Student Progress
BMCDB Forms
- Mentor-Mentee Plan
- This compact establishes a faculty and student's professional expectations of one another; it's an opportunity for both parties to clarify their wants, needs, and deal-breakers.
- It is mandatory to complete when a first-year student joins a lab.
- Students and faculty are asked to update the plan on an annual basis, whether it is to reaffirm the expectations therein or to revise them.
- This annual update was implemented in 2023-2024, and is required for our 2023 cohort onward.
- For our 2022 cohort and prior, it is not mandatory but strongly encouraged.
- Individual Development Plan (IDP)
- This annual progress assessment must be completed by all BMCDB students yearly, usually in spring as part of the campus-wide Student Progress Assessment (SPA).
- With advisor approval, students who are graduating by September of a given calendar year are not required to complete the IDP.
- If a student is enrolled in a training program that requires this IDP template, such as the eMCDB T32, they may submit that IDP in lieu of the BMCDB form above.
- If the T32 required that the IDP was due at a different time of year, that is acceptable. What we care most about is the student is completing the IDP on an annual basis.
- Students are required to provide the committee with a one-half to three-page summary of their doctoral research; due to the breadth of research represented in BMCDB, students are encouraged to consult their labmates for examples, but here is one.
- The annual summary should be in the same PDF as the IDP form signed by the major professor (PI).
- Dissertation Committee Report (DCR)
- This progress assessment is to be completed as part of each dissertation committee meeting. After a BMCDB student advances to candidacy, they are required to convene their dissertation committee for a meeting:
- Annually each spring, for students in their third and fourth years of study
- Biannually each fall and spring, for students in their fifth year of study and beyond
- With advisor approval, students who are graduating in spring or summer are not required to schedule a spring committee meeting.
- "Advisor approval" is extremely informal here - an emailed "okay" is fine. Please CC the Graduate Program Coordinator, or forward her the email from your advisor - that is all the action you have to take!
- With advisor approval, students who are graduating in fall quarter are not required to schedule a fall committee meeting.
- See above re: "advisor approval" :)
- This progress assessment is to be completed as part of each dissertation committee meeting. After a BMCDB student advances to candidacy, they are required to convene their dissertation committee for a meeting:
Graduate Studies SPA Overview
The Student Progress Assessment (SPA) is an online tool that communicates and documents an evaluation of a graduate student’s progress in their degree program. The tool promotes productive discussions and the setting of clear goals and expectations for graduate students.
Annual SPAs are required for all students and completed in Spring Quarter. As needed, interim SPAs are available to document expectations in Summer, Fall, or Winter Quarter. Please contact your Graduate Program Coordinator to launch an Interim SPA.
There are three possible outcomes for a SPA:
- Satisfactory - Student is making adequate progress towards completing their degree.
- Marginal - Student is making some progress, but there are opportunities for improvement. Marginal SPAs should be very detailed and include specific information on what expectations are not being met, how satisfactory progress can be achieved, and a timeline for action.
- Marginal SPAs do NOT have an impact on student standing (i.e. student is not on probation or subject to dismissal). A second SPA should be completed after a Marginal rating to review progress towards satisfactory standing.
- Unsatisfactory - Student is not making adequate progress towards their degree, and immediate improvements are required. Unsatisfactory SPAs should be very detailed and include specific information on what expectations are not being met, how satisfactory progress can be achieved, and a timeline for action. In cases where the graduate student is registered in 299 units, unsatisfactory progress related to research should be reflected in both the research grade (S/U) and the SPA.
- No student will be disqualified based on one unsatisfactory progress report. The student must have at least one quarter to remedy whatever is unsatisfactory about their work. A second SPA should be completed after an Unsatisfactory rating to review progress towards satisfactory standing. Graduate Studies explains more information about outcomes of an Unsatisfactory SPA.