So, as you all (pretty much) know, I’m spending a year in Germany on an exchange fellowship from UGA. It’s administered by UGA’s Office for International Education, and every year numerous grad students travel abroad on these fellowships. I have a Credit Approval form signed by the Dean of the Graduate School, so that the courses I’m taking here in Germany count toward my degree requirements (5 hours fall, 5 hours spring).

I tell you all this now so that I can share with you the following email I received on Friday from the Graduate School:

So, basically, the same Grad School that approved my credit hours for this UNIVERSITY SPONSORED AND ADMINISTRATED study-abroad program is now saying that I haven’t been enrolled in fall or spring term, therefore I’m “out of compliance” with the 3-hour/2-semesters-per-year enrollment requirement for ABDs writing their dissertations.

Sigh. Right hand, meet left hand. You guys talk to each other.

I wrote back to the Grad School, and CC’d everyone on the original email, and included the liaison from the OIE, explaining just what I said above. I hope they get this all sorted out soon, because I just don’t see how I can run this piece of paper from the department to the Grad School to the Bursar’s Office to the Registrar’s Office when I’m OVER 5,000 MILES AWAY IN ANOTHER COUNTRY!!!!!