Student Newsletter - July 2024

Welcome to the CCAS Graduate Student Newsletter! Designed to keep you up to date with news and events, policies and processes, and all things for CCAS graduate students!

Graduate Student Newsletter Archive

July 2024

The Student Services Team is here to advise, guide, and provide you with resources to aid in your success, as well as help you navigate university policies and procedures. Our office is located in Smith 118, and we are open during normal business hours on Monday – Friday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. You can schedule a virtual, phone, or in-person appointment with your Student Services Coordinator and our Career Counselors.

For our July newsletter, we have the following topics:

Student Employment: A Great Way to Build Experience and Earn Money!

Every year, hundreds of GW graduate and undergraduate students work for GW as student employees. These positions are temporary, part-time positions in which students earn an hourly wage. Student employment jobs are excellent ways to gain professional experience and learn workplace skills useful for future internships or employment. These opportunities include all Federal Work Study (FWS) positions that are with an on-campus department or pre-approved off-campus organization and non-FWS positions within GW departments. To be eligible for student positions, an individual must be an active student at the university.

The GW Student Employment team provides students with the resources necessary to locate a position, helps them through the hiring process, and supports them after they are hired. All student employment opportunities are posted on the Student Employment Talent Management System. For more information, visit the Student Employment website.

Career Services & Upcoming Career-Related Events

Our Career Counselors are available throughout the summer to discuss your unique career goals and job search strategy! We are here to help with resumes, cover letters, networking, interview preparation, LinkedIn profiles, job offer negotiations, and more. Schedule an appointment with Erin Ahart or Dr. Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser on Handshake. Visit our website or email [email protected] for more information.

Summer Graduation Deadline

The deadline to apply for Summer graduation is July 15. All students who plan on completing their requirements in the Summer need to apply to graduate through GWeb by the deadline. Online graduation application instructions can be found on the Registrar’s Office website.

Registration Reminders

All CCAS graduate students are required to register continuously each fall and spring semester until the completion of their program. You are not required to register for courses over the summer, but may choose to do so if there are summer courses which interest you, or if you would like to get some requirements out of the way before the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. If you have questions about your program’s requirements or which courses you should take to meet those requirements, please reach out to your academic advisor. More information on registration can be found on the CCAS Registration page.

Fall 2024 Course Registration

Fall 2024 course registration is open in GWeb until August 21st, 2024. Please visit the Registrar’s Office website for instructions on course registration.

Choosing the RTF vs. RTF-EZ

As we gear up for Fall registration, you may have seen some references to forms called the RTF (sometimes called the RTF Classic) and the RTF-EZ. Students can register for most courses online via GWeb. When a student cannot self-register online, we use a registration form - either the RTF or the RTF-EZ - to help them register.

Please note that these forms also differ in how they are submitted:

RTF-EZ: submit to the Registrar’s Office
[email protected] or in-person at the USC Student Services Hub
RTF Classic: submit to Graduate Student Services
[email protected]

More information on the RTF and RTF-EZ can be found in the Registration section of the CCAS student handbook. If you are ever unsure which registration form you should use, please reach out to us at [email protected] for guidance.

Leave of Absence

If you wish to take a Leave of Absence (LOA) during Fall 2024, please review our LOA policy and discuss this option with your Director of Graduate Studies. If you choose to take a LOA, please complete a Leave of Absence Application Form and submit it to us at [email protected].

Key Registration Dates this Month:

July 1 - August 10	Summer Session II Please visit the Registrar's Office's Summer Sessions page for more information on summer registration dates.
July 5	Last day for all Consortium registration scheduled during Summer Session II
July 7	Last day to add a Summer Session II class via GWeb
July 12	Last day to add a Summer Session II class via RTF-EZ
July 14	Last day to drop a Summer Session II class via any means
July 26	Last day to withdraw from a Summer Session II class with a grade of “W” using the RTF-EZ or to change grade mode with Dean’s permission
July 28	Last day to withdraw from a class with a grade of “W” using GWeb

Registering for Courses with Variable Credit Hours

Certain courses, including thesis, dissertation, internship, and research courses, have variable credit hours. This means that you can choose the number of credits you will be earning when you register for the course.

When you register for a course with variable credit hours, the registration system will automatically default to 1 credit hour registered. If you would like to register for more than 1 credit, you will need to adjust the number of credits using the following steps:

Within the registration system, click on the Schedule and Options tab on the Register for Classes menu.
Under the Hours column, any courses that have variable credits will be underlined.
Click on the credits displayed and a box will open up to enter your credits.
Enter the credits you wish to register for within the valid range and click Submit at the bottom of the page to save the changes.

Please note that if you register for a course with variable credit hours, it is important to adjust the number of credits you register for by the end of the second week of classes. This is because your tuition fees are determined by the number of credits you register for each semester, and it is possible to make changes to course registration within the first two weeks of the semester for a 100% tuition refund. If you need to make changes to the number of credits you register for after the first two weeks of the semester have passed, you may be billed for additional tuition fees. The next section of this newsletter will cover how changes to your registration can impact your Student Accounts balance.

Student Accounts Late Fee Policy

Tuition, health insurance charges, and other fees are due by the first day of the semester, or upon registration if the semester has already begun. This means that changes to your registration once the semester has started may impact your Student Account.

Even if you paid your balance in full prior to the start of the semester, it is important to check your Student Account eBill in GWeb any time your registration changes. For example, if you choose to take an additional course or increase the number of credits you take for a course, you will automatically be charged additional fees and have an outstanding Student Account balance. Additionally, if you drop one course and pick up another course after the 100% tuition refund period has ended, you may have an outstanding Student Account balance even if the courses both have the same number of credits.

Any outstanding balance on your Student Account after the start of the semester may be subject to a late payment fee. The Student Accounts Office charges late fees for each semester in two rounds: a flat, $75 fee earlier in the semester, and a 5% fee based on the total amount owed later in the semester. In fall, the $75 late fee is charged in November, and the 5% fee is charged in December.

More information on the late fee policy, as well as the full fee schedule, can be found in the Late Payments section of the Student Accounts Office website. Information on course exchanges can be found in the Adding & Dropping Courses section of the Student Accounts Office website.

Summer ETD Deadlines

As you plan your summer, please be mindful of ETD clearance deadlines for both Ph.D. students and for Master’s students completing a thesis.

Ph.D. students should visit our Ph.D. Clearance Deadlines page, and Master’s students completing a thesis should review our Master’s Thesis ETD Submission page.

Gelman Library Closure & Available Resources

The Gelman Library building is closed from May 20 - August 11, 2024 to accommodate major HVAC maintenance, which should ensure a more sustainable and comfortable library environment for GW community members. This project will require the library to close for three consecutive summers: Summer 2024, 2025, and 2026. The library will reopen for fall and spring semesters.

While the Gelman library building is closed for summer, library services will still be available. Please visit the Gelman Library Building Closure page on the GW Libraries website for more information on accessing books, course materials, and study spaces during the library closure.

Funding, Fellowships, Internships & Employment Opportunities

Summer is a great time to think about funding for next year! In addition to the opportunities below, you may want to take a moment to acquaint yourself with our Funding Opportunities for Current Graduate Students page. On this page, you will find information on funding opportunities just for CCAS students, as well as those open to all GW students. We also include information on a wide range of external scholarships and fellowships.

The Inter-American Foundation Research Fellowship Program

Application Deadline: December 3, 2024

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF), in conjunction with the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), welcomes applicants for its new Research Fellowship Program to advance rigorous field-based research on actionable questions about community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IAF will award up to ten Fellowships in 2025. Each of the ten fellowships includes a stipend of $20,000 to support an individual researcher working over the course of twelve months in one or more of the countries in the region where the IAF works (see IAF.gov/Where we work), participation in a three-day in-person orientation workshop, and engagement with the network of IAF Fellows.

Applicants must be a citizen of one of the countries in which the IAF works or the United States and must have at least a Bachelor’s Degree.

Updated July 1, 2024.