11

Funding Priorities MeetingThursday, January 28, 2010

5:30 pm

Senior Leadership Team

Graduate and Professional Student Association

Student Government Association

Review of Findings• 2,006 respondents (30.9% response rate)

• Responses representative by college/school, gender, and citizenship status

2

Funding Priorities Identified:

1. Increase support for graduate financial assistance and/or support

2. Improve TA and instructor training

3. Support graduate and professional student research

4. Involve graduate students in Northeastern’s Global Engagement

5. Create competitive stipend program for graduate unpaid internships

Graduate & Professional Student Association

1. Increase Support for Graduate Financial Assistance and/or Support

• The lack of affordable funding options is an obstacle to success at Northeastern– 65.46% of graduate students report work and financial

commitments as a minor or major obstacle (27.34% as a major obstacle)

– 55.35% of graduate students say that their income will not be enough, or do not know if it will be enough, to cover their household expenses during the year.

– 47.3% of graduate students rated their assistance with finding and applying for grants, scholarships, and fellowships as average, fair or poor.

– Qualitative evidence: graduate student experiences

• Policy Recommendation: Add support for graduate students through financial assistance as well as expand role of university in supporting graduate students with finding and applying for external scholarships and fellowships.

• Affects: All graduate and professional students3

Graduate & Professional Student Association

4Graduate & Professional Student Association

Example of Expanded Support to Students

5Graduate & Professional Student Association

2. Improve TA and Instructor Training

• Teacher Training– 258 graduate students have been primary instructors

for an undergraduate course, and 278 have led discussion/lab/recitation sessions.

– 34.6% report their training for teaching as average, fair, or poor, and 8.2% report no training received at all.

– 40.6% report that funding training for teaching as extremely or very important.

• Policy Recommendation: Evaluate summer TA training session, make improvements, and revitalize commitment to teaching excellence at Northeastern by providing opportunities for the development of graduate student instructors

• Affects: All undergraduates, all graduate and professional students serving as course instructors and TAs6

Graduate & Professional Student Association

7Graduate & Professional Student Association

3. Support graduate and professional student research

• 54.98% of graduate and profession students ranked seed money for graduate research and/or student/faculty research as extremely or very important.

• 66.3% have not presented a paper or poster at a conference

• 53.6% of PhD students (41% excluding first year students) have not had the opportunity to publish as a co-author, and 61% of PhD students have not had the opportunity to publish as a first author.

• Policy Recommendation: Replicate Provost’s Office Undergraduate Research Grants for graduate students. Preference faculty seed grants for faculty members that include graduate students.

• Affects: All graduate and professional students 8

Graduate & Professional Student Association

4. Involve Graduate Students in Northeastern’s Global Engagement

• Students would be very interested in taking advantage of…– Scholarships for international

co-ops/internships (56.89%)

• Policy Recommendation: Include graduate students in access to Presidential Global Scholars international co-op scholarship.

• Affects: All graduate and professional students required to participate in co-op programs.

9Graduate & Professional Student Association

5. Create competitive stipend program for graduate unpaid internships

• 57% of graduate and professional students were extremely or very interested in stipends for unpaid internships or co-op (#1 ranked item).

• Comments: “As a public interest-minded school, even more opportunities for fellowships or scholarships for public-interest co-ops would be very helpful.”

• “My program requires 3x328 hours each unpaid clinicals, 24 hours per for a whole year – spring, summer, and fall. It straps the graduate student financially and causes a lot of stress, especially for those of us who are older graduate students.”

• Policy Recommendation: Institute a competitively awarded stipend program for graduate students seeking unpaid internship and co-op positions. Consider replicating Arts and Sciences’ Experiential Learning Grant for undergraduates.

• Affects: All graduate and professional students required to participate in experiential education through internships, co-ops, practicum, and clinicals.

10Graduate & Professional Student Association

Summary

11Graduate & Professional Student Association

• Connection to previous presentations• Questions?

Funding Priorities Identified:

1. Increase support for graduate financial assistance

2. Improve TA and instructor training

3. Support graduate and professional student research

4. Involve graduate students in Northeastern’s Global Engagement

5. Create competitive stipend program for graduate unpaid internships