Graduate student representatives from the Associated Students of Madison are planning to initiate a cross-organizational effort to improve advisor feedback to students researching dissertations.
Some thesis advisors give feedback, but the vast majority of graduate students get little feedback as far as how they are developing skills as a researcher,"" ASM graduate student representative Matthew Tobelmann said. ""Our thought is that in seeing your advisor as your major educator, they should be giving some kind of feedback.""
At a meeting between ASM graduate student representatives and students from the Graduate Student Leadership Caucus Wednesday, Tobelmann asked GSLC representatives whether they believed requiring advisors to give more feedback would be helpful.
Some members were skeptical anything could successfully force advisors to give helpful feedback, but most agreed it would be useful if it succeeded.
Tobelmann said he envisioned a yearlong process to develop a program for giving feedback. The process would include research, implementation of pilot programs and surveys of students and professors.
Graduate students contemplated diversity in the graduate student experience.
Most GSLC representatives said their departments did not have any formal discussion of diversity, but many said cultural awareness happened naturally or through individual efforts.
""You wouldn't believe it, but it's the secretaries that do it,"" Irene Calderon of the Department of Horticulture said. ""They organize the events like for the Chinese New Year, and then you just start talking with people.""
Campus safety concerns for graduate students were also an issue representatives felt needed to be addressed.
They said feeling uninvolved with campus safety efforts and raising awareness would make the biggest differences.
Tobelmann also announced a recent clarification of a new university policy, which now allows any graduate student to get a business card through the university.
Departments will each have their own way of funding the business cards and many may have students pay for them, but all students will have the opportunity to get them.
