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April 15 Resolution
Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants
Acceptance of an offer of financial support* (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties.
Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. There has been a change in our process for students who want to withdraw from an offer of acceptance of financial support, starting with Fall 2020 admissions. In this case, the applicant must first inform the program that they are withdrawing or resigning from the offer of financial support that they previously had accepted. Starting in Fall 2020, applicants are no longer required to obtain a formal release from the program whose offer they accepted, either before or after the April 15 deadline. Once they have informed the program that they are withdrawing their acceptance of the offer, they then can accept any other offers. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution or a link to the URL should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer.
CGS has prepared a shareable PDF of the Resolution, which includes a list of CGS member institutions that have expressed support for the agreement. We have also prepared a sample letter and an FAQ document you could send to your school deans, graduate program directors, and administrators.
If your institution is not currently a signatory of the April 15 Resolution and is interested in being added, please contact Katherine Hazelrigg. Many institutions have worked with their graduate councils to garner broad institutional support for the resolution.
This Resolution was renewed October 2019.
*Please Note: This Resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not offers of admission.
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