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Unlike Rensselaer, peer schools charge
an annual tuition rate, while providing full support for those graduate
students who do receive university support. Rensselaer, on the other
hand, has provided only partial support for many of its university-supported
graduate students through limited stipends and tuition waivers.
"We believe that the changes being implemented will strengthen our research programs, allow us to attract higher-quality graduate students, and position our faculty to be even more competitive in their solicitation of external funding" said Provost Bud Peterson. The charge for graduate education at Rensselaer has been based solely on the number of credits for which a student is registered, although many graduate students who are finishing a thesis are registered for no credits at all. These practices have underfunded graduate students, inadvertently discouraged the prompt completion of studies, and have considerably reduced the revenues needed for quality graduate education. "From now on, when we agree to support a graduate student, we will commit ourselves to support that student fully," said Jackson. "In return, we will be asking those students to commit themselves full time to their graduate education." When fully implemented, the Institute's new policy will provide that all Troy-based graduate students will be full-time students and pay full tuition during the entire time of residence in the graduate school. Exception will be made in the case of special cohort programs such as the Executive MBA. Students must finish all degree requirements for the Ph.D. in a continuous seven-year period. Students entering with a master's degree in their field of study must finish Ph.D. requirements in a continuous five-year period. A two-and-a-half-year time limit is set for completion of master's degrees. Only full-time students will be eligible for Institute financial support in the form of a tuition waiver, stipend, research assistantship, teaching assistantship, or fellowship. "It is difficult to institute this type of wholesale change in the support for graduate students and in the pricing of graduate education in a piecemeal fashion," said Peterson. "As a result, the combination of these changes constitutes a major change in the way we will function. We are conscious, however, of the need to provide a transition for current students. In that regard, procedures are being developed to prevent hardship for full-time and part-time students, students in degree-completion status, working professionals in distance and residence programs, and others." Details on the new policy will be available
at the end of the month, after the board has established the cost of
tuition. |
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180. (518) 276-6000 Page
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