One major aspect of the Office of the Assistant VP for Graduate Education (former Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs - OADGP) operations that required innovation is the way by which we transmit information to our various stakeholders. Prior to the pandemic, 75% of inquiries we received were conveyed through telephones during working hours. With the campus being physically shut during the pandemic period, all these were shifted almost overnight to our emails - both official and personal, and beyond work hours. This massive migration has caused inevitable delays in replying to important queries and has increased our risk exposure to data privacy and security breaches.

Due to these challenges, our team has decided to adopt two dedicated Google Chat (GChat) Channels that would support incoming inquiries regarding our usual processes and activities. In doing so, we hope to free up our inboxes for inquiries that require complex decisions thus providing a more efficient and effective communication channel between us and our stakeholders.

Finally, we believe that a key component to a seamless and satisfactory service experience is the delivery of consistent, relevant and responsive communication to all stakeholders. We hope this system will allow us to continue serving our stakeholders during these uncertain times.

Official Channels

A. Official Emails

We have established three (3) official office emails to streamline incoming and outgoing communications.

• info.graduateeducation@ateneo.edu - for general inquiries regarding graduate programs other than admissions and scholarships
• apply.graduateeducation@ateneo.edu - for graduate programs admission and matters concerning new students
• finaid.graduateeducation@ateneo.edu - for graduate scholarship concerns

B. Google Chat (GChat) Support

The Office of the Vice President for Graduate Education (OAVPGE) has dedicated two Google Chat support that will be available, depending on the type/nature of the inquiry.

All official channels are manned by our staff on a rotational basis. This is to ensure that everyone on our team is fully aware of the major policies and processes concerning graduate programs. As such, please do not expect that only a certain staff member will respond to your query. As part of our internal quality assurance, all emails and live chats we receive and send are logged and tracked in a centralized database. Hence, kindly refrain from sending your queries to the personal emails or chats of the staff to ensure that the information you send or are requesting from us gets officially logged.

How To Use the OAVPGE Chat Channel

1. Starting the  GChat

Step 1

To start a chat, sign in your email account at gmail.com or at chat.google.com:

• ateneo.edu (for ateneo employees)
• student.ateneo.edu email (for ateneo students)
• Gmail (for graduate admission applicants)

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

2.  During the chat

1. Inquiries will be answered on a first-come-first-serve basis regardless of where/who they came from.
2. Inquiries sent to all chat channels with the same concern will only be answered once, and only by the designated chat channel. 
    
    
3. Screenshots of a particular concern may be sent in the chat box. This will help in understanding the concern being raised better and be able to provide quick resolution.

3. Ending the chat

1. Once the matter has been resolved, you will be asked if you have any other inquiries.
    
2. If there are no further inquiries, the OAVPGE staff will formally close the chat and tag the inquiry as resolved. The next person in line will be attended after. New inquiries will be automatically placed again in the queue.

GChat Schedule

1. OAVPGE Live Google Chat Support will only be available on the following regular work schedule:
   • Monday - Friday - 8:30 to 11:30 am and 1:00-4:30 pm
   • Saturday - 8:30 to 11:30 am
2. Inquiries will be addressed on a first-come-first-served basis. The OAVPGE staff will try to answer each inquiry as soon as they can. 
3. Some inquiries might take longer to respond to depending on the complexity of the issue that needs to be resolved (e.g. need to verify records or with another office).
4. Inquiries received within the live Gchat period will be resolved during the day.
5. Inquiries may be sent through GChat during offline hours, including weekends or holidays. However, these will only be addressed the next working day on a first-in-first-out basis.

Who should use this

This enhanced communication feature of the OAVPGE is designed to assist its major stakeholders in the efficient delivery of information regarding its services and activities.  Prospective and current graduate students, faculty, Department Chairs, Program Directors, Graduate Program Coordinators and secretaries, as well as support staff of relevant offices within the University, are encouraged to avail of this channel as an alternative to email and use of social media chat applications. This is to ensure that all queries and replies are monitored properly and conform with our internal quality assurance protocol.

We encourage the use of email when inquiries would require comprehensive backroom work on our end (e.g. full review of student records, etc.)  and/or complex decisions (e.g. interpretation of current policies). For inquiries that are more straightforward and can be responded to immediately (such as current policies, deadlines, application results, etc.), we recommend the use of our GChat channels.

Other related inquiries

Inquiries related to matters cited below should be communicated directly to the concerned offices:

• OBF Account requests for log-in/activation – itsupport@ateneo.edu 
• AISIS Account concerns for students – registrar@ateneo.edu and itsupport@ateneo.edu
• Advisement/Course Offerings/IPS - Home Department
• Grades - Teacher/Home Department
• Enlistment concerns – registrar@ateneo.edu and askregistrar.ls@ateneo.edu
• Schedule of Class - Home Department or at aisisonline.ateneo.edu
• Hold orders other than from OAVPGE - please check your AISIS account to verify the office who made the hold order
• Tuition and Fee assessment & Refunds – stud.accts.cao@ateneo.edu
• Payment Concerns – mdelpilar@ateneo.edu and mhcelestino@ateneo.edu
• International Student visa concerns – visa.oir@ateneo.edu
• Rizal Library - rizal.library.ls@ateneo.edu or at http://rizal.library.ateneo.edu/
• Office of Health Services - healthservices.ls@ateneo.edu or visit https://www.ateneo.edu/ls/healthsvc
• Office of Guidance and Counseling - guidance.ls@ateneo.edu
• University Research Ethics Office - univresearchethics@ateneo.edu
• Office of Campus Ministry - campusministry.ls@ateneo.edu
• Google Chat concerns - DITS Guide or Google Guide

Important reminders

1. For Graduate admission applicants, please use your personal Gmail account. Provide your Graduate Online Application number if your concern is about your submitted online application. Kindly visit grad.ateneo.edu for more information regarding graduate admissions.
2. Students/applicants may only inquire about their own concerns. The OAVPGE will not respond to inquiries sent on behalf of another person for data privacy and security.
3. For inquiries concerning sensitive matters, ongoing students or Ateneo employees will be requested to use their student.ateneo.edu or ateneo.edu email account for security purposes. For concerns regarding your official student.ateneo.edu or ateneo.edu email account, please send your email to itsupport@ateneo.edu.
4. We will only entertain inquiries sent via Google Chat. Any voice or video calls will not be accommodated unless scheduled as a regular meeting.
5. Emails sent to the official OAVPGE email addresses will be corresponded on a first-in-first-out basis.