**Update – Due to limited remaining ARP funds and a large number of applications received the Phase 3 application has been closed. If future funding is made available updates will be made on our dedicated ARP website https://financialaid.uconn.edu/arp-emergency-funding-for-students/

Students who are experiencing an expense related to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, tuition and childcare) may complete an emergency grant application at https://financialaid.uconn.edu/arp-emergency-spring-grant-application/. To qualify for an emergency grant the student will have to meet the following criteria:

•  Enrolled and degree seeking for Spring 2022 term

If eligible, the value of the grant will be for $500.

Spring awarding for ARP Grants will happen starting 02/07/2022 and continue until 05/31/2022.

Phase 3 Application Grant

Applications for emergency grants will open on 02/07/2022. Awarding will begin on 02/15/2022. Students who are experiencing an expense related to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, tuition and childcare) may complete an emergency grant application.

To qualify for an emergency grant the student will have to meet the following criteria:

·       Enrolled and degree seeking for the Spring 2022 term

If eligible, the value of the grant will be for $500. The awarded grant will be viewable on Student Admin and will be called either HEERF3/ARP Award 5 or HEERF3/ARP SEOG. Students who applied for, and received, an application grant in Phase 1 and/or Phase 2 can apply for additional funding in Phase 3.

Detailed information outlining all phases of ARP funding and a link to the application can be found on Financial Aid’s website: https://financialaid.uconn.edu/arp-emergency-funding-for-students/. Please reach out to financialaid@uconn.edu with any questions.

Sent on behalf of Kent Holsinger, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of The Graduate School, to Department Heads, Directors of Graduate Studies and Department Graduate Admins. Please share as appropriate. This information will also be posted in SoapBox for graduate students.

***

Colleagues,

We are aware that travel to the US from some parts of the world is still difficult and that some of our international students may be considering whether to enroll in courses from their home country this spring. If the student will be engaged in research, their work may be subject to export control laws, which are federal regulations governing the sharing and use of certain information, technologies, and commodities overseas. I am writing to let you know that graduate students, whether domestic or international, who will be outside of the US for most or all of the semester and who anticipate enrolling in a course that is outside of the standard education abroad program content (e.g., GRAD 5950/6950/5999/6999, an independent study, or a departmental research course) should obtain approval before finalizing their spring enrollment. In some cases, export control review will be required for enrollment in these courses. Export control review can take several weeks—we advise that students plan with this timeline in mind. If a student proceeds without prior approval and export control review reveals a significant concern, they may need to withdraw from the course in question. If they are required to withdraw, there could be financial implications, including only a partial return of tuition according to the university refund schedule, a requirement to return a portion of any financial aid they received, or both.

To obtain approval, the student should contact graduatedean@uconn.edu with the following information:

·       Field of study

·       Proposed course enrollment (catalog number and course name)

·       Brief (one-two sentences only) summary of research topic

·       Country of citizenship

·       Country where courses will be taken/research conducted abroad

·       List of any special equipment/computer hardware/software that is not commercially available to be used while abroad

Kent

**Update – Due to limited remaining ARP funds and a large number of applications received the Phase 3 application has been closed. If future funding is made available updates will be made on our dedicated ARP website https://financialaid.uconn.edu/arp-emergency-funding-for-students/

Students who are experiencing an expense related to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, tuition and childcare) may complete an emergency grant application at https://financialaid.uconn.edu/arp-emergency-spring-grant-application/. To qualify for an emergency grant the student will have to meet the following criteria:

•  Enrolled and degree seeking for Spring 2022 term

If eligible, the value of the grant will be for $500.

The application for Phase 2 of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) emergency grant is live. Graduate students enrolled in a degree-seeking (e.g., master’s, doctoral) program for Fall 2021 are eligible to apply. If eligible, the value of the emergency grant will be $500 for this phase. The application for Fall 2021 is open until January 11, 2022. The emergency grant is available to cover any component of a student’s estimated cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, and allowances for room, meals, transportation and personal expenses) or for emergency costs that have arisen due to the coronavirus. A student can submit the application, consisting of 5 basic questions, once during each phase.

Detailed information outlining all phases of ARP funding can be found on Financial Aid’s website: https://financialaid.uconn.edu/arp-emergency-funding-for-students/ .

Please reach out to financialaid@uconn.edu with any questions.

Sent on behalf of Kent Holsinger, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of The Graduate School, and Alison Cutler, Labor Relations Associate, Labor and Employment Attorney, to Department Heads, Directors of Graduate Studies, and Department Graduate Admins

*****

Dear Colleagues, 

With rare exceptions, during the academic year Graduate Assistants (“GAs”) are appointed either for Fall or Spring semester or for the entire academic year. Fall and academic year appointments begin on August 23, and Spring appointments begin on or about January 6. Many benefits provided to GAs as part of the collective bargaining agreement, including tuition waivers and insurance, are tied to these appointment dates.

As the Fall 2021 semester approaches, we write to remind you that GA appointments with either a retroactive date of hire or a retroactive increase in percentage of appointment are prohibited. Appointment start dates must reflect the date employees begin their work assignments, including training and orientation. However, non-standard appointment dates can impact GA benefits, such as resulting in the GA losing some or all of their tuition waiver and/or affecting their eligibility for insurance coverage. Appointments for less than one semester also require advance approval from the union.

If a department believes that a non-standard, including a retroactive, start date is necessary, it should contact The Graduate School prior to issuing an offer letter. Among other things, this will allow for The Graduate School to work with the department and the GA to review the implications of the proposed non-standard start date.

Please remember that once you have issued an offer letter and it has been accepted by the GA, the University is obligated to honor the offer under Article 6 (Appointment Security) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Graduate Employee Union (GEU). Please also remember that GA assignments cannot exceed an average of twenty hours per week and that they not unreasonably exceed twenty hours in any given week (or the prorated hourly equivalent with a lower percentage appointment) under Article 10, (Workload) of the CBA.

Please contact us if you have further questions. 

Thanks,

Kent Holsinger

Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Biology                     

Vice Provost for Graduate Education                                                   

   and Dean of The Graduate School                           

University of Connecticut                                                                        

www.grad.uconn.edu                                                                              

Alison Cutler

Labor Relations Associate, Labor and Employment Attorney

Office of Faculty & Staff Labor Relations

University of Connecticut

9 Walters Avenue, Unit 5075

Storrs, Connecticut 06269-5075

www.lr.uconn.edu