Alisha,
While the documentation of the value of graduate students and their
services to academia may not exist or be easy to find, there seem to be
studies looking at the value of graduate student accommodations in
recruitment to a graduate program. That is, better facilities can
attract better graduate students, particularly important for lower
ranking schools or programs. For example:
http://ajae.oxfordjournals.org/content/86/1/175.abstract
Hence, you may want to amend your strategy by pointing out the value of
a program treating its grad student well to the program's efforts to
improve its rankings.
Best of luck,
David Blersch
SUNY Buffalo
Julie Byrd Hebert wrote:
Alisha
I'm glad to see you bringing this topic up. I've been wondering what the
climate for graduate students is like at different institutions. I think it
is important to know because, in my experience, your description of the
value of graduate students (at least to the University Administrators) is
much like my own. I have to wonder if this is part of the reason for the
"decline of science and innovation" at least in the United States. Why
remain in a field where you don't feel valued? If the graduate students are
the future of science and technology one would think that there would be
value in spending time, money, and effort in training these students and
giving them a good work environment. I would like to think we are in the
minority, but I have to wonder...
Julie
On Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 7:49 AM, Alisha Dahlstrom <
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Hi all,
I am currently a phd student in my second year. Currently, within my
department, grad students share a small building with several rooms, 5-7 in
a room. There is a proposal to uproot all the students (and combine them
with grad students in a similar department) to a renovated basement that is
currently not being used because it is moldy, has poor ventilation and no
natural lighting. Apart from a few short partitions, this would be a large
shared space that "packed as many students in as possible" (about 40; you
can imagine the potential noise and disruptions). As the grad student rep,
when I explained this to the proponent of this new plan and asked for his
justification, it was that "grad students aren't worth much to a university
(monetarily speaking, at least, undergrads earn a school more) and it would
be nice for visitors to see all the students in one space."
As this plan seems to be moving forward rapidly, I would really like to
pull
together some documentation that supports my belief that 1) grad students
will have a higher completion rate and better output in a better (e.g.,
quieter and well-lit) work environment and 2) grad students are actually
valuable to a university. In my cursory, search, I haven't had much luck -
does anyone have any suggestions or input? Feel free to email me directly.
Cheers,
Alisha
