3.3 The Program of Study Committee and the POSC Form (MFA)

MFA students establish their graduate committee and submit the Graduate Committee Membership and Academic Plan along with the appropriate Degree Planning Sheet (DPS) and other required POS related documentg by the announced deadline in the appropriate semester. The Graduate Program Office (englgrad@iastate.edu) will post the deadline on our Deadlines website (typically in the 6th week of the semester).

4th semester of coursework for MFA students

3.3.1 Graduate Committee Membership

The MFA Graduate Committee Membership consists of at least four members with two graduate faculty members (including the major professor) approved to represent your major. Two graduate faculty members must be from outside your major; one member from the English department, but outside your major, and the other must be from a department other than English.

Information about English Department Graduate Faculty members, their major areas which they can represent as major professors or as inside the major committee members, and their areas of research and teaching can be found in the Graduate Faculty Members section of this manual.

Selecting a committee

The POS committee must be approved in your fourth semester (or equivalent—see above) in the program. Your major professor, in consultation with your POS committee, is responsible for approving the coursework in your Academic Plan. Their primary responsibility, however, will be supervising the development of your thesis. In selecting your major professor preference, you might consult with your assigned program advisor, your graduate instructors, and your fellow graduate students.

The following is a timeline for the selection of a POS committee and the preliminary development of your thesis project, all of which will occur during your second year in the MFA program (or the equivalent based on number of POS credit hours completed).

• Approximately mid-term of your third semester (or equivalent), you will receive a form from the CWE area coordinator asking you to briefly describe your proposed thesis project and to indicate your preferences for a major professor. The MFA faculty will review all preference sheets and distribute major professor and second committee member appointments.
• After you receive your major professor appointment, you should meet with your major professor to discuss two things: 1) the development of your thesis plans, and 2) the further composition of your POS committee (one English Department member outside your major and one committee member outside the English Department).
• By the end of your third semester (or equivalent), your major professor must approve your proposal for your thesis project, which will comprise the work you plan to do in ENGL 5510, the Master Workshop, during your fifth or next fall semester.
• By the announced deadline in your fourth semester (or equivalent) you must form your POS committee, complete the DPS and any required POS related documentation as well as the Graduate Committee Membership and Academic Plan.

How the committee works

Your POS committee will assess your educational background, review your professional and educational objectives, and evaluate your research/writing. It will guide you as you complete your coursework and is responsible for approving the coursework in your program of study (POS).

The POS committee meets according to the needs and wishes of you and your major professor. At the MFA level, it is likely that the POS committee will meet once to discuss your POS and your prospectus for the thesis and once to conduct your final oral examination. The committee may convene on other occasions as necessary or desirable.

3.3.2 Graduate  and the Degree Planning Sheet (MFA)

To meet Graduate College requirements and officially establish your committee and program of study, you complete the online Program of Study and Committee Form (POSC) in your AccessPlus account and submit it for approval by your POS committee members, the DOGE, and the Graduate College. This form represents an agreement between you and the Graduate College on your academic preparation for an advanced degree, establishes your POS committee, and documents the courses you have taken and will take for your graduate degree. It is a vital document for your graduation. Therefore, it is important that you, your major professor, POS committee members, and the DOGE catch errors so those errors won’t delay your graduation.

Because this POSC Form has so many components and must be accurate, we require you to complete an internal, departmental tool—the Degree Planning Sheet (DPS)—that will help you prepare to enter an accurate POSC Form.

The Degree Planning Sheet (DPS) essentially serves as a preparatory tool for completing the online POSC Form. The DPS is structured in a table format that follows the outline of course requirements listed in the section for your degree program in this manual. The DPS helps you, your POS committee, and the DOGE ensure that you fulfill each of the required categories in your degree program. On this form, you also list the names of your POS committee members who have agreed to be on your committee.

You should complete the DPS and other POS documentation (e.g., environmental courses petition, POS wavier/substitution petition, transfer credit petition) with the help of your major professor. The first and most important check of the DPS and other POS documentation is the responsibility of your major professor. You should review these forms very carefully with them, checking to be sure that you fill in all the blanks and get all the necessary signatures. If your POSC includes expired courses, you must also complete the online Expired Course Petition.

By the announced deadline, you must submit electronic copies of the DPS and all POS documentation with required signatures (except for the DOGE) to the Graduate Program Administrative Assistant (englgrad@iastate.edu) and also complete and submit for approval the online POSC Form (must click the “Validate Form” button at the bottom before the “Submit for Approval” button appears).

Not meeting the announced deadline and/or not checking your documents carefully before turning them in may negatively impact your ability to register on time (see Advising/Registration Holds).

You must enter your approved POSC Form in your AccessPlus account.

• Login to AccessPlus and go to your Grad Student Status page
• Click on My POSC Form in the middle right side of the page
• Make changes as needed (click drop down menu for each item “Approved” for options to select such as “Drop” and “Add”)
• Click the “Validate Form” button at the very bottom of the form to see if the system finds any errors you need to fix (messages in RED at the top)
• Once everything is OK and no red messages appear at the top, click the “Submit for Approval” button at the very bottom of the form to route it for approval.
  (Note: changes must be approved by the Graduate College before a final oral examination is held)

If you have an assistantship, you may receive a notice indicating unsatisfactory progress if you have not submitted your DPS, POS documentation, and POSC Form by the announced deadline in your fourth semester, excluding summers. A Letter of Intent for your next academic term/year will not be issued or your tuition scholarship applied until you have submitted and correctly completed your required forms.

3.3.3 Committee and Program of Study changes (MFA): POSC modifications

Changing committee members

You may need to change the committee’s make-up if your research interests shift later or a committee member is no longer able to serve. Changes will depend upon

• consent of the faculty member(s) to be added
• agreement between you and your major professor
• consent of the faculty member(s) being replaced
• approval of the English Department’s DOGE

After your major professor and the faculty members to be added and replaced have consented to the change, it is a courtesy for you to make POS committee changes as soon as you know they are necessary and certainly before faculty have performed large amounts of consulting and editing for you. Making changes promptly allows faculty to shift their time to other students seeking their input.

Changing your coursework

Once the DPS, necessary POS documentation, and the online POSC Form are approved by the DOGE, modifications can be made as necessary using the appropriate form(s) (i.e., environmental courses petition, transfer credit petition, POS waiver/substitution petition, expired course petition). New or revised English Department POS documentation must be submitted electronically to the Graduate Program Administrative Assistant (englgrad@iastate.edu) to be approved by the DOGE. The POSC Form must be modified and resubmitted for approval in order to finalize the approval of any changes. Changes may be required by the Graduate College before you are allowed to graduate if coursework taken/taking does not agree with coursework listed on the most current approved POSC Form.

Changing your official POSC Form

You must make any changes to your approved POSC Form in your AccessPlus account.

• Login to AccessPlus and go to your Grad Student Status page
• Click on My POSC Form
• Make changes as needed (click drop down menu for each item “Approved” for options to select such as “Drop” and “Add”)
• Click the “Validate Form” button at the very bottom of the form to see if the system finds any errors you need to fix (message in RED at the top)
• Once everything is OK and no red messages appear at the top, click the “Submit for Approval” button at the very bottom of the form to reroute it for approval of the changes
  (Note: changes must be approved by the Graduate College before a final oral examination is held)