All graduate students must fill out a Special Committee Form within the first three weeks of their first semester in the graduate school, listing at least a Committee Chairperson or temporary advisor. If necessary, this advisor can easily be changed later with the submission of a new committee form. It is important to realize, however, that the first version of this form must be filled out shortly after you start at Cornell. If you forget to fill out your form, you'll be contacted by the Graduate School! Furthermore, the Graduate School will not process your first semester course enrollment form until your Special Committee Form has been received. In filling out the Special Committee Form, you should consult the list of ``Fields of Study, Subjects, and Concentrations," available in 150 Caldwell Hall (DE4) or from your Graduate Field Assistant.
To maintain student status for a given semester, you must be registered for that semester. As a registered student, you will pay tuition (or have it paid for you) and you will be granted access to University facilities, such as the library system. As explained in Section 1.2.1, you will need to register in person for your first semester at Cornell, but will be automatically registered for the subsequent semesters if you have paid your Bursar bills and have no ``holds" on your registration. You must, however, register in person each summer that you want to maintain student status. This involves filling out a Summer Graduate Registration Form in 150 Caldwell Hall (DE4). If you are not planning to register for a given semester, you need to file a Leave of Absence Form. Check with the Graduate Records Office in 150 Caldwell Hall if you have any questions about leaves of absence.