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?