Departmental Reviews

The review of graduate programs on this campus has been underway for many years. It is perhaps one of the best methods prsently used by the University to evaluate the quality of graduate education by both the office of the Dean of the Graduate Division, and by the Graduate Council.

Each year, several departments are selected to be reviewed. After the selection, the review committees are appointed. Members of the reveiw committee are drawn from the university at large, and as far as the graduate student is concerned--two appointments are reserved for graduate students. As a member of a review committee, a graduate student is placed in a unique position. The student is charged with several tasks that perhaps no other member of the committee can perform. The most important task of the graduate student member is that of assessing students opinion within the department in question. The basic question becomes; what can you, as a graduate student, sense of the departments graduat student's satisfaction with their graduate program? How a review committee member gets at the answer depends on the department in question, but the answer itself is a key to understanding the effectiveness of graduate education, within the department.

Beyond the question of satisfaction, the graduate students within the department are involved in aspects of departmental planning. Are the students engaged in any of the decision-making procedures within the department, and to what degree? In addition, it is improtant to determine if the students want or need more involvement in the planning and decision making aspects of the department.

There are the unending problems of student financial aids, not only in the area of fellowships, but teaching assistantships, and research assistantships. Those who are RAs and TAs--how many hours do they work? Are the TAs and RAs overworked? Does the work interfere with their ability to function as graduate students within their program? Then there is the problem of asking how well the students compete for the graduate fellowships.

As a member of a review committee, the graduate shudents should also evaluate, if possible, the nature of graduate student counselin within the department. How available, timely, and adequate is it? Are the students easily informed of their own progress within their degree requirements, and do the students know what is expected of them by the faculty?

Once the questions are asked, the answers in, the recommendations and alternatives need to be explored. How things could, or should, be changed within the department becomes a core issue for the student member of the review. As a student, changes are often seen in a different light and the consequences of change understood in a more personal fashion.

But who else, other than another graduate student, could get to the answers, or understand some of the issues expressed by the graduate student?

This past year several departments were reviewed, among them Journalism, Psychology, Law and Society. This next year several others are slated to be reviewed. The departments to be reviewed are: Architecture, Chemistry, History, History of Art, Italian, Political Science, and Zoology. It is also possible that the department of Education and ORUs will be added to the list.

It goes without saying that graduate students are needed to serve on review committees; two graduate students for each committee. There is a definite time commitment that beign on a review committee means. Being on a review committee also means being an important part of serious discussions that effect graduate education. Beion on the review, as a student means that graduate students opion is given a thorough and careful evalutation during the course of the review.

Despite the importance of graduate students serving on review committees, there is a real need for more graduate students to offer to be on the committees. If you are interested, call teh graduate assembly office (642-2175) and tell us!! Reviews offer the chance to point out the areas of needed change within departments--they are a chance for graduate students to voice their opinions.