The UNC Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF) is collecting data from faculty and students about the impact of the "ten-semester cap" on tuition remission and its effects on campus. The "ten-semester cap" refers to the following University policy as outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook:

"No student is eligible for more than a total of ten (10) semesters of tuition remission and/or in-state tuition awards during their enrollment at the University, regardless of rate of remission or award. Students who complete a degree in one academic program and then enroll in another academic program or change academic programs without receiving a degree are only eligible for the maximum semesters of eligibility as noted above during their enrollment at the University."

This project is a continuation of the research efforts of the Tuition Remission Committee, a select committee of the GPSF. Last year's survey of 452 graduate and professional students indicated that a significant percentage of doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences face a serious financial crisis at the most important stage of their education and professional development. That crisis is the gap between university support in the form of tuition remission and the timely completion of dissertation writing and research. The "ten-semester cap" creates a gap that does not provide adequate institutional support for students enrolled in programs that traditionally take (nationwide) 6-8 years to complete. This is particularly the case in programs with heavy service/teaching loads and few opportunities for external funding or dissertation support. Our research also indicates that this "cap" and its subsequent gap in institutional support is not representative of best practices, and it is not on par with the levels of doctoral support offered by UNC's peer institutions.

Your participation is anonymous, and we will not include demographic/institutional information that could identify you in our final analysis. You may choose, however, to "opt in" and identify yourself. Please take a few moments (approximately 10 minutes) to complete our survey. Your input will enable the GPSF to develop appropriate policy recommendations to the Faculty Council, the Graduate School, the Board of Trustees, and the UNC Board of Governors.

Please direct all queries and comments regarding this survey to the GPSF Tuition Remission Committee at gpsf.trc@gmail.com.