Authorized Signature Form Instructions
General Information
Authorizations
Roles and Responsibilities
Additional Email Lists
Mid-year Additions/Removals/Replacements
General Information
At the beginning of each academic year, the Graduate College requests units help in updating the Graduate College Authorized Signature Forms their unit. Please note that the Executive Officer's signature required on this form is that of the head, chair or director of the unit, not that of the Director of Graduate Studies. Rubber-stamped or electronic signatures will not be accepted. These forms are needed from every unit that has a graduate program, enrolls students, or offers graduate fellowships. This includes units offering graduate minors and concentrations. If a section on the form does not apply to your unit, it may be left blank.
Many units have more than one curriculum code. If the same individuals handle these functions for all curriculum codes, one form may be completed, and “ALL” may be entered into the program code boxes. If various individuals handle different functions for each curriculum code, please duplicate the form and submit as many copies as are necessary to cover the different codes offered by your unit. Contact information should be provided on each form submitted. The Authorized Signature Form may be accessed at www.grad.uiuc.edu/forms/authorizedsignature.pdf.
During the academic year, any changes in the content of this form require that a new, complete form be sent to the Graduate College before we will accept any documents with the relevant signature, or add or remove individuals included in the Graduate College email lists. See additional instructions below.
Please return completed forms to Lori Mikos, 204 Coble Hall, MC-322. Questions about Authorized Signature Forms may be directed to Lori at (lmikos@illinois.edu or 333-0035).
1. Graduate College Petitions (P on the form)
The Graduate College requires at least two different signatures on petitions. Of these, one is usually the student's advisor and the other represents the department. In most cases, the person designated to sign petitions on behalf of the department will be a member of the Graduate Faculty. In many instances, the person will be the Director of Graduate Studies for the program. Administrative staff may be designated to handle routinelmikos@illinois.edu or 333-0035) or Anne Kopera (akopera@illinois.edu) if you have questions about appropriate signature authority in your unit. petition matters. In all matters of substance, however, it is expected that a member of the Graduate Faculty will be involved. Please contact Lori Mikos (
2. Doctoral Committee Forms and Dissertations/Theses (DC on the form)
The Authorized Signature Form lists the individuals who are authorized to sign the form requesting the appointment of doctoral committees and to sign the Certificate of Committee Approval Form, which is required for every thesis and dissertation deposited. It is important that everyone listed for this authorization be a member of the Graduate Faculty.
3. Rating Forms for Fellowships and Traineeships (RF on the form)
The Authorized Signature Form should list the individuals who are authorized to sign the rating forms used by the Graduate College Fellowship Office to nominate students and to process fellowship and traineeship appointments.
4. Withdrawal/Cancellation Forms (W/C on the form)
The Authorized Signature Form should list the individuals who are authorized to sign Withdrawal/Cancellation Forms before they are forwarded to the Graduate College for review.
5. Late Registration and Course Change Forms (LR&CC on the form)
The Authorized Signature Form should list the individuals who are authorized to sign the Late Registration and Course Change Form before they are forwarded to the Graduate College for review. This signature is required to be on the form to allow students to add or drop courses after the printed deadline.
If more than one person fills any role, both names should be listed in that space on the form.
Executive Officer: The head of the unit in which the graduate program(s) reside. This individual can sign all Graduate College forms. This person will be included in our Executive Officer email list.
Director of Graduate Studies: Person responsible for decisions about the graduate program, usually a faculty member. This person will be included in our DGS email list.
Departmental Contact for graduate student records: The primary contact person representing the graduate program/records office within the unit. This person will be included in our Graduate Contact email list.
Graduate Faculty Authorizer: Executive Officer’s designee responsible for updating the Graduate College about status of unit faculty members and Graduate Faculty term members, including retirements, resignations, and tenure.
Admissions Contact: The primary contact for admissions information and the person responsible for entering admissions decisions into the ApplyYourself system. This person will be included in our Admissions Contact email list.
Thesis Reviewer: The person responsible for thesis format review at the unit level. This person will be included in our Thesis Reviewer email list.
Responsible for Pending Degree List Certification: The person responsible for certification of program degree requirements for graduation from programs in the unit.
Those listed in this section of the form will be added to the additional email lists for the chosen groups only. Inclusion in this section does not grant these individuals any authorization ability or contact role of any type.
If any roles or authorizers change at any time during the year, an Authorized Signature Form listing only the change, and including the Executive Officer’s signature, must be submitted to the Graduate College before any changes will become effective. The new form should clearly state whether the new individual is in addition to, or will be replacing, another individual.