Strategic Plan for the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education

The mission of the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education (ODGE) is to promote graduate education and student life at MIT. The ODGE's vision is to make the graduate student experience at MIT a transformative one, thereby developing the next generation of scholars and leaders who will create new knowledge; innovate in ways that serve society; and educate succeeding generations.

To that end, the ODGE provides a range of services to support the internal community and to strengthen external relations. The ODGE:

• Works with departments and other academic units on the recruitment and inclusion of graduate students with a focus on the success of underrepresented minority and women students;
• Works with the Committee on Graduate Programs to develop, review, and administer graduate student policies and procedures;
• Collaborates with Resource Development and the Alumni Association on fund raising and stewardship;
• Complies with federal immigration requirements for admitted international undergraduate and graduate students; provides immigration advice for all international students;
• Provides and administers central graduate fellowships and responsibly stewards internal and external funds entrusted to the office for that purpose;
• Advocates for graduate student issues to improve education and the overall quality of graduate experience;
• With the Dean of Student Life, provides support for meaningful living and learning experiences on and off campus;
• With the Dean for Undergraduate Education, provides support for improving processes such as graduate admissions, student financial services, and career counseling;
• Provides a venue for resolving individual problems facing graduate students;
• Creates communications that serve the entire graduate student body.

Leveraging the efforts of a small office with a headcount of approximately 20, the ODGE accomplishes its goals primarily by working collaboratively with other units. This entails key partnerships with the offices of the Dean for Undergraduate Education (DUE) and the Dean for Student Life (DSL), MIT's academic departments, Resource Development and the Alumni Association, and the Office of the Provost. For example, although Housing is part of the Division of Student Life, the ODGE provides financial support for programs in graduate housing. Similarly, the ODGE supports DUE activities in graduate student career services and graduate admissions, and the fund raising efforts initiated by Alumni Association and Resource Development.

Strategic themes

The ODGE, often serving as a catalyst, works closely with other units on recruiting a diverse graduate student body; identifying and managing sources of graduate student funding; creating and sustaining programs in the arena of graduate student life; and ensuring streamlined business processes that support the overall graduate agenda. Strategic planning for the ODGE focuses on these four distinct themes:

• Improving graduate student diversity
  Working to recruit, advise, and mentor a diverse graduate student body.
• Enhancing graduate community
  Creating a strong extended community of graduate students through programs and residential options that support the student's personal and professional growth.
• Strengthening financial support
  Supporting graduate students with a combination of fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships and loans, ensuring that all admitted students can be academically successful, complete their chosen degrees, and thrive in the educational environment, without imposing undue financial hardship on themselves or their families.
• Refining business processes
  Providing service-oriented and efficient business processes in areas of finance, petition handling, student advising, visa assistance, and communications.

As a result of its efforts, the ODGE hopes to attract the most talented young scholars to MIT. The sections that follow describe these four themes in greater detail by outlining the ODGE's goals and objectives for the next one to two years. As with any plan, this is an evolving document. Given the current economic climate, the plan may change considerably over the coming years.

 

Steven R. Lerman
Vice Chancellor and Dean for Graduate Education
March 2009