From Suzanne.Gruber@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU Thu Mar 28 10:58:15 1996 Received: from Forsythe.Stanford.EDU (forsythe.Stanford.EDU [36.54.0.16]) by arith.Stanford.EDU (8.6.12/8.6.6) with SMTP id KAA03201 for ; Thu, 28 Mar 1996 10:58:15 -0800 Message-Id: <199603281858.KAA03201@arith.Stanford.EDU> Date: Thu, 28 Mar 96 10:58:44 PST From: Suzanne.Gruber@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU To: DUNSI@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU Subject: New category of Visiting Researcher Status: OR March 28, 1996 TO: Interested Parties FROM: Roger O. Printup University Registrar SUBJECT: Registration Status of Visiting Researchers The attached statement is intended to clarify the registration status of persons who are visiting Stanford for the purpose of conducting research under the supervision of a Stanford faculty member. These are persons who are not in the categories of Visiting Scholars or Non-Matriculated Graduate Student paying the standard minimum of eight units of tuition. In the past, visiting researchers have usually registered in the Permit to Attend-Auditing category. Some have been incorrectly classified as visiting scholars even though they did not hold Ph.D.'s or were not considered recognized experts in their field. Others have not been registered at all. This new statement allows visiting researchers to register in the Permit for Services Only (PSO) category which carries the same tuition charge as the Terminal Graduate Re gistration (TGR) rate. The assessment of a fee for this group of people recognizes that there are costs to Stanford of having research conducted using our facilities. In addition to using research facilities and faculty time, these individuals almost invariably wish to have access to other Stanford facilities such as the libraries, recreational facilities, and computer accounts. The PSO rate is the appropriate charge for capturing the costs for the use of these types of facilities. This charge applies to all persons whether they are U.S. citizens or citizens of other countries. In the past, we have been fairly effective in learning of visiting researchers from other countries because of the need to have a visa issued. I suspect we have been less successful in learning about U.S. citizens who are conducting similar types of research. However, there are significant liability issues involved if persons using our facilities are not in an appro- priate status (e.g., visiting scholar, matriculated student, visiting researcher). In addition, departments should not expect other areas of the University such as the libraries or computing services to provide service if persons are not in an officially recognized category. If you have questions about this statement, please feel free to call me at Ext. 3-1550 or send e-mail to ak.rop@forsythe. I wish to acknowledge the assistance of Charles Kruger, George Dekker, Craig Heller, Carol VonderLinden, John Pearson, Nancy Fogel, Jon Erckson, Elizabeth Hodge, and Connie Reddy in preparing this statement. ******************************************************************** Procedures for Registering Visiting Researchers Background Stanford faculty are sometimes asked to supervise the research of visitors who are not visiting scholars under current Stanford policy. The definition in the Administrative Guide for a visiting scholar states that a person must hold a Ph.D. (or its equivalent from a country other than the United States) or be a recognized expert in the field. There are a limited number of instances, however, when it would be to the benefit of Stanford faculty to permit persons who have not yet obtained a Ph.D. or who are not recognized experts in their fields to engage in research on the Stanford campus using Stanford research facilities. Such instances might include students at other universities who are engaged in research at the doctoral level and who are doing research in a field of interest to a Stanford faculty member; a person who is doing a laboratory rotation as part of a larger research study or grant; or employees of companies wh o are conducting research who need to use specialized equipment only available at Stanford. When agreeing to invite such individuals to conduct research at Stanford, faculty must be mindful of the need to place primary emphasis on providing research opportunities to regularly matriculated Stanford students. In addition, invited persons must be qualified to conduct research at a level comparable to that of other Stanford graduate students, and the research must be of benefit to Stanford as well as the visitor. Enrollment status Visiting researchers will be registered in a new category: "Non-Matriculated Graduate Students - Visiting Researchers." They will be charged the Permit for Services Only (PSO) tuition rate. This rate is the same as the one charged to matriculated Stanford graduate students who are at the Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR), or dissertation stage, of their degree program. The PSO rate is set annually by the Board of Trustees. In addition, visiting researchers will be charged for student health insurance unless they document that they have comparable coverage with another carrier. Persons registered in the PSO category are not permitted to enroll in any classes. If visiting researchers wish to take classes at Stanford, they should contact the Graduate Admissions Office in Old Union and request an application for non-matriculated student status. A complete application, including letters of recommendation and official transcripts, would be required one month before the start of a given quarter. Non-matriculated students must register for a minimum of eight units and are charged the regular tuition rate. Visiting researchers from other U.S. universities who have educational loans cannot be certified by Stanford for loan deferments because they are neither matriculated at Stanford nor are they carrying a full-time course load. If the researcher is still matriculated at another university in the United States, s/he should contact that institution regarding eligibility for loan deferments. The visiting researcher status is valid for one academic year. The status may be extended once for an additional academic year using the procedures outlined below. The academic year begins in September with the fall quarter. Enrollment procedures Contact Suzanne Gruber in the Registrar's Office for the documents that must be completed to enroll persons as visiting researchers. Requests for this status must be approved by the faculty member with whom the researcher will be working and the Chair of the faculty member's department. In the case of visiting researchers from SLAC, the approval must be given by the Director. Students from other countries will need to complete a Declaration of Finances form to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to pay the associated tuition and fees and to live in the US. Visiting Researchers from Other Countries Citizens of other countries who enter the United States for the purpose of being visiting researchers at Stanford must have an IAP-66 (certification for J-1 visa status) issued by the Bechtel International Center prior to their arrival in this country. Contact Shirley Harris in Bechtel for further information. Visiting researchers must be registered each quarter, including summer, in order to maintain their visa status. Payment/Employment Visiting researchers are responsible for paying the PSO tuition rate and any other applicable fees each quarter. If the department wishes to pay the tuition and fees on the researcher's behalf, payment must be made through the GFS sys tem. NOTE: When departments pay tuition and fees for non-matriculated students, these payments are considered taxable income to the researcher. For non-resident aliens, this income will be subject to withholding and will be reported to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Visiting researchers are not eligible to be paid as graduate research assistants or as graduate teaching assistants. Visiting researchers must remain current in their payments to the University to maintain their visiting researcher status. Persons who are delinquent in their payments will lose their status as a visiting researcher, and, if applicabl e, their J-1 visa status will be terminated. Services available Persons who are registered as visiting researchers will be entitled to receive a student photo ID card. The card will permit the researchers entry and borrowing privileges from the library at the same level as other non-matriculated students, use of recreational facilities, and use of Cowell Student Health services. Researchers will also be eligible to open computer accounts. These services will only be available during the quarters when the PSO tuition has been paid. Graduate student housing is available, as for other non-matriculated students, only after all matriculated Stanford students have obtained housing. For the purposes of planning for housing, it is best to assume that student housing wi ll not be available on campus for visiting researchers. Office of the University Registrar March 28, 1996