EBook: Policies, Procedures, &c of the English Department and Ole Miss

How to Register:

There are three publications that detail the course offerings at the University. Although the Graduate School Catalog lists all the courses potentially offered by the department, with a brief, general description of each, you will find that many of these courses are never offered, as these descriptions were written up over a decade ago. The Registration Bulletin, which is published each semester by the University, lists all courses (including meeting times & days, and instructors) offered by all departments. (This Registration Bulletin also contains guidelines for the registration process so its good to have one handy when you sit down to register.) The bulletin lists courses by number (English 569), course code (which you need to register over the phone), and title. This information is potentially misleading however, as "Topics in American Literature" could apply to a number of different syllabi. So, for full information, look to the English Department's own Course Description booklet, which is published every semester and which lists all its undergraduate- and graduate-level classes, and provides professors' descriptions of the classes they are teaching.

The U of M employs a telephone registration system (915-RSVP [7787]), referred to as RSVP. In order to access this telephone system, you must have an ID number (usually your Social Security #) and a PIN (which changes every semester). To get your PIN, you must see Ann Fisher-Wirth, the Director of Graduate Studies. Shortly after mid-term, Ann holds pre-registration conferences. Although faculty members do their best to announce these conferences in their seminars, it is ultimately your responsibility to sign up for a conference, on a sheet posted outside Ann's office door (Bishop 335). Use this time to discuss with her your progress toward the degree (for instance, fulfillment of requirements, projected time-lines), as well as the courses you have selected for the following semester; during this conference, Ann will give you your PIN so that you may pre-register.

It is also possible to register for classes at the beginning of a semester; first-time graduate students, for example, will receive PINs and ID numbers at the beginning of their first semester. It is more expedient to pre-register, because the University will then have time to process your paperwork and to send confirmation of your schedule and your anticipated financial aid by mail, relieving you of the necessity of going to the Turner Center. If you receive financial assistance from the department in the form of a Graduate Instructorship or Research Assistanship, it will be reflected on your University bill. If your assistance does not show up there, you'll need to contact the English department; this is usually an indication that there's been a snag in your paperwork and it is the department's responsibility to amend the situation.

We recommend that you try to avoid the Turner Center if at all possible, as the lines are long, the progress confusing, and you have better things to do with your time. If the only reason for you to go to the Turner Center is to pick up your Financial Aid check, and time is not absolutely of the essence, you can wait and pick up your check from the Bursar's office later in the week.

If you miss the pre-registration period, or pre-register but fail to pay your fees, you must register via the telephone at the beginning of the following semester, then proceed to the Turner Center where schedules are finalized, fees assessed, and financial aid dispersed. This is also the time to get your parking sticker.

If you wait until the Turner Center registration period passes, you will incur a late registration fee of $50 for each day after the deadline.

Transferring Credit:

Students enrolled in any graduate degree program and who have completed at least 12 hours of course work at Ole Miss may petition the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) for acceptance of transfer credit from work completed at another recognized and accredited institution. MA students may transfer up to six hours. Ph.D. students may transfer up to nine hours. Transfer credit can only be awarded for grades of B or higher. Upon the recommendation of the GSC, the Graduate School will review the petition and adjust the student's transcript. Only in exceptional circumstances will the Graduate School not follow the GSC's recommendation.

To request a credit transfer, submit to the Director of Graduate Studies the following items: a written statement of your request and your reasons for making it; an official transcript of work completed at the institution from which credit is being transferred; a description of each course for which credit is being requested. (A syllabus from each course is best.)

Several other stipulations established by the Graduate School apply to transferring credit: transferred course hours must have been completed within the past six years, and the institution from which credit is being transferred must offer a graduate degree in the field in which the work was completed.

Directed Readings:

Students in the graduate programs in English are allowed to complete up to six hours of course work through the completion of Directed Readings, courses organized around a specific topic, proposed by the student and carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. They are generally designed to fill in holes in the graduate course curriculum, to replace seminar-level courses which either do not exist or have not been offered in a consistent or timely manner. The student must find a faculty member to direct the study, create a syllabus for the course, and construct the reading list and course requirements. The application requires the approval of both the Graduate Studies Committee and the Department Chair.

Applications for the Directed Reading course are available from the Director of Graduate Studies and specify that the student provide the following information:

--DESCRIBE YOUR PROPOSED PROJECT (Indicated clearly and specifically what you intend to study in the Directed Reading, and why.) --DESCRIBE YOUR PROJECT'S SIGNIFICANCE IN LITERARY STUDY (For example, what makes the material you propose to study significant, or worthy or three hours of graduate credit?) --EXPLAIN HOW THIS DIRECTED READING FITS INTO YOUR DEGREE PROGRAM (Why is this reading important to your personal course of study? How does it relate to other courses you have taken or plan to take, or to your examination fields, or to your plans for a thesis or dissertation?) --COURSE REQUIREMENTS (Indicate how often you will meet with your Faculty Director and what writing and other work you will perform in the course.) --PLEASE ATTACH A COMPLETE READING LIST ON A SEPARATE PAGE

As these questions indicate, application for a Directed Reading requires a great deal of preparation, research, and forethought on the part of the applicant and should not be undertaken lightly. Perhaps the greatest difficulty in undertaking one of these projects is locating a faculty member to direct the course as their service in this area is strictly voluntary; they are not paid for the extra preparation and classroom time involved. While many faculty members have enthusiastically accepted this extra workload, students who request a Directed Reading should realize that the faculty member will expect a level of responsibility and commitment that exceeds that expected in the typical seminar class.

Financial Assistance:

There are currently three forms of financial assistance available to graduate students in the English Department: Research Assistantships,Teaching Assistantships, and dissertation fellowships. If you are interested in any of these, you should clearly indicate that interest in your letter of intent, although you may also apply after entering a degree program.

The Research Assistantship is usually granted to those graduate students who are selected for assistance but who lack the number of graduate hours required for a Teaching Assistantship. R.A.s work in the English Department and Freshman English offices and are assigned other specific tasks (usually to help individual professors with their research needs) by the department chair. R.A.s receive a tuition waver and earn approximately $7000 per year. Most R.A.s receive Teaching Assistantships once they have acquired the requisite 18 hours of graduate credit, depending on their performance in courses and the number of T. A. positions available.

A Teaching Assistantship is available to graduate students who have taken at least 18 credits of graduate credit at any university. Graduate Instructors receiving the T. A. are provided with a tuition waiver and a stipend beginning at $7000 per year. Students may hold the Teaching Assistantship for up to three years in the Master's program and up to six years in the Ph.D. (The sixth year is available only to students who have completed all the requirements but the dissertation within 5 years of beginning their doctoral work--so if you only received your assistantship during your second year on campus, the sixth year would not be available to you.) A limited number of summer instructorships become available to Graduate Instructors. The semesters are short and the pay is good: $2500 for one month's work. Application is made to the department chair and competition is tough; the supposition is that no student will receive summer support two years in a row.

Graduate students who are awarded a Teaching Assistantship are required to attend the Freshman English Program's teaching workshop (held the week before the semester begins) and to take English 617, Teaching College English, during their first semester of teaching. It is recommended that graduate students wait to take 617 until they have been granted the Teaching Assistantship and are teaching at Ole Miss. Graduate Instructors teach two courses per semester, beginning in the first year with Freshman Composition 101 and 102. After the first year, instructors are eligible to teach sections of sophomore literature classes: 200, An Introduction to Literature; 205, Masterworks of British Literature; 206, Masterworks of American Literature; and 210, Masterworks of World Literature. As teachers of record, Graduate Instructors are responsible for the content of their classes, working within the guidelines set forth by the Freshman English and Undergraduate Studies Committees and as set forth in the Undergraduate Catalogue. Graduate Instructors create their own syllabi, hold classes and office hours, and issue midterm and final grades. Each Graduate Instructor shares an office in Somerville Hall with a colleague.

In 1997-1998, the English Department began to offer one-semester fellowships to students working on their dissertations. These fellowships pay a $4000 plus a partial tuition waver (the portion of the tuition figure that represents the fees are not paid). Application for these fellowships is made during the Spring semester. In addition, the department usually offers several one-course teaching reductions to runners-up in the Fellowship competition.

Incomplete Grades:

While it is possible to negotiate with your professor to take a grade of Incomplete (I) for the semester, thus deferring the required completion of the seminar paper until the end of the next semester, we strongly urge you to avoid doing so. Incompletes are a good idea if you fall ill, get divorced, or face a similar life trauma. They are not a good idea as a general rule because: a) most students don't begin work on the incomplete until they are already involved in the next semester's work; b) they tend to create a domino effect, as each semester's work is put off until the next; and c) deservedly or not, too many incompletes can earn you a reputation among the faculty for a lack of seriousness. If you must take an incomplete, we advise you to complete the paper as soon as you can--between semesters if possible.

Grade Appeals:

It is rare for a graduate student to appeal a grade and even more rare for an appeal to succeed. When you undertake to appeal a grade, you should recognize that the university's presumption is always in favor of the professor and the burden of proof of "arbitrary or capricious action" is always on you. Moreover, in a small department like ours, you should think seriously before cutting yourself off from a professor whose cooperation you may need at a later date. That said, there may come a time when you feel the need to make use of your right to appeal. What follows condenses the language on the subject from the University's M Book, which gives more detailed language about the time periods within which certain actions must be taken.

Step One: The first step is to make an appointment with the professor whose grade you are disputing. You should bring to that appointment a copy of your paper and a prepared list of questions for the professor. You might also choose to record the conversation in order to prepare a follow-up letter and to provide evidence of the conversation for the following steps.

Step Two: If you are not satisfied with the professor's explanation, you may appeal in writing to the department chair. The appeal must be completed within 45 calendar days from the beginning of the next regular semester after the one in which the grade was received. You should include in your appeal the follow-up letter you sent the professor after your meeting. The department chair will consult with you and with the faculty member in order to attempt to resolve the matter. He may also consult with other faculty about the matter.

Additional steps: If the chair of the department does not resolve the appeal to your satisfaction, you may send the appeal on to the Dean of the Graduate School and beyond, to the Academic Appeals Committee and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. These steps involve complicated procedures for which you should consult the M Book.

This is precisely the same procedure for undergraduate appeals against profs and, more importantly for you, against graduate instructors. --ed.

B. Travel Money. There is a limited amount of assistance available for graduate students who are traveling to deliver papers at a professional meeting. The English Department offers each student a travel award of $50 each year. In the past, the Graduate School has awarded $100 for national meetings and $50 for regional meetings, but this funding is currently threatened. Graduate students have also had success in isolated instances appealing to various other departments and deans across campus. These instances usually involve special needs, minority status, or projects that the administration feels merit special consideration. Supplementary travel funding is sometimes available to grad students through the Associated Graduate Student Body. Your correspondence on the matter should be directed to the President of the GSC (Graduate Student Council, formerly the Associated Graduate Student Body) and should supply the following information: total expenses; the amount already funded (by the department and the Graduate School, for example); the amount needed for the trip; the abstract of your presentation; and a cover letter stating your situation. Phoning the GSC offices to contact people is pretty much a lost cause--try http://savant.bus.olemiss.edu/gsc/ instead. (You'll note the organization's bias from the server domain.)

If you are approved for funding by the AGSB, they will notify you in writing and request that you submit a Travel Voucher and appropriate receipts to the Dean of Students' office (Union 422) for processing. You can get Travel Vouchers in the department office in Bishop 309 or from the Dean of Students office (Dot is probably the person you'll need to talk to). This year (1998) was the first that the AGSB was an option for funding, so the processes and personages involved may evolve over the next year or so. The EGSB elects two people as AGSB reps each year so these people will probably be good sources of updated information. This year, the AGSB reviewed applications in March and checks (averaging about $150.00 per person) were cut in late April.