Letter from the Dean

Dear Students,

We in the Office of Graduate Studies hope that you are having a great summer and that you will find the upcoming school year rewarding and productive. Whether you will be returning to campus in the Fall, or have been working on campus during the Summer, let us know if you have questions about the upcoming year.

Over the course of the past year a number of policies and procedures have changed. Below is a brief summary of these. If you have questions, please do not hesitate contacting the Graduate Office for clarification.

Research and Teaching Assistantships Changes - If you are being supported on an Research (RA) or Teaching (TA) Assistantship contract there are a
couple of things you will need to do prior to us being able to initiate your contract.

1) Increase in Minimum Institutional Stipends for RAs and TAs - Starting Fall, 2008 the minimum stipend for students on RA and TA contracts has increased from $600/2-week pay period to $625/2-week pay period (for a 0.5 FTE appointment).

2) Financial Aid Requirements for Resident Students on TA Contracts - The State of Colorado provides graduate student support in the form of Graduate Student Grants for Colorado residents. The Colorado School of Mines is using this financial support to help its Teaching Assistants meet their tuition obligations. As this support is connected to a demonstration of financial need, all Colorado residents who are receiving tuition support as part of a Teaching Assistantship contract must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine their eligibility for this grant, before the tuition fellowship will be awarded. You may complete this documentation on line at

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

The process of submitting the FAFSA documentation takes about 30 minutes. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 303 273-3220, or finaid@mines.edu.

3) Sexual Harassment Prevention Training - All students on RA/TA contracts must complete Sexual Harassment Prevention Training. If you have not done
this in the past at Mines, Human Resources will be offering two training sessions: Monday, August 18 at 8:30 am and Thursday, August 28 at 3 pm. Please register for the training on the Human Sources Web site (http://www.is.mines.edu/training/). If you have difficulty registering, please contact Veronica Graves - vgraves@mines.edu.

4) Faculty Oath Requirement - Colorado Revised Statute 22-61-104 requires all US residents and US naturalized citizens employed by the School who have
teaching responsibilities to sign, and have notarized a Faculty Oath. This requirement extends to all US resident and US naturalized graduate students who are employed by the School as Research and Teaching assistants. A copy of the required Oath may be found at

http://www.is.mines.edu/hr/Forms/FacultyOath.pdf.

This requirement, and the exact wording of the Oath are part of Colorado State law - Mines has no flexibility over the enforcement of this requirement or the
wording of the Oath.

All students on RA/TA contracts must sign the Oath before starting their contracts. At the end of the student orientation session on August 20, you will have the opportunity to sign a copy of the Oath and have it notarized by Mines staff.

Graduate Student Association - Lastly, I want to encourage all of you to become involved in the Graduate Student Association (GSA). Founded in 1991,
the GSA exists to serve the interests of Mines graduate students. The GSA addresses issues of concern to graduate students at Mines, and organizes
various social and academic functions. All registered graduate students are automatically members of the GSA and are welcome to attend all events and
meetings. The Association meets every other Monday afternoon in the Coolbaugh House. The current officers of the GSA are as follows.

President - Dan Baker - dsbaker@mines.edu

GSA Family Assistance Grant - In the 2005-2006 academic year, the GSA created the GSA Family Assistance Grant, in order to help graduate students defray the costs of child care or health insurance. The amount of the award is $100 per month for 10 months, payable through the student's school account in two sums of $500 per semester. More information on the program and application materials may be found at

http://www.mines.edu/stu_life/organ/gsa/childcare.html

Please feel free to contact Dan for more information on the Association, or if you have concerns/ideas you would like to bring to the attention of the
Association.

Good luck...
Tom