the semester, you’ll need to fill out the Masters Degree Certification form. This form is in a downloadable PDF format that you can type in to fill out the blanks. All you need to fill out on this form is your personal information, and the course numbers & unique ID’s for every class you’re enrolled in this semester. Once those are filled out, drop the form off with Carol Carreon in the iSchool office. She’ll audit the form and then have the Graduate Advisor sign it. Once it’s filled out, she’ll email you to let you know it’s ready to pick up (usually by the end of the day). Then you pick up the form and walk it over to the Main (Tower) building. If you’re entering from the 21st Street Side of the building, walk up the small flight of stairs and enter the doors in the middle of the building. Turn to your right and walk down to the end of the hall, and you’ll be at the Graduate School office. If you’re doing a capstone, all you need to do is drop your form off with the receptionist (you will NOT need to meet with a degree evaluator, because you’re not turning in a thesis or report). Now you’re all done!
- A capstone is *not* the same as a thesis or report. If you choose the capstone option, you will not have to present a formatted document to the Graduate School (as you would with a thesis or report).
- There are three graduation ceremonies at UT which you can attend:
- The University-wide graduation ceremony (all the graduates from undergraduate and graduate degree programs -VERY large and involves fireworks, formal…everyone will)
- The Graduate School graduation ceremony (all the graduates from all the graduate programs - medium sized, formal… everyone will be wearing regalia)
- The iSchool Graduation Ceremony (only the iSchool… likely 30-40 graduates…informal, some will wear regalia, some will not. There will likely be bagpipes, and a reception following… you will need to RSVP to Carol for this ceremony [she will ask in mid-April])
- Poster printing for the Capstone Poster Session can be done at the DIIA Media Lab inside the graduate school of business (across 21st street from PCL). Here’s what you need to know:
- Create your poster in PowerPoint. Before you add anything to your poster, change the dimensions (page setup) to 20″ x 30″…the size for Capstone posters. Attend a Lab session to learn more about creating your poster.
- 2-3 weeks before the Poster Session date, call the DIIA lab and make an appointment to print your poster. They’ll block off an hour of time for you to use it. As of this writing, the printing costs are $3 per linear foot for matte paper, and $6 per linear foot for glossy. If glossy paper isn’t already on the printer, they’ll charge you $4 to load it. They also charge you for 22″ of printing to account for cutting. Matte is less durable than glossy (lighter weight paper), but you won’t have to worry about shine. You can pay with EITHER Bevo Bucks OR your UFCU account.
- On the day of your appointment, put your poster on Webspace, or on a USB drive and walk over to the Graduate School of Business. The Media Lab is on the first floor on the left side of the building (look at the map…it’s a confusing building).
- When you enter the lab, you’ll need to sign in to the computer at the front desk saying you’ve arrived for your appointment. A lab tech will then set you up at a computer in the lab and have let you open up your poster and make any adjustments. Once you’re ready, they’ll check the dimensions and then print it for you. It takes about 15-20 minutes to print a 20″ poster (the paper is 40″ wide, so that covers your 30″ side)
- Now, you’ll need to mount your poster on foam-core board. Here are your options:
- DIY: Buy foam core board ($3) and re-positionable spray adhesive ($18). In a well ventilated area (preferably outside on a non-windy day) spray a THICK layer of adhesive over the foam board and then lay your poster on top, being sure to line up the corners and press out any bubbles. Posters have been known to bubble up after sitting around, so you may want to consider weighting the poster down for 24 hours until it’s completely dry. Be careful not to get the glue on the poster surface as it will not be removable (and could damage the surface). There are also reportedly peel-and-stick posterboards that you can buy for under $10 at craft stores.
- Call in the professionals: Take your printed poster to Kinkos and ask them to mount it on a board for you. This takes the risk of error out of the equation, and costs about $27. You drop it off with them and they’ll trim it and mount it for you. At the busiest time of the season (last week of classes) turnaround time is about 6 hours.
- Capstone Evaluation: Don’t forget to have your field supervisor fill out the evaluation form. You’ll also need to fill out a student evaluation form as well (same page)
Did you encounter a hurdle not mentioned here? Let me know in a comment so I can add it to the FAQ!