Annual Graduate Student Activity Report
and Advising Experience Feedback

GSAR Overview

The Graduate Student Activity Report (GSAR) is a college-wide system designed to improve graduate student advising and mentoring. All BMMB students and faculty are required to use this system to provide an annual student evaluation. This system allows students, advisers and committee members to readily assess the current and past progress of students, as the website will be available at all times.

GSARs must be completed and approved for all BMMB graduate students by August of each academic year. The report is open from September - August for each academic year.

Reminder: All BMMB students are required to hold an annual committee meeting starting the year the qualifying examination is passed. This meeting is documented in a form separate from the GSAR. See Annual Committee Meeting Policy

2018-2019 GSAR Deadlines

• July 5: Deadline for student input of initial information.

• July 26: Deadline for adviser and committee member comments.

• August 9: Deadline for student acknowledgment of review and meeting with adviser.

• August 23: Deadline for confirmation of meeting by adviser

• August 31: Deadline for approval by Graduate Program
  
   

In addition to the information that each student and adviser will enter, a considerable amount of information has already been entered for each student. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the "Student Profile" section, as it serves as a repository of information for each student (e.g. courses taken, dates of qualifying and comprehensive exams, etc.).

 

GSAR Workflow

• September 1, 2018-July 5, 2019: Student completes "Student Summary"

• By July 26, 2019: Adviser and committee members complete "Review"

• By August 9, 2019: Student meets with dissertation adviser, discusses review, and then completes the "Acknowledgement".

• By August 23, 2019: Dissertation Adviser confirms meeting and discussion with student.

• By August 31, 2019: BMMB Associate Head for Graduate Education completes "Approval".

Annual Advising Experience Feedback

The most important relationship in a graduate student’s PhD training is that between the student and their research adviser. Eberly College of Science and BMMB are committed to providing, promoting, and recognizing excellence in mentoring.

Eberly College of Science has developed an online “Advising Experience Feedback Form” that has both a confidential and non-confidential portion. Students will have access to the form once their Graduate Student Activity Report (GSAR) has been approved by the Graduate Program. Students may choose to complete only the confidential portion or the non-confidential portion, or both. Students may also choose to not complete the form.

Non-confidential (first part of form): Adviser can see all comments entered here. BMMB Graduate Program, Department Head, and Eberly College of Science can also access this form.

Confidential (second part of form): The student selects who can see feedback provided in this section. Options are as follows:

1. Aleksandra Slavkovic (Associate Dean for Graduate Education)

2. Santhosh Girirajan (BMB Interim Department Head and Professor of Genomics in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

3. Ying Gu (Associate Department Head for Graduate Education)

4. Lorraine Santy (BMMB Liaison Officer)

5. Ola Sodeinde (BMB Ombudsman)

6. Maria Krasilnikova (BMB Ombudsman)