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[edit] Upcoming Social Events

  • Contractions Concert/Party, May 9, 9:30 pm at World Cafe Live (downstairs in the big room)
  • Memorial Dinner for Dave, Thursday May 1, 6:45pm with dinner at 7pm, McNeil Atrium
  • Due to recent events, there will be no monthly happy hour in April.
  • Saturday, April 12: Skit night from 7-11 pm. Drinks will begin being served at 7, food around 7:30, and skits will begin around 8:30 or 9 -- to be held in the McNeil Atrium as usual.

[edit] NEW PHD TUITION STRUCTURE

Dear SAS Ph.D. Students,

As you may have read in the Almanac or Daily Pennsylvanian, beginning in 2008-9 the University will implement a simplified tuition system for all Ph.D. students. As long as you are funded by a fellowship or faculty research grant, this change will have no direct impact on you. However, if you may be unfunded next year or in some future year, it is important to know how the new tuition structure will work.

Detailed policies concerning the new system will be distributed by the end of May to your graduate chairs, graduate coordinators, and business administrators. An abridged version of those policies will also be posted on the SAS Graduate Division web site. At the urging of SASgov, the organization representing SAS graduate students, I am writing to you at this time with highlights of the new system, so that you will know about the impending change before many students leave campus for the summer. If you have questions as an individual, I ask you to hold them a couple of weeks if possible and then direct them to your graduate chair. If you have questions or concerns about matters of policy, please send them to me at nageljh@sas.upenn.edu. Please do not reply to this message.

The Old System

Through the current academic year (2007-8), Ph.D. students in SAS (or their funders) have been charged tuition under a complicated, multi-stage system: by course units at a rate of $4,258 per cu until 20 cu's have been credited; next for Dissertation Tuition (often called "high dissertation") at a rate of $2,839 per semester for up to five semesters; and then, if more time is needed, for Dissertation Registration ("low dissertation") at a rate of $639 per semester. In addition, students taking courses have been charged a General Fee of $1,005 per semester. The General Fee has heretofore not been charged to students on Dissertation Tuition or Dissertation Registration.


Simplified Tuition System

Under the new simplified system, there will be just two levels of tuition for full-time students. The new plan has four essential features:

1. Full Tuition: Tuition for full-time Ph.D. students without transfer credits will be charged a flat rate (called "Full Tuition") until the student has completed five years of study or received the Ph.D., whichever comes first. Full Tuition for the academic year 2008-9 will be $24,000 ($12,000 per semester). Students on Full Tuition will also be charged a full-rate General Fee, which will be $2,000 ($1,000 per semester) in 2008-9.

2. Reduced Tuition: If a student without transfer credits has not earned the Ph.D. by the end of five years as a full-time student, he or she will be charged "Reduced Tuition." The cost of Reduced Tuition next year will be $3,000 ($1,500 per semester). Students on Reduced Tuition will also be charged a reduced-rate General Fee, which will be $500 ($250 per semester) in 2008-9.

3. Students with Transfer Credits: The shift from Full to Reduced Tuition will occur earlier for students who receive transfer credit for courses completed before they matriculated into a Penn Ph.D. program. SAS students who transfer 6, 7, or 8 course units will be charged Reduced Tuition after the end of Year 4. Students who transfer 3, 4, or 5 course units will be charged Reduced Tuition after nine semesters.

4. Ten-Year Limit on Ph.D. Enrollment: After five years on Reduced Tuition (ten years from matriculation for students without transfer credits), a student who has not yet completed the Ph.D. will cease to be enrolled as a student. This provision will not take effect until 2010-11, in order to give two years' notice to students already past or approaching the ten-year limit. Individual letters will be sent to such students with further information.


Transitional Help from SAS

Students in Years 1 through 5: Most SAS students subject to Full Tuition are covered by fellowships or research grants that will absorb the changed costs, including the General Fee. If your funding will end after four years and you do not have enough transfer credits to move immediately to Reduced Tuition, please see your graduate chair about special arrangements that may apply to you.

Unfunded Students in Year 6 (or in Year 5 with transfer credits): Tuition simplification will reduce charges for most SAS students in Year 6. Under the old system, such students typically had one semester on high dissertation and one on low dissertation. If continued into next year with the 4.5% increase that the University is applying to other tuition rates, the total cost for the year would be $3,739. Under the new system, charges will be $3,500 ($3,000 for Reduced Tuition and $500 for the General Fee).

Unfunded Students past Year 6 (or past Year 5 with transfer credits): If the old system were continued, these late-stage students would be charged for two semesters on low dissertation for a total of $1,336. At $3,500 for Reduced Tuition plus reduced General Fee, the new system imposes substantially higher charges. To give students time to adjust to the new cost structure (or better yet, to finish their degrees before its full effect is felt), the School of Arts and Sciences in 2008-9 will provide all unfunded students past the sixth year (or equivalent allowing for transfer credits) with a partial tuition subsidy of $1,650 ($825 per semester). This means that the student will be responsible for $1,350 in tuition plus the $500 general fee, for a total of $1,850 ($925 per semester). SAS cannot help with the General Fee, because that money goes directly to the central administration, which uses it to pay for a great number of non-academic services to students. This subsidy applies only to 2008-9. My expectation is that the subsidy will be reduced in 2009-10 and eliminated entirely in 2010-11.

I wish all of you an enjoyable and fruitful summer!

Jack Nagel

Associate Dean for Graduate Studies School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania 3401 Walnut St., Suite 322A Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228 USA 215-898-7156

[edit] NEW: free online fortran90 compiler

If the computers with Fortran in GDAL are all locked and you need to run a simple code, you can use the following free F90 compiler: http://www.g95.org/. GES is working with SSC for the installation of a fortran 90 compiler and library on the Linux server during the next maintenance of the system, which should happen in the summer of 2008.


[edit] What Makes a Good TA

  • I (Kasie) have created a document to assist first-time TAs with running recitations and being an effective TA. If you ever want to set up a time to chat about any of these items, feel free to shoot me an e-mail (kasie@sas.upenn.edu). Good luck!

"What Makes a Good TA"

[edit] Micro/Macro/Metrics Club

It appears that the Macro club is well on its way to becoming a reality. The faculty sponsors will be Dirk Krueger and Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde, and the organizer will be Cristina Fuentes-Albero (fuentesa@sas.upenn.edu). The meeting date will be Thursday during lunch (12 - 1:30) beginning in September.

This semester, micro has split into Micro Theory Club, and Empirical Micro Club.

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Econometrics Club. The organizers are Maxym Kryshko and Leonardo Melosi.

Note that pizza/drinks will be provided by the department for the fall semester so far.

[edit] Links to Clubs and Workshops

Shadow Workshop Schedule

Empirical Micro Club

Macro Club

Economic Theory Lunch Club

Econometrics Lunch

General Comments

[edit] Pictures

Media:Carnaval.jpg

Skit Night 2006

Halloween Party 2007

Skit Night Spring 2008

[edit] Hygiene in the Graduate Students' Offices

  • Janitors are supposed to dust the desk and mop the office floor weekly, UNLESS there is stuff on the floor and on the desk. However, some students have the feeling that even if there is nothing on the floor or on the desk, the cleaning does not get done. If you feel this is the case with your office, send an email to Maria B. Romeo at romeom@sas.upenn.edu. You must specify your office number.

[edit] For International Students

Here's a link to the language programs organized by the GSC (free of charge) and the ELP. If you feel uncomfortable with your English, you may want to consider attending one of these programs.

[edit] How to Get Your Masters

If you're interested in receiving the masters degree (even if you have passed your preliminary exams), you must sign up to officially receive this degree. Typically there is some lag between when you "sign up" for it and when you actually receive it, so make sure to do this with plenty of time in case you need it for something. Also, be sure to say that you are NOT a terminal masters student if you are not withdrawing from the program. Otherwise, just fill out this link and get a "paper" to Ken for official reasons.

[edit] Links


[edit] Getting Started with a Wiki

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