Approved by the Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies: April 7, 1999
Approved by University Council _____________
Whereas, the existing residency requirements for doctoral degrees are appropriate for the majority of cases and should remain in place; and,
Whereas, there are numerous purposes of residency that are particularly important for emerging doctoral programs serving nontraditional students and/or at facilities in northern Virginia and other locations; and,
Whereas, the potential growth of new programs at non-Blacksburg locations may require some flexibility in allowing residency to be completed at extended-campus locations, provided its legitimate purposes are adequately satisfied; and,
Whereas, there may be individual students for whom an exception to the 20-hour external work limitation is appropriate;
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the policy regarding residency, which is currently described in the Graduate Policies and Procedures and Course Catalogue in the paragraph
"Residence Requirements for Ph.D. and Ed.D.At least 24 graduate-level semester credit hours, including no less than 15 hours of course work (not research 7994), must be completed while in residence at the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus or, with prior approval from the Graduate School, for designated extended-campus programs. Students may receive residence credits during summer sessions, but not during any academic year semester(s) in which they are enrolled for fewer than 6 credits or if they are employed more than one-half time (defined here to mean a maximum obligation external to their academic program of 20 hours a week). Exceptions to the minimum number of credits/semester and/or employment status can be made for employees of Virginia Tech, subject to approval by the Graduate School."
be replaced by the following:
"Residence Requirements for Ph.D. and Ed.D.At least 24 graduate-level semester credit hours, including no less than 15 hours of course work (not research 7994), must be completed while in residence at the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus. Students may receive residence credits during summer sessions, but not during any academic year semester(s) in which they are enrolled for fewer than 6 credits or if they are employed more than one-half time (defined here to mean a maximum obligation external to their academic program of 20 hours a week).
Permission may be granted by the Graduate School to individual degree programs allowing their students to satisfy the residency requirement at non-Blacksburg locations, perhaps in conjunction with other provisions. Requests for such permission must be made in writing to the graduate dean (by letter for existing programs or as part of the program proposal for new programs). Such requests must provide a discussion of the purposes of residency (as defined in the attached document) in the context of the particular program and how those purposes would be achieved at an alternate location and/or by alternate means. The Graduate School will rule on such requests, with reporting to the Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies, retaining the authority to withdraw such permission if deemed necessary. Review of the appropriateness of any such non-Blacksburg residency provisions will be part of all program reviews.
Exceptions to the 20-hour external work limitation will only be contemplated for individual students when a request is accompanied by letters of endorsement from both the academic advisor and from the employer certifying that at most 20 hours per week of the student's obligations to the employer (during the term of residency) will be unrelated to the student's doctoral studies, and when agreements related to intellectual property rights associated with the student's research have been developed and approved by the University Intellectual Properties Committee."
and that the attached document be adopted as a summary statement of the purposes of residency.
Purposes of the Residency Requirement for Doctoral DegreesThe basic goals for a doctoral student include the ability to understand and critically evaluate the literature of their field, to understand the issues and problems at the frontiers of knowledge in their field, and to cultivate and exercise their ability to make original contributions to the knowledge in their field. These goals are not exclusive to particular career paths, but are fundamental to the level of achievement and mature scholarship that the doctorate certifies. Based on recent recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine (Reshaping Graduate Education, National Academy Press, 1995) and the residency requirement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (the accrediting agency for Virginia Tech), a number of specific purposes of residency can be identified.
- To insure access to a wide spectrum of courses, in the student's own discipline as well as related disciplines.
- To insure regular and substantial interaction with an adequately large pool of qualified faculty. This is important not only to support dissertation work and studies, but as a source of advice, perspective and guidance in formulating their own career objectives.
- To insure a similar level of interaction with fellow graduate students.
- To guard students against a parochial view of their discipline, in which their specialty is the only one they have experience with.
- To guard against over-specialization, and provide a broad range of professional development.
- To insure access to full scale library and laboratory resources.
- To provide access and exposure to a wide spectrum of seminars, professional presentations, contact with leaders in their own disciplines as well as others.
- To insure quality and rigor of the program through involvement with and scrutiny by peers in other disciplines.
- To require that students transferring a large number of course credit hours from other institutions complete at least a minimal amount of course work at Virginia Tech.
The traditional residency requirement addresses all these by bringing the student into the rich academic environment of the full University campus. The purpose of the 20-hour external work limitation in particular is to insure that the student's involvement with the campus' culture of study and discourse is substantial. The level of fluency and accomplishment at the frontiers of one's discipline that the doctorate represents can not be achieved if the student is never involved with more than 50% of their effort and intellectual energy.
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