Principles and Procedures for Students Requesting Letters of Recommendation from Robert N.

Gaines
1. Undergraduate and graduate students requesting letters of reference or recommendation from me
should have undertaken at least six semester hours in courses under my supervision as instructor.
They should also have submitted at least one essay for my evaluation either as part of a course or as
part of an examination or degree requirement.
2. Requests concerning recommendations for graduate education, academic honors and awards
(including scholarships and fellowships), and academic employment should pertain directly to the
fields of communication or rhetoric. Requests concerning recommendations for professional
education, unpaid work experience, and employment outside academia will be considered, but
approved only rarely on a case-by-case basis.
3. Recommendations should not be requested for more than three destinations in any academic year
(i.e., 1 July-30 June). Students requesting recommendations for graduate education should
demonstrate general qualification for admission to a graduate program. The default standard I shall
use to determine general qualification will be a sum of 1400 or more arising from the following
formula based on the student's academic record: VGRE+QGRE+(Undergraduate GPA X 100). If a
student can demonstrate that a graduate program to which he or she is applying employs a different
standard, then that standard will be substituted for purposes of evaluating the student's request for a
recommendation to that program.
4. Letters of reference or recommendation must be requested at least thirty calendar days in advance of
any deadline for posting or submitting of a letter. When I have completed letters, I will contact
students by email or telephone. In any case where I have not contacted a student by fourteen days
before a deadline, the student is responsible for notifying me of this fact immediately. If I have not
contacted a student by seven days before a deadline, the student is responsible for communicating
directly with me by telephone or face-to-face about the impending deadline.
5. Once a request for a letter of reference or recommendation has been approved by me, the following
information and materials must be provided to me within three calendar days. (Students should not
presume that I maintain files of their professional and academic information for extended periods;
neither should they assume that I have access to their confidential academic record.)
a. The student's current resume or curriculum vitae
b. The student's transcript(s) (transcripts need not be official)
c. Where a student has requested a recommendation for graduate study, the student's VGRE
and QGRE scores (this requirement is waived only in cases where the student demonstrates to
me that the program to which he or she is applying does not require the GRE)
c. The exact title or name of the program, award, or position for which the student requests a
letter of recommendation or reference (for example, M.A. program, fellowship, Assistant
Professor).
d. The complete mailing address and either email address or fax address of the person and/or
agency to which the recommendation is to be addressed (this requirement must be fulfilled
even if the student is collecting letters to be sent together with and application)
e. A specific program, award, or position description pertinent to the letter of recommendation
or reference (where criteria of evaluation for the program, award, or position are relevant,
these must be provided as well)
f. The deadline for a timely posting or submission of the letter of recommendation or reference
(it will be helpful if the student gives a date on which the student wishes for the letter to be
sent or available for collection before mailing)
g. Where special forms or envelopes must accompany the recommendation, or where some
special procedure is necessary (for example signature across a sealed envelope), a notice to
this effect (plus the forms and envelopes) must be provided
h. The student's complete contact information, including mailing address, phone number(s),
email number, and--when available--a fax number
6. When the foregoing information and materials are not provided to me within three calendar days of
my approval of a reference or recommendation request, the approval becomes null and void.
Last updated 3 March 2004