Administrator Training
New Report in RM1: Outstanding Postdoc Tuition
To All University Postdoc Administrators:
I would like to announce that a report has been created in ReportMart1: “Outstanding Postdoc Tuition”. The report was designed to be succinct and user-friendly. (Contact Shannon Monahan for a Job Aid with instructions on where to find the report and how to run it.)
From the Research Policy Handbook:
As you recall, a $125 per quarter tuition/registration fee is charged to all actively appointed postdocs. As per the RPH 9.4: “This fee may be charged directly to a grant or contract from which the Scholar is being paid, or to a Fellowship supporting the Scholar. Where neither of these funding sources is available, the fee will be paid by the faculty sponsor/department in which the Scholar is appointed.”
A few notes:
• This report draws its data from the balances on the postdoc’s “student account”. Thus, please keep in mind that, if the postdoc has made a payment to their account which was inadvertently applied to the tuition, they will not be on this report since the tuition balance is zero.
• Along these lines, please make sure that postdocs are Aid Year activated correctly for each and every quarter. Incorrect Aid-Year activations could affect whether or not a tuition payment from GFS is applied appropriately.
• Also, note that by virtue of this report being housed in ReportMart1, this report runs on day-old data.
Questions?
Should you have any questions regarding the report or the information contained within it, and you have researched the issue to the best of your ability, please send in a HelpSU ticket to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for assistance. We can triage to the GFS folks if need be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shannon Monahan
Reporting and Finance Analyst
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
1215 Welch Rd, Mod A, Rm 85
MC: 5402
p:\650-723-6120
e:\smonahan@stanford.edu
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Engineering, Humanities & Science, Earth Science, and Education - Changes in the University's Term Limit Policy for Postdoctoral Scholars
To: Faculty and Department Postdoctoral Administrators
We are writing to announce several important policy changes and mentoring guidelines that Provost Etchemendy approved after recommendation from the University’s Advisory Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs. These changes add flexibility in supporting a positive experience of postdocs and in responding circumstances where you may find it necessary to extend a new or current postdoctoral appointment beyond the limits of the existing policy. The following highlights these changes and guidelines:
1. An annual meeting of research progress and goal setting between the faculty mentor(s) and the postdoc is strongly encouraged.
Considering that an annual discussion of progress and goal setting invite conversations about long-term goals that can be often missed, several faculty utilize a formal process with their postdocs. This process reviews accomplishments and maps the next set of short-term objectives along a career path. Faculty and postdocs have found this review to be rewarding and motivational. Towards facilitating this conversation, a template of suggested guidelines and questions was developed (http://postdocs.stanford.edu/faculty_mentors/PDF/Meeting_Template_Form.pdf).
We recognize that individual mentoring styles vary and they are valued; there is no implication that this suggested template is the only format that these discussions should follow, but the conversation should be carried out on an annual basis and notes kept.
2. A set of policies has been developed to regarding the four-year term limit for postdoctoral appointment eligibility:
a. An extension for a fifth year may be granted with the filing of a written plan that has been discussed and agreed upon by the postdoc and faculty mentor(s) with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
b. A set of standard exceptions to the limit is now allowed: discounting up to one year of training in the thesis lab; extensions that bridge time to a job that has been offered; and extensions to complete a nationally or internationally competitive fellowship.
c. In rare circumstances, a sixth year is allowed after review by a subcommittee of faculty. To be eligible for consideration, the annual formal goal setting and progress meetings must have occurred from the initial year of appointment at Stanford and notes provided to the subcommittee.
3. The policy adds new provisions that aim to support postdocs who are new parents that include a clarification that paid maternity/paternity leave time is discounted from the term limit, and a provision to allow a reduction in effort when it is necessary for the postdoc to take care of significant family obligations or due to medical reasons.
The full text of the policy and the relevant details are available online at http://rph.stanford.edu/9-4.html. Feel free to contact your department’s postdoctoral administrator if you have questions about these changes, or reach out to Rania Sanford (raniasanford@stanford.edu ; 5-5075) or Tammy Wilson (tjwilson@stanford.edu) at the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs if you have further questions or wish to offer feedback.
Michael Longaker, MD, FACS
Chair, Provost’s Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs
And Professor of Surgery
Rania Sanford, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs
Stanford University
School of Medicine - Changes in the University's Term Limit Policy for Postdoctoral Scholars
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, there is a delicate balance between providing sufficient and optimal training time for a postdoc and the need to ensure their timely transition to employment. While the majority of postdoctoral scholars across the University are here for two to three years, the optimal time span varies significantly by discipline, individual, and sub-discipline, and is highest in the Biosciences. After much discussion with colleagues, who were concerned about the limitations of postdoc term limit policy in addressing many circumstances that faculty and trainees face on a regular basis, the Provost has approved the following recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs. These changes aim to increase the flexibility in responding to the training needs of individuals who find it necessary to continue longer than our average as well as encourage advisor-trainee discussion and mentorship (see also http://rph.stanford.edu/9-4.html):
1. An extension of postdoctoral training for a fifth year required petition to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Going forward, such petition is grantable with the filing of a well-worked out written plan that has been discussed and agreed upon by the postdoc and faculty mentor(s). This written plan provides a mechanism to ensure clear communication between the faculty mentor and postdoc of immediate goals and to aid in recognizing realistic future options. This plan may be submitted as an informal paragraph. However, we recommend using the template for discussions, and accompanying form, that is available at http://postdocs.stanford.edu/faculty_mentors/PDF/Meeting_Template_Form.pdf. An earlier version of this template has been in use by many faculty over the past few years. Revisions were piloted with several faculty in the fall quarter, across Stanford schools, who provided positive feedback and modest changes incorporated in the current form.
2. The policy now formalizes a set of exceptions to the term limit: discounting up to one year of training in the thesis lab; allowing extensions that bridge time to a job that has been offered; and allowing extensions to complete nationally or internationally competitive fellowships.
3. The policy now grants a sixth year of training for individuals who are pursuing a second postdoctoral position in a new field upon review by a subcommittee of faculty who are members of the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs.
4. Petitions for a sixth year of postdoctoral appointment (for current or new trainees) who are not pursuing training in a second postdoc in a new field may be reviewed by the subcommittee. The subcommittee will balance flexibility with efforts to ensure that training is highly effective and is as compact as possible in the interest of the postdoc. The review will be consider criteria that include the scientific merit of the case, the record of mentoring from the initial year of appointment at Stanford, the postdoc’s research activity, the faculty mentor’s trainee history and outcomes. The postdoc and the faculty mentor will be asked to provide an agreed-upon transition plan to pursue during the extension period. Additionally, the subcommittee will look favorably on intervening significant family obligations that might have delayed progress of a trainee, and will work within the applicable constraints of immigration and labor laws. The University will evaluate those requests (and the results of the review) after a year of those decisions.
Importantly, in order to be eligible for continuing into a sixth postdoctoral year, postdocs and mentors must have carried out a yearly review of progress and a discussion of goals, starting from the postdocs first year in the lab. For current postdocs, such yearly reviews are required starting in 2012. Forms to guide these meetings are available online at http://postdocs.stanford.edu/faculty_mentors/PDF/Meeting_Template_Form.pdf. Notes or summaries from previously completed meetings should be provided to the subcommittee. We encourage filling of yearly meetings with your department’s postdoctoral administrator, for later retrieval. If requested, the forms can be filed electronically with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at any time.
Several faculty and postdocs took part in formalizing this policy and developing the mentoring meeting guidelines. They and the committee feel that an annual review of progress invite discussions of long-term goals that are often missed otherwise. Several faculty utilize these templates and find the process to be motivational to their trainees, rewarding, and even transformative—reinforcing mutual interests while offering an opportunity for feedback, difficult conversations, and exploration of possible new directions. Individual mentoring styles are valued and there is no implication that the suggested templates be the only format that these discussions should follow, and documentation of their occurrence will be required only in case of requests that appointments be extended as described above. Nevertheless, we hope that you consider implementing this yearly review and goal setting process for all your postdocs.
The full text of the policy is available online at http://rph.stanford.edu/9-4.html. Please do not hesitate to contact us or Rania Sanford (raniasanford@stanford.edu; 5-5075) if you have questions or would like to discuss these policies and mentoring expectations.
Daniel Herschlag, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry and
Senior Associate Dean
Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs
School of Medicine
Michael Longaker, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery and
Chair, Provost’s Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs
Stanford University
Clinical Fellow Patient Care Information Sheet Still Required
Colleagues,
We learned last week that GME and the Hospital continue to require a signed paper Patient Care Information Sheet. OPA removed the form from website in early Fall because we captured the information in the PeopleSoft Postdoc Web Forms (on the Recommendation Form for Clinical Trainees). However, the information won’t do for GME and SHC purposes for access to MedHub and other required setup. We are adding the form back to the OPA website. In the meantime, please
1. complete it for your clinical fellows who were appointed with OPA *after* the PS
Web Forms went live in September AND
2. send it to the GME office. (Keep a copy on file and for OPA)
If you appointed clinical fellows *before* the University went live with the PS Web Forms, you do not need to do anything.
If you appointed clinical fellows using the PS Web Forms, complete the attached and send it to GME and OPA.
Apologies for the mix-up and thanks for all your work as we wrap up these fine details with this transition.
Rania Sanford, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean
Postdoctoral Affairs
Stanford University
Postdoctoral Administrators Quarterly Meeting Dates
Colleagues,
Our next Postdoctoral Administrators Quarterly Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 25th from 10-11:30 AM in Clark S360.
Please save the following dates for the 2011-12 Administrators Quarterly Meetings:
•
Feb. 9, 2012, 10-11:30 AM
April 12, 2012, 10-11:30 AM
July 26, 2012, 10-11:30 AM
Oct. 25, 2012, 10-11:30 AM
Friendly Reminder: Please submit questions or requests to OPA via HelpSU.
(Please note: HelpSU tickets submitted to OPA via the following routing within HelpSU go directly to OPA staff.)
http://helpsu.stanford.edu : Request Category = Student Services; Request Type = Postdoctoral Affairs
To request to join this email list, please visit: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/supdssworkgroup
Postdoc Leave of Absence Requests
Colleagues,
Please continue using the Leave of Absence (LOA) Form via paper. The new LOA form will not be available in AXESS for postdocs until Administrative Systems has completed its support of the current phase of PD Web Forms “Go Live.”
In the meantime, the directions and required documents to request a LOA are available on OPA’s website at http://postdocs.stanford.edu/admin/how-to/leave.html
Friendly Reminder: Please submit questions or requests to OPA via HelpSU.
http://helpsu.stanford.edu : Request Category = Student Services; Request Type = Postdoctoral Affairs
To request to join or leave this email list please visit: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/supdssworkgroup
PD Web Forms Open Labs and Tips and Updates Session
Colleagues,
A reminder about this week’s two options for getting up-to-date information and/or help with the PD Web Forms system.
1.) PD Web Forms Tips & Updates Session with Tammy Jo Wilson and Al Murray
DATE & TIME: Tomorrow (Sept. 29th) at 9:30 AM
LOCATION: 1215 Welch Road, Modular A, Room 62. (MAP)
AGENDA:
Confidential Information
Reviewing Information in PD Web Forms
Tips for Recommendation Form
Searching for Records in PD Web Forms
Oct. 1st Salary Changes
LOA Forms
Departmental Transfers
2.) Open Labs with Al Murray & GFS staff
Want to bring your actual work and have OPA and/or GFS staff help you in real time at a computer? Please attend the upcoming Open Labs (note: GFS open labs are every Friday at the times and locations listed below):
• Friday, September 30th, 9:00 am – noon, 427 Arguello Way (MAP)
• Friday, October 7th, 9:00 am – noon, 427 Arguello Way (MAP)
• Friday, November 4th, 9:00 am – noon, 427 Arguello Way (MAP)
• Friday, December 2nd, 9:00 am – noon, 427 Arguello Way (MAP)
Friendly Reminder: Please submit questions or requests to OPA via HelpSU.
(Tickets submitted to OPA via the following routing within HelpSU go directly to OPA staff.)
http://helpsu.stanford.edu : Request Category = Student Services; Request Type = Postdoctoral Affairs
To request to join or leave this email list please visit: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/supdssworkgroup
Regards,
Annelies
Annelies Ransome
Associate Director for Administration
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
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