2023–24 Decanal Memoranda

July 8, 2024: Graduate Faculty Membership Data Dashboards

Dear Colleagues, 

 I am pleased to share that the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) has officially launched a new Graduate Faculty Membership dashboards and data site. This easily accessible data set provides counts and details for all faculty members (and limited others) who hold active Graduate Faculty Memberships (GFMs).  

How it will help you 

The dashboards will help you make data-informed decisions and plans. 

• Academic Unit Deans/Chairs: can see where faculty are engaged in respect of graduate matters. This will be helpful for the purposes of workload, PTR, service, and academic review processes.
• Graduate Unit Chairs: can see who is formally committed to supporting your graduate program. This will be helpful so you know who you can call on/where your faculty have obligations, and who you should be coordinating with around the above. 

About the data 

The data is presented in two views: 

• Academic Unit view: presents all faculty (and limited others) who hold an active GFM organized by the academic unit in which they hold their budgetary appointment or faculty position. 
• Graduate Unit view: presents all faculty (and limited others) who hold an active GFM organized by the graduate unit in which they hold their GFM (primary or secondary). 

Some notes on the data  

This data is drawn directly from the Human Resources Information System (HRIS) via the DataMart. 

• There are complexities and nuances in this data – I encourage you to read the additional resources before using this site.  
• The data will reflect any errors in HRIS.  
  • For any errors relating to a person’s position (appointed, clinical, non-appointed): please contact your unit business officer to review the entry(s). For guidance, you may contact your Dean’s Office (for MDFs) or Office of VP, FAL (for SDFs). 
  • For any errors relating to GFM entry: please contact Angelique Plata, SGS, at SGS.vdeanea@utoronto.ca 
• Please note that it can take 1-2 days for the dashboards to reflect data changes in HRIS. 

I would like to thank the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life and the Planning & Budget Office for their commitment to supporting this extensive project. We expect this data will be of enormous benefit to faculty members and staff across the university. If you have any questions about Graduate Faculty Membership dashboards, please contact sgs.data@utoronto.ca. 

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Barker, PhD
Professor and Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education

June 20, 2024: 2024 Graduate Supervision Awards

Dear Graduate Chairs, Graduate Coordinators and Graduate Administrators,

Every year, the School of Graduate Studies’ Supervision Awards aim to recognize the tremendous thought and effort that go into graduate supervision and mentorship.

The annual awards honour active faculty members who, over a minimum of a 15-year period (JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Award) or a period of up to six years (SGS Early Career Supervision Award), have demonstrated excellence in the multiple roles associated with graduate supervision and mentorship.

Two JJ Berry Smith Doctoral Supervision Awards and two SGS Early Career Supervision Awards are offered annually to successful nominees: one of each award in the Humanities/Social Sciences and in the Physical/Life Sciences.

I am delighted to present to you the recipients of the 2024 awards.

JJ Berry Smith Award for Doctoral Supervision

• Professor Pamela Klassen, Department for the Study of Religion, Faculty of Arts & Science
• Professor Angela Colantonio, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and Director, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Early Career Supervision Award

• Assistant Professor Cillian O’Hogan, Centre for Medieval Studies, Faculty of Arts & Science
• Assistant Professor Angela Mashford-Pringle, Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Honorable Mention Award

• Professor Elizabeth Peter, Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing
• Read more about the 2024 SGS Supervision Award winners on SGS News.

Please join me in congratulating this year’s winners!

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Barker, PhD
Professor and Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education

June 6, 2024: Updates on Enhanced Funding for CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC Awards

Dear Graduate Chairs, Graduate Coordinators, Graduate Administrators, and members of the SGS Council of Graduate Deans, 

As you may know, the 2024 federal budget has proposed significant increases to the value and number of scholarships and fellowships for master’s and doctoral students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, funded by Canada’s federal granting agencies – CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC. The Tri-Agency has now updated institutions (and many award holders) to confirm that the following increased award values will apply to new and current award holders, effective September 1, 2024: 

• Master’s awards (CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC CGS M): $27,000 per year 
• Doctoral awards (CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC CGS D): $40,000 per year 
• Postdoctoral fellowships: $70,000 per year 

Additionally, the value of the Vanier ($50,000 per year) and Banting ($70,000 per year) programs will remain unchanged. 

You can view the full press release update here.

Some of your students who chose a May 2024 start date for their new Tri-Agency award may be wondering if these increases will apply retroactively to their May 2024 award instalments. We have reached out to the Tri-Agency for clarification, and they have let us know that further details will be communicated in July. Rest assured, the Graduate Awards Office will share any additional updates from the Tri-Agency with you as soon as we receive them. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Laura Stathopoulos, Director, Graduate Awards and Financial Aid at laura.stathopoulos@utoronto.ca. 

Sincerely, 

Joshua Barker, PhD
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education

May 28, 2024: Updates for International Visiting Graduate Students and International Graduate Students

Dear Graduate Chairs,

I am writing to share some updates concerning our international visiting graduate students. Please pass the information below along to faculty members.

1.    Study Permit Delays:
We have seen a number of concerns being raised by graduate units regarding the delays in the processing of immigration documentation for some international students due to security checks. We are actively collaborating with the Centre for International Experience (CIE) to address this issue. Efforts are also underway to raise awareness of the matter with the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and to advocate through all channels, including local Members of Parliament offices and the University of Toronto Government Relations Office. However, many of these delays stem from security verification procedures inherent in the study permit application process, and because the verifications are conducted by third parties, IRCC cannot provide definitive processing timelines. We will continue to support incoming international students as best we can in this regard and will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves. On a more positive note, we are not seeing significant differences in processing times for non-security related reviews.

2.      Immigration Pathways for International Visiting Graduate Students (IVGS):
I know many of you have questions regarding International Visiting Graduate Studies and the previously announced requirements for the Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). IVGS is a critical component of graduate student internationalization. I’m pleased to sharethat the University is able to provide a work permit option for many visiting researchers, and in cases where a work permit is not the solution, the University can now provide a PAL to IVGS who may require one. This is great news.At this point, we ask you to continue working with SGS and CIE on a student-by-student basis, and we will help determine the best immigration pathway forward. For any IVGS program-related inquiries, please continue to direct IVGS students to sgs.international@utoronto.ca, and for immigration-related matters, to isa.cie@utoronto.ca.

3.      Research Security for International Visiting Graduate Students and Postdocs:
As you are considering international visiting graduate students and postdoc appointments, I also want to remind you of the supports available through the VPRI Research Security Team (RST).  We encourage you to reach out to the team for guidance on the research security implications of visiting graduate students and postdocs, especially in light of the new changes introduced by the Canadian and Ontario funding government requirement. You can also review the University’s document on safeguarding research resources.

Again, please share these updates with faculty members in your graduate unit, as appropriate. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at sgs.international@utoronto.ca

Thank you for your ongoing support in assisting and welcoming our international students.

Sincerely,

Joshua Barker, PhD
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education

May 24, 2024: SGS Public Data Dashboards Refresh

Dear Graduate Chairs, Graduate Coordinators and Graduate Administrators,  

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is pleased to announce that all SGS public data dashboards on Explore Our Data have been updated with the most recent available statistics. These dashboards provide our community with data on the full doctoral student lifecycle – from admissions and enrolments, to funding, degree completion, and career outcomes to help students, academic leaders, and administrative leaders make more informed decisions related to programs and services in their graduate units or faculties. Updates of internal data dashboards will be announced and shared with you in the coming weeks. I am grateful to SGS and Planning and Budget staff for the incredible work they have done preparing this comprehensive update. 

A quick summary of key metrics: 

Please share these resources with faculty members, administrators, and students in your graduate unit. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact sgs.data@utoronto.ca.  

Sincerely, 

Joshua Barker, PhD
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education

February 12, 2024: International Graduate Students’ Study Permit Application Process

Dear Graduate Chairs, Graduate Coordinators, and Graduate Administrators, 

In light of recent changes and the introduction of new measures for international students applying for study permits in Canada, we wish to provide clarity and support, especially concerning our graduate community.  

Clarification Regarding New Measures on International Graduate Applicants 

• The new Attestation Letter requirement is specifically for undergraduate students. Graduate students, including those in Master’s and PhD programs, are not subject to these new measures. 
• The IRCC Portal is open and continues to accept Study Permit applications from graduate students – they should be encouraged to apply as early as possible. 
• As of February 15, 2024 graduates of master’s degree programs will be eligible to apply for a 3-year work permit. 
• Open work permits are expected to remain available to spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral degree-granting programs. 

In the coming weeks, we will undertake several initiatives to support our international graduate applicants: 

• Send communications to newly admitted graduate students emphasizing the importance of applying for their study permits early, taking advantage of the current processing capacities before the end of March. 
• Update the language in offer letters to international graduate students to reflect the above guidance. 
• Direct newly admitted graduate students to resources, including live Q&A sessions and FAQs, developed by our colleagues at the Centre for International Experience.
  • For comprehensive details on the study permit application process, refer to the “Apply for Your Study Permit – Centre for International Experience” section. 

Enhancing Study Permit Success: Introducing the Funding Letter for Study Permit application 

• The Centre for International Experience has introduced a template of a Funding Letter for Study Permit Application (see attached) whose purpose is to supplement the Letter of Admission, providing detailed funding information that is not available in ROSI to assist with the study permit application process. 
• This Funding Letter for Study Permit Application aims to improve study permit approval rates by offering additional clarity on the student’s financial package. 
• Graduate Administrators are encouraged to attend a Graduate Community of Practice meeting this Wednesday, on February 14, at 11:00 a.m. where additional information and support regarding the template will be provided by Lana Volkova, Associate Director of International Student Services (CIE). 

We understand the critical role clear communication plays in the application process. We appreciate your collaboration and encourage you to connect with us or our CIE colleagues for further assistance or clarification.  

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. 

Sincerely, 

Joshua Barker, PhD 
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research and Education 

November 30, 2023: Modification to Balance of Degree for PhD Students Who Transfer to Research-Stream Masters

Dear Graduate Chairs, Graduate Coordinators and Graduate Administrators,

The University implemented a change in the tuition fee structure for most international PhD students in Fall 2018. The new tuition fee structure enabled most international research-stream PhD students to pay domestic tuition rates. This change has proven to be extremely positive for international students, faculty supervisors, as well as the institution.  

The new tuition fee structure did not apply to students in the (1) Research-stream master’s programs and (2) Professional programs. As such, those students who request PhD to master’s transfers are subject to the Balance of Degree (BoD) fee. As of Winter 2020, SGS stopped the practice of applying the BoD fees in all cases of direct-entry PhD students (domestic and international) who transfer into a master’s program.

In the past five years, the number of students requesting PhD to master’s transfers has increased substantially; this was exacerbated by the years of the pandemic. Common reasons provided by these students included changed professional aspirations and/or personal reasons (e.g., medical or financial concerns, childcare, etc.). The number of requests from international PhD students also increased. Most international students who wished to transfer accrued a significant BoD fee, which would be paid by graduate units, supervisors, or the student depending on program and the funding structure of the graduate unit.

In parallel, the number of requests to waive BoD fees for these students increased, supported by graduate units. At the same time, graduate unit leaders emphasized to us the importance of creating barrier-free “off-ramps” for students who were not on a path to succeed in their PhD programs.

 In order to respond to this need, SGS proposed the following changes, that were endorsed by members of the Council of Graduate Deans.

•  BoD fees will not be assessed for international PhD students, direct-entry and others, transferring to a research-stream Master’s. 
• BoD will continue to be assessed for all PhD students transferring to professional master’s programs.  

In all cases students will be assessed the appropriate tuition based on their program and legal status for each session in which they are registered in the master’s program. Students must be registered in the master’s program, for, at minimum, the last session prior to graduation.

Graduate units wishing to support their students in these types of transfers are encouraged to discuss fee and funding implications with their students prior to requesting a transfer with the School of Graduate Studies (SGS Program Transfer Request Form). Funded PhD students who transfer to research master’s program with a funding commitment, should remain eligible for continued support. Graduate units might use the unit’s bursary structures to support unfunded and professional students in need.

SGS will continue to monitor transfer requests so that this supportive mechanism is used cautiously and not used routinely to transfer PhD students into master’s programs as standard practice.

If you have any questions regarding the transfer requests and Balance of Degree fee, please contact Vice-Dean, Students, Prof. John Peever at sgs.vdeanstudents@utoronto.ca.

Joshua Barker, PhD
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education

August 10, 2023: Annual Reminder: Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee (GDAAC) & Graduate Academic Appeals Information Session

Dear Graduate Chairs & Coordinators, 

I am writing to provide an annual reminder to all Graduate Chairs of the need to establish a Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee (GDAAC) for their graduate unit and communicate to members of their graduate units about this committee’s existence and procedures.

Transparency and clarity must be provided to all graduate students regarding the right to appeal academic decisions. In many years, a graduate unit may not actually receive any academic appeals. Nonetheless, the graduate unit must maintain a standing appeals committee, and clarify for graduate students the process for bringing forward an appeal.  

All Graduate Chairs should undertake the following:

1. Strike a Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee:
   • Guidelines on the formation and procedures of the Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee can be found on the SGS website, https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/policies-guidelines/graduate-department-academic-appeals-committee/.  
   • It is usually helpful to appoint members of this committee as part of the normal assignment of service commitments to faculty members. The Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee should be added to the list of committees requiring appointees every year. Please have this committee in place by the beginning of the academic year in early September.
2. Provide information on your departmental website about the Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee:
   • At a minimum, we would ask that you provide, in a clear location that students will easily find, reference to your Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee; contact details for the Secretary/Chair of that Committee; and a link to details regarding such committees’ procedures on the SGS website. If you wish to provide additional detail regarding your committee on your departmental website or student handbook, we recommend that you primarily rely on the language from that SGS webpage, altering where necessary to reference your own committee. Please have your webpages updated with this information by the end of September.  

Additionally, the School of Graduate Studies has organized an information session for graduate faculty leaders to understand the graduate academic appeals process, from faculty mediation to the roles of GDAAC and the Graduate Academic Appeals Board (GAAB) and to learn best practices for departmental success. In addition to yourselves, once GDAAC Chairs have been identified, please encourage them to attend. Register for the “Conversations with SGS: Graduate Academic Appeals” virtual event on November 14, 2023, at 9:00-10:30 a.m. by clicking here. 

We thank you in advance for assisting us in providing clarity to our graduate students on appeals procedures. Should you have any questions regarding graduate academic appeals, please contact Prof. John Peever, Vice-Dean, Students at sgs.vdeanstudents@utoronto.ca  or Ms. Angelique Plata at sgs.vdeanea@utoronto.ca. 

Sincerely,

Vina Goghari, Ph.D., C Psych.
Acting Dean, School of Graduate Studies
Acting Vice-Provost, Graduate Research and Education

August 1, 2023: CGPSS – 2022 Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) Results

Dear Graduate Chairs and Council of Graduate Deans,

The results of the 2022 Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) are now ready for review. The CGPSS tool helps identify the strengths and areas for improvement in graduate programs. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2022 by the University of Toronto, along with 54 other Canadian universities. A total of 5,298 registered graduate students at U of T, representing 26.4% of the graduate student body, participated in the survey. Despite the lower overall response rate compared to prior iterations, we received a representative sample that encompasses the entire student population in terms of SGS divisions, degree type, gender, and legal status.

• An Aggregated Report can be found on SGS website. It provides a summary of a subset of questions, highlights of the survey results, benchmark data comparing U of T with U15 peer institutions, and a comparison of survey results over time.
• In line with how we have recently distributed gradSERU data, SGS is also now providing to graduate chairs access to a limited access CGPSS Departmental Dashboard that can be found on the SGS Data SharePoint Site. This dashboard displays granular results of all questions asked in the 2022 survey administration, including additional wildcard questions. Users can filter down to a specific faculty/unit, and further pivot data by breakdown for comparison.

If you have any trouble accessing the report and the dashboard, please contact SGS Data Analyst, Grace Zhu, at sgs.data@utoronto.ca. If you have questions regarding the data or you would like additional data for your unit, please contact Corinne Pask-Aube, Senior Planning & Budget Officer, at corinne.pask@utoronto.ca.

Sincerely

Brian Desrosiers-Tam
Assistant Dean

July 12, 2023: Resources for Graduate Units: New and Updated Guidance

To:         All Graduate Units, SGS Council of Graduate Deans, and SGS Staff

Dear colleagues,

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is pleased to announce that the following three resources to enhance the student experience are now available on the SGS website:

• New Guidelines for Graduate Units in Monitoring the Progress of Doctoral Students. These guidelines provide general recommendations for graduate units on creating structures and processes to support doctoral student success and ensure timely progress.
• Updated guidance on Understanding Good Standing & Satisfactory Progress. We have updated our guidance documentation to offer a more comprehensive understanding of what constitutes “Good Academic Standing” and provide more information on the SGS Calendar expectations regarding coursework completion, supervisory committee meetings and evaluations, candidacy, and program length and time limit.
• Updated guidance on Understanding Personal Time Off. These updates include additional information, examples, and frequently asked questions to assist Graduate Units in implementing the Personal Time Off Policy across research-based and professional-stream programs.

Please share these resources with faculty members, administrators, and students in your Graduate Unit.

The School of Graduate Studies expresses its gratitude to former Interim Vice-Dean, Students, Prof. Yana Yunusova for her invaluable leadership throughout the preparation of these resources.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Prof. John Peever, Vice-Dean, Students at sgs.vdeanstudents@utoronto.ca.

Best,

Vina Goghari, Ph.D., C Psych.
Acting Dean, School of Graduate Studies
Acting Vice-Provost, Graduate Research and Education

July 6, 2023: New School of Graduate Studies: Generative Artificial Intelligence Guidance

To:         All Graduate Units, SGS Council of Graduate Deans, and SGS Staff

Dear colleagues,  

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is pleased to announce new Guidance on the Appropriate Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Graduate Theses available on the SGS website. This guidance will be of interest to graduate students, supervisors, supervisory committee members, Graduate Chairs and Graduate Units, and covers a range of topics related to graduate thesis research and writing. As the use of generative artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving area of research and policy, this guidance will continue to be updated in line with new developments.  

Please share this guidance with faculty and students in your Graduate Unit.  

I also would like to express my gratitude towards former Acting Vice-Dean of Research and Program Innovation, Prof. Kelly Lyons, as well as Dr. Lynn Ossher, Projects Officer, Graduate Research and Program Culture. Their leadership has been invaluable in the preparation of this guidance. 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Prof. Vina Goghari, Vice-Dean, Research & Program Innovation at sgs.vdeanprograms@utoronto.ca. 

Best,

Joshua Barker, PhD
Dean, School of Graduate Studies and
Vice-Provost, Graduate Research & Education