Liaison for Graduate Affairs

In keeping with a policy on departmental graduate liaison, the College places importance on helping graduate students resolve conflicts they may encounter. Each MCS department has a first point of contact for graduate concerns since many issues are best addressed first within the department. (See Departmental Liaison sidebar.)

In cases where departmental assistance is not possible or not practical due to conflicts of interest or confidentiality concerns, please contact Manfred Paulini, Gwen Stanczak or Michael Young, MCS Liaison, directly to set up an appointment. Please be sure to refer to the university’s summary of graduate student appeal and grievance procedures to determine if there is a specific procedure governing your situation.

The liaison offers an informal collaborative process to complement existing services and formal procedures. Note that an liaison is not a formal advocate or mediator. The liaison is a neutral advisory party, not an advocate for the student or the administration in grievances, but an advocate for maintaining a fair process. The student typically makes the decisions about how he/she will manage the problem or conflict.

Matters will normally be treated confidentially upon the student’s request and only discussed in the aggregate to protect the student’s anonymity. However, sometimes the law requires reporting and confidentiality is not possible. Also, if someone reports to the liaison an imminent risk of serious harm and a safe plan of action agreeable to both parties cannot be reached, the liaison may need to act without the student’s permission.

Types of Support Available

• Guidance about possible options. The liaison can listen objectively, answer questions about MCS policy and procedure, or suggest ways to gather more information or generate more options.
• Information about how to file a grievance or appeal. If a student wishes to file a grievance or appeal, the liaison can advise on how to do so, provide help in interpreting the summary of graduate student appeal and grievance procedures and otherwise will act only to gather information if requested by the student.
• A confidential resource and sounding board. Students who are experiencing personal, health or family difficulties that are affecting their academic progress may wish to contact someone outside of their program to discuss concerns and identify resources and options to assist them.
• A confidential channel to raise concerns. Some concerns may call for review of policy or procedure or the student may want to surface a concern, for example related to diversity.
• Consultant to departmental liaison. The MCS Graduate Affairs Liaison can provide advice and support to departmental liaison and graduate coordinators when needed. See the MCS Intranet on MCS Liaison for Graduate Affairs.

MCS Graduate Student Appeal and Grievance Procedures

Please see the Summary of Graduate Student Appeal and Grievance Procedures for a summary of the processes available to Carnegie Mellon graduate students who seek review of academic and non-academic issues. Generally, graduate students are expected to seek informal resolution of all concerns within the applicable department, unit or program before invoking formal processes.

In addition, MCS has a policy on liaison for graduate affairs, at the departmental level, an important resource for information in identifying options and resolving conflicts that involve a graduate student. Please see the Departmental Liaison sidebar if you are not sure who to speak with in a particular department.