Transferring Graduate Students From Other Institutions

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

We have a small number of graduate students who are physically located on our campus because their advisor has joined our faculty, but continue to be registered at the campus from which the advisor has recently moved and intend to receive their degree from that institution. In addition, an occasional student who is registered at a campus elsewhere comes to the University of Maryland, Baltimore to conduct dissertation research.

Payroll

A faculty mentor may arrange a sub-contract with the campus at which the student is registered so that the student(s) could remain on the payroll there. In this case, UMB need do nothing with regard to payroll.

If the mentor prefers to pay the student with grant funds administered by this campus, the following procedures should be followed:

The student should be assigned the payroll title of "Visiting GRA." A letter stating that the student is enrolled as a full-time student at his home institution, and providing the name of that institution, should be submitted along with the payroll entry. A second copy of this letter should be forwarded to Celeste Gerhart in the Graduate School - it is important that the Graduate School be aware of the existence of all students in this category. The student will then be FICA exempt.

The student should NOT be registered for ABGA 900 and should NOT be given the payroll title of GRA since he/she is NOT a full-time student on this campus.

Health Insurance

Whatever the funding arrangements, it is important to check to determine whether the student has health insurance from his home campus that will cover him/her in Baltimore. If the student does not, he/she should apply to the Graduate School as a special student and enroll for one credit. A cover letter, indicating that the visiting student is enrolled as a student at another university, should accompany the application for admission as a special student. This will ensure that the student is admitted even if TOEFL and GRE scores are lacking. Tom Gordon will then allow her/him to enroll in the campus Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland insurance plan.

Intellectual Property

In addition, the student will need to sign the Visiting Scientist Agreement, which protects the intellectual property rights of our campus. Copies of this agreement and of the Visiting Scientist Policy can be obtained from Celeste Gerhart in the Graduate School.

Safety Training

Finally, the program director should make certain that the student has completed all of the safety training required or appropriate for his/her laboratory placement (e.g., radio-isotope handling, blood borne pathogens). If not, such training should be arranged with the responsible campus office.

If you have questions as to the implementation of this plan, please feel free to contact Colleen Day at 6-8323 or Craig Cutter, Director, Payroll and Benefits, at 6-3451.