Post on 06-Apr-2018
University of Montana Graduate and Professional Student Association UMT.EDU/UMGPSA UMGPSA@UMONTANA.EDU
Graduate and Professional Student Survey Report UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, 2016-2017
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IntroductionTheUniversityofMontanaGraduateandProfessionalStudentAssociationconducteda
surveytoassessgraduateandprofessionalstudentneedsandidentifyareasoffocusandspecificprioritiesforGPSAinthefuture.Thesurvey(seeAppendixA),createdbytheGPSAexecutiveteamandvettedbyGPSAsenators,ranfromNovember15throughNovember28.Adrawingforoneoften$10giftcards,generouslydonatedbytheUMBookstore,wasofferedasanincentivetoencourageparticipationinthesurvey.Thesurveyincluded18questionsandwasestimatedtotakesixminutestofillout.
DemographicsWereceived424responses,a20%response
ratebasedonFall2016enrollmentdata(2,110totalgraduatestudents).SixtypercentoftherespondentswereMaster’sstudentsand29%weredoctoral.Wereceivedresponsesfromstudentsinwide-rangingprograms,listedinTable1. Includedinthe“other”categoryareprogramsinEnvironmentalPhilosophy,History,Sociology,SystemsEcology,CommunicationStudies,GlobalYouthDevelopment,HealthandHumanPerformance,InterdisciplinaryStudies,Pharmacy,PoliticalScience,ComputerScience,Linguistics,Literature,MaterialsScience,BusinessAnalytics,CommunityHealth,andMedicinalChemistry.Weresponsesfromallstagesofthegraduateexperience,rangingfromfirstyearMaster’sstudentsto6thyearandbeyondPhDstudents.Overall,respondentsappeartobroadlyrepresentthediversityofexperiencesofgraduateandprofessionalstudentsattheUniversityofMontana.WeassessedstudentneedsandpotentialareasoffocusforGPSAinfivecategorieswhichincludedadvocacy,facilitatingconnection,communication,professionaldevelopment,equipment,andbarrierstosuccess.
Table1BusinessAdministration 36Education 36DivisionofBiologicalSciences 36EnvironmentalStudies 30Forestry 23WildlifeBiology 22Law 18SocialWork 18PhysicalTherapy 17ClinicalPsychology 12Anthropology 11CounselorEducation 11Geosciences 9CommunicativeSciencesandDisorders
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AthleticTraining 6English 6Journalism 6Math 6PublicAdministration 6BiomedicalandPharmaceuticalSciences
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Accounting 5Art 5Geography 4Other 45
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AdvocatingforGraduateandProfessionalStudentNeeds
Asanorganization,GPSAadvocatesforgraduateandprofessionalstudentneedstoUMadministrators.WefirstaskedrespondentstorankfourareasthatGPSAadvocatesfor,basedontheirlevelofimportancetotheirgraduate/professionalstudentexperience.AsindicatedinFig.1,50%ofsurveyrespondentsindicatedcurricular-basedneeds,suchasclearergraduationrequirementsandbroadercourseavailability,asimportantareastobeaddressedbyUMadministrators.Fiftypercentofsurveyrespondentsalsosaidthatreducingthecontinuallygrowingstudentfeesandmakinghealthinsuranceaccessibleandaffordablewereveryimportantconcerns.Thirty-sixpercentofrespondentsindicatedtheneedformoreprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesasaveryimportantissuetothem.Figure1:Rankedimportanceofspecificneeds
Whenaskedwhichofthespecificneedstheywouldmostliketoseeaddressed(Fig.2),twenty-sevenpercentofrespondentsexpressedconcernoverlackofprofessionaldevelopment&careerplanningresourcesforgraduatestudentsatUM.Itwasalsooftennotedthatfundstopursueexternalprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesarenotcurrentlyavailabletograduate&professionalstudents.Twenty-onepercentofwrittenresponsesspecificallymentionedhealthinsuranceasanimportantneedtobeaddressed.AmajorityofthesecommentersnotedthatmanygraduateprogramsintheU.S.andsomegraduateprogramsatUMofferhealthinsuranceaspartofTeachingAssistantorResearchAssistantcompensation,butthisisnotyetaUM-widepractice.
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professionaldevelopment
27%
healthinsurance21%
curriculum/gradreq's14%
tuition/fees7%
lowpay7%
TA/RAtraining7%
networking6%
solftwareresources5%
funding3%
onlinecourses1%
facilities1%
complaint/profdisputes
1%
Figure2:Writtenresponsesofspecificneedsthatstudentswouldliketoseeaddressed
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FacilitatingConnectionsGPSAalsoworkstoconnectgraduatestudentsfromdifferentdisciplinesanddepartmentsacrosscampus.Weaskedgraduatestudentstorankavenuesforconnectionbasedontheirlevelofimportance(Fig.3).Halfofallsurveyrespondentssaidthattheestablishmentofagraduatestudentloungeisveryorextremelyimportantinthefacilitationofconnectionsforgraduatestudentsacrosscampus.Twothirdsofrespondentsnotedthatextracurriculareventsweremoderatelytoextremelyimportantforfacilitatingconnections.Figure3:Rankedimportanceforconnectingstudents
WhenaskedwhattheywouldmostliketoseeGPSAfocusontofacilitateconnections(Fig.4),themostfrequentresponsewastheestablishmentofagraduatestudentlounge,followedbythefacilitationofvarioustypesofeventsspecificallyforgraduatestudents.Studentsalsomentionedconnectionsformingthroughthecommunicationofinformationindiverseformsincludingemail,blogposts,socialmedia,oragraduatestudentspecificeventscalendar.Manystudentsmentionedtheneedforgraduatestudentstohaveopportunitiestocontinuallycelebrateourindividualachievementswithinthegraduatecommunityandbeyond.
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lounge39%
events29%
blog/web12%
socialmedia6%
morecommunication5%
celebrateachievements
3%
collaborationopportunities
3%
distanceopportunities3%
Figure4:Writtenresponsesreflectingstudentpreferencesforfacilitatingconnections
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Communicatinginformation
GPSAalsoaimstobeacommunicationavenueforinformationrelevanttograduateandprofessionalstudents.Weaskedstudenttorankwhattypesofinformationismostimportanttotheirstudentexperience(Fig.5).Eighty-ninepercentofstudentsindicatedthatinformationaboutfundingopportunitieswasverytoextremelyimportanttothem.Seventy-sixpercentalsoindicatedthattime-sensitive,relevantinformationwasverytoextremelyimportantforGPSAtocommunicatetograduateandprofessionalstudents.Figure5:Rankedimportanceforinformationconcerninggraduateandprofessionalstudents
Additionally,amajorityofgraduatestudentssaidthattheirprogramcoordinatororchairsaretheirmostimportantsourceofinformation,withlessthan15%ofstudentsrelyingoncommunicationsfromtheGraduateSchool(Fig6).
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Figure6:Writtenresponsesshowingstudentspreferredmethodofreceivinginformation
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ProfessionaldevelopmentGPSAadditionallyworkstobeasourceforprofessionaldevelopmentrelated
opportunities.Weaskedstudentstorankdifferenttypesofprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesbasedontheirimportancetostudentsuccess(Fig7).Overall,professionaldevelopmentneedswerehighlyvaluedamongrespondents.Sixtypercentofrespondentsrated“speakersandorworkshopsaddressingcoreskillsneededforpost-degreesuccess”asverytoextremelyimportant.Communitymentor:menteeopportunitiesweresimilarlyrankedwith55%ofrespondentsvaluingthisasverytoextremelyimportant.Finally,acareerfairopportunitywasfavoredasmoderatelyimportant.Figure7:Rankedimportanceofprofessionaldevelopmentresources
Whenaskedaboutprofessionaldevelopmentneedsthataren’tbeingmetbytheir
program,respondentsfocusedonaspectsofjobtrainingandnetworking.Halfofallwrittenresponsesreflectedtheneedsformorecommunityinternship,mentor:menteeopportunities,andcareerfairs.Furthermore,whilestudentsrankedspeakers/workshopsasimportantforsuccess,itwasnotlistedasfrequentlyasaneednotbeingmetbyindividualprograms.Finally,respondentsemphasizedtheneedfortrainingfornon-academiccareers.
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Figure8:Writtenresponsesregardingprofessionaldevelopmentneedsthataren’tbeingmet
mentor/mentee/internship27%
careerfair/development
26%
non-academictraining15%
speakers/workshops11%
joblistings8%
networkingloal/global
6%
teachingcourses4%
profwritingcourses3%
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EquipmentneedsWeaskedrespondentsiftherewouldbevalueinGPSAasaresourceforequipmentthatcouldberentedorcheckedoutbygraduatestudents.Theseitemsmightincludeprojectors,aposterprinter,computers,aregularprinter,acarshare,oragrill.Respondentsdidn’tvalueequipmentrentalsprovidedbyGPSAasasignificantpriority.Aboutaquarterofallrespondentsreachedaconsensusonrentalsbeingmoderatelyimportant.Figure9:Respondentsdonotrankequipmentneedsasahighpriority
Whenaskedaboutspecificequipmentthatmightbeofuse(Fig10.),mostrespondents
indicatedthatalaserorposterprinterwouldbeadvantageous.Manymentionedthisasbeingafeatureofagraduatestudentlounge.Whileequipmentrentalsweren’tgenerallyrankedasimportant,havingequipmentintheprospectivegraduatestudentloungewashighlyfavorable.Theneedforacarshareprogram,likezipcar,wasalsoprevalentinwrittenresponses.
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Figure10:WrittenresponsesregardingequipmentpreferencesprovidedbyGPSA
posterprinter21%
printer18%
carshare14%
projectors14%
laptops/computers9%
softwarelicensing6%
none18%
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BarrierstodegreecompletionFinally,weasked“AsastudentattheUniversityofMontana,whatbarriersdoyoufeeltocompletingyourdegreeanddoingsoinatimelyfashion?”Unsurprisingly,themostprevalentanswersasbarrierstodegreecompletionweretimeandmoney(Fig.11).Themostfrequentanswersinvolvedfinancialissuesincludinglowstipends,highcostoftuition,excessivefees,childcareexpenses,andfundingfortravelandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.Thesecondmostlistedbarrierwasthetimingoravailabilityofcourseofferings.Coursesareeithernotofferedfrequentlyenoughforareasonablegraduationdate,ortheyoverlapwithothercoursesthatneedtobetaken.Studentsalsonotedalackofclassestochoosefrom,ingeneral,tomeetdegreerequirementsorrequiredclassesnotbeingofferedduetolowenrollmentorlackoffunding. Anothercommonbarriertocompletionwaspoorcommunication,innumerousforms.Uncleardegreerequirementsseemtoarisefromdisparitiesindepartmentalrequirementsandrequirementsfromthegraduateschool.Moreandbettercommunicationbetweendepartmentsandthegraduateschoolwereheavilyemphasized.Onestudentmentionedthatthe“tediousprotocol/lackofcommunicationfromtheGraduateSchool”makesthisofficeabarrierfordegreecompletion.Studentsalsomentionunclearcommunicationattheprogrammaticlevelasabarrier.Somerespondentslistedcertainprogrammaticrequirementsascreatingabarriertofinishingadegreeinatimelymanner.Requirementsforunnecessarycourseworkorthetimingofprogrammaticresponsibilitiesmadefinishingachallenge.Additionally,issueswithmentorsorcommitteechairswerefairlyfrequentalongwiththeneedforabettersystemtoaddresstheseissues.Severalideaswereputforth,butrespondentsrequestthattheadministrationprovidesasystemtomonitormentor/committeechaircompletionofresponsibilities.Underthecurrentsystem,whenitcomestoaddressingproblemswithadvisersorfixingpoorrelationshipsbetweenstudentandadviser;onestudentstatedthat“thepowerdynamicistooskewedforthegraduatestudenttoact”
Issuessurroundingmentalhealthwerementionedbymanyrespondents,especiallyintermsoftimemanagementaswellasstressmanagementaswellascommonissueslikeImposterSyndrome.Finally,numerousstudentsnotedspecialchallengestocompletingadegreeasadistancestudentaswellasalackofonlineresourcesingeneral.Asonestudentstated,“UMhasn'treallyleveragedwidelyavailabletechnologytohelpdistancestudents.
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Figure11.Barrierstodegreecompletion
RespondentsweregivenafinalopportunitytomakeanyadditionalsuggestionsforGPSA.Onethingthatcameupfrequently,anddoesn’tfallintoanyoftheothercategories,isthatweneedtoworktoincreaseawarenessandvisibilityofGPSAitself.Additionally,studentsmentionedtheneedforagraduatestudentorientationaswellasadesiretoformagraduatestudentunion.
Financial22%
None17%
Class0timing0or0availability11%
Time10%
Communication/Lack0of0Clarity10%
Mental0Health10%
Programatic0requirements7%
Faculty6%
Challenges0of0Distance0Learning2%
Lack0of0online0classes1%
Challenges0associated0with0being0a0Minority1%
Access0to0childcare1%
Access0to0resources/technology2%
BARRIERS0
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AppendixAGraduateStudentSurveyWeareyourGraduateandProfessionalStudentAssociation.Inordertoserveyou—graduateandprofessionalstudents—weneedtoknowwhatyouneedinordertohavethebestpossibleexperienceattheUniversityofMontana.Below,wehavelistedthemajorfunctionsofGPSA.Withineachcategory,therearerolesthatwecurrentlyfulfillorthatwecouldfulfillinthefuture.Foreachcategory,pleaseindicatehowimportanteachoptionistoyourexperienceasaUMgraduateorprofessionalstudent:1.GPSAadvocatesforgraduateandprofessionalstudentneedstoUMadministrators.Whichoftheseneedsareimportanttoyourexperienceasagraduateorprofessionalstudent?
ClicktowriteColumn1
Extremelyimportant
Veryimportant
Moderatelyimportant
Slightlyimportant
Notatallimportant
Curriculum-basedneeds(e.g.clear
graduationrequirements,
course/creditissues)
m m m m m
TA/RArelatedneeds(moretrainingor
groupresourcesforTAsthroughoutthe
semester)
m m m m m
Studentbenefitneeds(e.g.healthinsurance,
studentfees,softwarelicenses
etc.)
m m m m m
Professionaldevelopmentneedsthataren’tbeingmet(Careerplanning,alumnievents,networking
opportunities,skillsoutsidethe
lab/classroom/library)
m m m m m
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2.Whichofthesespecificneeds(orothers)wouldyoumostlikeaddressed?3.GPSAconnectsgraduatestudentsfromdifferentdisciplines/departmentsacrosscampus.Whichoftheseavenuesforconnectionareimportanttoyou?
ClicktowriteColumn1
Extremelyimportant
Veryimportant
Moderatelyimportant
Slightlyimportant
Notatallimportant
Extracurriculareventsfor
graduateandprofessionalstudents
(BBQs,HappyHoursetc.)
m m m m m
Blogpostsaboutevents,resources,and
graduatestudentsfromacrosscampus
m m m m m
Postsonourwebsite,socialmedia,etc.tocelebratetheachievements,awards,orhonorsoffellow
graduatestudentsat
UM
m m m m m
Agraduatestudentloungeorworkarea
m m m m m
4.Whichofthese(orotherthings)wouldyoumostliketoseeGPSAworkontofacilitateconnectionsbetweengraduatestudents?
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5.GPSAcommunicatesimportantinformationtograduateandprofessionalstudents.WhichofthefollowingtypesofinformationisimportantforGPSAtocommunicatetoyou?
ClicktowriteColumn1
Extremelyimportant
Veryimportant
Moderatelyimportant
Slightlyimportant
Notatallimportant
Informationaboutfunding,scholarship,&
TAopportunitiesoncampusandoffcampus
m m m m m
Informationaboutevents
andopportunitiesonandoff-campus
m m m m m
Important,relevant,andtime-sensitiveinformationthatimpactsgraduateandprofessionalstudents(e.g.changestoavailablelibrary
collectionsorthe
distributionofBerthaMortonFellowships)
m m m m m
6.Whatcommunicationroutedoyoupaythemostattentionto?m EmailfromGPSAm Emailfromyourgraduateprogramcoordinatororchairm EmailfromtheGraduateSchoolm PoststoSocialMediam Postsatwww.umt.edu/umgpsam Other____________________
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7.GPSAcanbeasourceforprofessionaldevelopment-relatedopportunities.Whichoftheseprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitieswouldbeimportanttoyoursuccess?
ClicktowriteColumn1
Extremelyimportant
Veryimportant
Moderatelyimportant
Slightlyimportant
Notatallimportant
Speakers/workshops
addressingcoreskillsneeded
forpost-degreesuccess
m m m m m
Communitymentor:menteeopportunities
m m m m m
Careerfair m m m m m 8.Whatspecificprofessionaldevelopmentneedsarenotbeingmetbyyourindividualprogram?9.GPSAcouldinvestinequipmentthatcouldberentedorusedbygraduatestudents.Theseitemsmightincludeprojectors,aposterprinter,computers,aregularprinter,acarshare,oragrill.HowusefulwouldthisbetoyourUMexperience?
ClicktowriteColumn1
Extremelyimportant
Veryimportant
Moderatelyimportant
Slightlyimportant
Notatallimportant
GPSAasasourcefor
equipmenttorent
m m m m m
10.WhatequipmentdoyounothaveaccesstothatGPSAcouldprovide?
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11.AsastudentattheUniversityofMontana,whatbarriersdoyoufeeltocompletingyourdegreeanddoingsoinatimelyfashion?12.WouldyoubeinterestedinworkingwithGPSAonanyoftheprojectsyoujustrated?Ifso,whichone(s),andhowwouldyouliketobeinvolved?Inordertofunctionwell,GPSAreliesonsenators.GPSAsenatorsmeetmonthlyand,indoingso,makeabigimpactonaddressingtheneedsofgraduateandprofessionalstudentsbothintheirrespectiveprograms,andacrosscampus.Itisalsoagreatwaytogainleadershipskills,buildyourCV,andmakeadifferenceattheUniversityofMontana.13.AreyouinterestedinrepresentingyourprogramasasenatorforGPSA?m Yes!(Pleaseprovideanemailsowecancontactyou.)____________________m Maybe(Pleaseprovideanemailsowecancontactyou.)m No,thanks.
14.DoyouknowanyonefromyourprogramthatwouldmakeagoodGPSAsenator?(Pleaseprovideanemailsowecancontacthim/her.)15.AnythingelseyouwouldliketoseeGPSAworkon?16.TypeofDegreeyouwillearnm Master'sm Doctoralm Other____________________17.Currentprogram?18.Yearinprogram?