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Role of Graduate Coordinator and Program Manager

GRADUATE COORDINATOR 

Role 

A graduate coordinator is a department faculty member who is appointed for a limited time to coordinate the graduate programs of the department. Graduate coordinators keep abreast of university policies and procedures regarding graduate study. They work directly with faculty, graduate secretaries, and students to ensure that graduate programs comply with the BYU Principles and Characteristics of Graduate Education. They also work closely with the graduate advisement or graduate admissions administrators in Graduate Studies, providing an important link between the department and the university.

Graduate coordinators work to:

  • Enhance the graduate culture within departments 
  • Act as liaisons between departments and Graduate Studies in the admission, tracking, and graduation of students  
  • Advocate for graduate students in department decisions and policies 
  • Coordinate the distribution of department funds for graduate students  
  • Coordinate the recruitment of well-qualified students to the graduate program  
  • Coordinate department-level graduate admission committees and procedures  
  • Assure that students are advised with regard to program requirements, scheduling of courses, internships, experiences, etc.  
  • Coordinate a regular faculty review of each student’s progress toward the degree  
  • Assure that student theses, projects, performances, and dissertations meet university requirements and represent high quality scholarly and creative work  
  • Coordinate a mechanism to solicit graduate student input into graduate programs  
  • Coordinate exit interviews with students completing graduate degrees 

GRADUATE PROGRAM MANAGER 

Role 

A graduate program manager works under the direction of the graduate coordinator to handle many of the procedural matters concerning students’ graduate programs. The graduate program manager is actively involved in tracking a student’s progress from the moment that an application arrives until the student graduates. Graduate program managers are often responsible for maintaining files for graduate applicants and students and for dispersing reports sent to the department by Graduate Studies. Graduate program managers may also be required to respond to students’ questions about the application to their respective graduate program, and about policies and procedures once the students are accepted into a program.

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