Dr. Bruce Taylor serves as the Ombudsman for graduate students. This year he met with 57 graduate students about a variety of concerns. We wanted to give you a sense of what Bruce hears from students and which students seek out his services.
Approximately a third of consultations (32%) were with students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 20% in the College of Computing and Informatics, 18% in the William States Lee College of Engineering, and 9% in the Cato College of Education. The remaining colleges represented fewer than 7% of consultations each. A fairly equal number of international and domestic students scheduled consultations with the Ombuds in 2019-20.
By far students expressed concerns about their relationships with advisors. Evaluative Relationships represented 44% of consultations with the Ombuds. Typically, these are issues between a student and faculty such as a concern with treatment by an advisor, course instructor or program coordinator where there is a power differential between the student and faculty or staff. These also included concerns brought by students about their work on a grant or in a lab, for example. Services and Administrative issues (22%) are those concerns dealing with the application of policies or timeliness of services. Examples include graduate appeals, withdrawal options, and rules regarding changing programs or committees.
These concerns were echoed by the Counseling and Psychological Services office. Counselors reported hearing from graduate students about unrealistic work demands, faculty delaying students from graduating, and advisors texting students at all hours about work. International students reported the most concerns.
No doubt such issues have at least two sides, but these concerns are prevalent enough to warrant attention. The Graduate School is continuing to offer Mentor Training to graduate faculty and Mentee Training for doctoral students is being developed by the CGL. Please encourage faculty to make time for these trainings. In addition, the Graduate School recommends that programs adopt the use of Individual Development Plans (IDP) for doctoral and master’s students. A sample IDP is available on the Graduate School website.
