Program Maintenance Checklist

Instruction: Complete the following checklist and provide a signed letter that you have done so.

1. Please document the process you used to prepare this self-study. This should reflect the plan you developed at the beginning of this process. This documentation should include the following:
   1. The authors of the self-study.
   2. How drafts of the self-study were shared with stakeholders such as your faculty, students, alumni, and staff.
2. Compare the list of active “Courses of Instruction” listed in the most current catalog and the course listings in your graduate program handbook(s) with data on when each of these courses was last taught. Develop plans, as needed, to address any gaps such as dropping courses from your curriculum or teaching certain courses more frequently.
3. Confirm that you review your program’s graduate handbook and policies at least annually and that students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders are informed of changes and can access the relevant versions of the handbook as needed. This includes ensuring your handbook is screen reader accessible. The Graduate School’s Graduate Handbook Template provides guidance on what should be included.
4. Ensure you have up-to-date RECR requirements in your handbook.
5. Affirm that you have worked with the Ombudsperson’s Office within the past 2 years to review your handbook to ensure that policies and procedures are aligned with university policies and procedures. You can request this review by emailing the University Ombudsperson at ombud@msu.edu or calling (517) 353-8830.
6. Confirm that your program faculty and staff are familiar with MSU Guidelines on Graduate Student Mentoring and Advising and that your program meets the expectations within those guidelines or are working to have your program meet those expectations.
7. Provide templates for the following documents that your program uses:
   1. Admission offer letter to applicants with funding support including details of the support offered (amount and duration of support); please include all variants if you have different templates for different assistantship types.
   2. Admission offer letter to applicants with no funding support.
   3. Annual review form with any additional related documents (e.g., annual goal setting form, annual activity report).
   4. Graduate assistant appointment letters (GA, RA, TA, TE variations as applicable).