Grad School merges academic services and admissions offices

The Graduate School has combined its Admissions Office with the Office of Fellowships and Academic Services.

The merged office will be directed by Assistant Dean Lois Beecham.

“This new structure will allow for a more seamless progression as students make their way from applicants to enrolled students, to graduates,” says Graduate School Dean Martin Cadwallader. “It will also allow us to maintain the current momentum within Admissions with respect to electronic applications.”

Beecham notes that the two offices have always worked in concert as policies and data needs overlap, and as the needs of students tend to bridge from the admissions process to graduate student life. Fellowships, for example, “tend to be awarded to incoming students as part of a recruiting process. We hope to make that process smoother, and we’ll be able to keep students better informed of their status and opportunities,” Beecham explains.

The merger will also help the Graduate School solidify the success of its move to electronic applications. Begun about eight years ago, the move to an electronic application format has gone extremely well, Beecham says. Most UW–Madison Graduate School applicants now apply online.

“The merger will allow us to still provide the good service these offices have traditionally provided and, hopefully, we’ll improve” while benefiting from the economic efficiency of a combined office,” Beecham says.