Temporary Policy:

Given the challenges the pandemic has presented globally, MSU will accept unofficial international transcripts and diplomas for graduate admissions purposes for Summer and Fall 2022 semesters.

Graduate applicants who apply and are admitted based on unofficial international records will have future dated holds placed on their accounts. The expectation is that they will work to have official, hardcopies of their academic records sent to MSU in official, sealed envelopes during their first semester of enrollment. The deadlines are as follows: July 1^st for Summer enrollees, and September 30^th for Fall enrollees.

Flexibility will be exercised on a case-by-case basis. Graduate departments and impacted students will need to work with the Office of Admissions to resolve these cases in a timely fashion.

Applicants are encouraged to make every effort to provide official, hardcopy, transcripts and diplomas up front in official, sealed envelopes, as part of the application process, to avoid challenges later.

Process:

• For Summer and Fall 2022, international graduate applicants may apply using official academic records or unofficial academic records. If admitted with unofficial records, official hardcopies of their international transcripts and diplomas will need to be provided no later than July 1^st for Summer 2022 enrollees, and September 30^th for Fall 2022 enrollees. Holds will be placed on their accounts, starting on the relevant date.

• Flexibility will be exercised on a case-by-case basis and may include the acceptance of official electronic academic records. Graduate departments and impacted students will need to work with the Office of Admissions to resolve these cases in a timely fashion.

• In mid-June (for Summer enrollees) and mid-September (for Fall enrollees), Renee & Patrick in the Office of Admissions will send an email via the Graduate School Listserv, reminding departments they need to work with their impacted students to ensure their final, official, international academic records (transcripts and diplomas, and any relevant official translations) are on file with the Office of Admissions by the appropriate deadline (July 1^st and September 30^th, respectively). Again, flexibility will be explored on a case-by-case basis.

• On July 2^nd, for Summer enrollees, and October 1^st, for Fall enrollees, the Office of Admissions will provide the relevant departments a list of impacted students who have yet to comply with the deadline. The Office of Admissions will work with departments case-by-case, as appropriate, and determine if extra time or additional flexibility is warranted.

• On August 1^st (for Summer) and November 1^st (for Fall), the Office of Admissions will notify the Graduate School, recommending disenrollment of any student who has not met the deadlines or granted a deadline exception. If disenrollment is permitted by the Graduate School, the Graduate School will inform the Office of the Registrar to take relevant action for all future semesters.

Leahy, Irrer, & Croom

January, 2022