Review of Documents Available Concerning Mentoring of Graduate Students
Elizabeth Baranger noted that there has been some concern that graduate students are not being effectively mentored. Three documents addressing mentoring of grad students are currently available: "Suggestions For Choosing A Dissertation Advisor," "Improving Research Supervision," and Research Student and Supervisor. The questions before the Council are (1) whether these documents should still be used, (2) whether these documents should be updated, and (3) whether these documents should be distributed again or in some different way?

The Council considered each document in turn. Concerning "Suggestions For Choosing A Dissertation Advisor," Stephen Hirtle (SIS) noted that the School of Information Sciences has revised this list and made it part of a brochure that goes to all SIS graduate students. Wynne Korr (Social Work) suggested that this document be revised by adding another question, one to address diversity issues in some way (i.e. Does this advisor have a sound record of mentoring students like me?). Ian Reynolds (Medicine) asked whether there was evidence that students are using this document and if so, how would it be used by students? Is the advice suggested here heeded or implemented?

Wynne Korr noted that Social Work students enter a focus group discussion on graduate advisors, led by a non-PhD-advising faculty member. This type of discussion can answer some questions regarding existence of student discontent with faculty advising.

Research Student and Supervisor is distributed to all faculty upon being named graduate faculty. Elizabeth Baranger asked Council to consider whether this booklet should be sent at all and, if so, whether it should be sent to all new faculty.

FAS graduate student Giovanna DiBlasi noted that she found this booklet more useful than the "Suggestions" checklist since it offered more explanation of the goals of the relationship between a grad student and faculty member. She asked if faculty could be encouraged to share copies of this booklet with graduate students in their departments.

Council had no comment on the document "Improving Research Supervision."

Council recommended the following actions:

• Send Research Student and Supervisor to deans and/or chairs, encouraging them to use this and distribute it to faculty and students as they see fit.
• Add an item on the "Suggestions" checklist regarding mentoring of women, students of color, non-traditional, international students; send the revised document to deans.
• A general discussion of the difficulty of evaluating mentorship of graduate students followed. The Department of Psychology uses an annual questionnaire to monitor faculty/student work. This is followed up by a meeting between the chair and 25% of the current grad student population. These surveys are not anonymous: faculty members and students are named on the form.

Review of Pitt's Presence on the Internet
Elizabeth Baranger advised Council that the University Committee on Pitt's Presence on the Internet reviews Pitt's Web pages in an ongoing process. There have been complaints about the current structure of Pitt's pages; the committee is responding to those complaints by reconsidering the current structure. There are also examples of Pitt's Web's usefulness (i.e. SIS linking to the "Suggestions For Choosing A Dissertation Advisor" document residing on the Provost's Office pages).

General comments and suggestions made by Council:

• Ian Reynolds noted that promotional printing materials can often successfully go on the Web. He noted that for graduate programs, the Web's primary purpose was recruitment while some of the top level pages have information-distribution as their primary goal. He recommended some sort of button on the Pitt Home Page that directs inquiring students directly to the kind of information they're interested in ("Look Here If You Want To Be A Student!"). A search engine would be helpful, and Elizabeth Baranger explained that CIS is working on a search engine and it should be working by the end of Spring Term.
• Steve Hirtle noted that Pitt's Web seems to be organized by institutional structure rather than by functionality. He also pointed out that the names of the buttons on the top pages reflected a certain hierarchical and bureaucratic language that may confuse users. He suggested that there be a page with news on it, but Elizabeth Baranger pointed out that the What's New page was not kept current.
• Jim Knapp (FAS English) noted the beauty of layers: links lead users from one point to the next. He urged accuracy and currency for documents and pages put up on the Web.
• Sam Conte (Registrar) also noted the value of links and pointed out that students can now go from the Schedule of Classes to course descriptions on the Web.
• Patricia Bohachick (Nursing) suggested that the pages describing Pittsburgh as a beautiful city are too buried.
• Valerie Watzlof (SHRS) inquired about the responses from prospective and current students. What do they think of what's offered and of what should be offered on Pitt's Web?

This summer, responsibility for conveying off-campus housing information to students was shifted from the Commuter Resource Center (which has been disbanded) to Property Management. Mary Lou Soffa, Dean of Graduate Studies in FAS, and Jane Lohman, Student Services in GSPIA, sent letters to Vice Provost Baranger to express their concern about how this change will affect graduate students. Some services may be lost in the transition (roommate-matching service, for instance).

Property Management's plan is to improve housing in Oakland by having a system where properties would have to pass a city inspection before being recommended by Property Management for off-campus housing.

Some monitoring of the housing situation needs to take place. The Student Affairs Subcommittee should consider this one of its charges this year. The GPSA urges UCGS to do something since grad students in bad housing situations feel there is no one to turn to. Students would like to have a building dedicated to grad student housing only, but Baranger noted that is unlikely to occur. Steve Hirtle asked whether the plan to house grad students and junior faculty in the recently-purchased Center Avenue building had been discarded.

Sam Conte noted that these student concerns are issues being discussed at the Enrollment Management Committee. He and Steve Hirtle will report back to UCGS on the Enrollment Management Committee's response to the concerns about housing, safety, and the student health service.

The Student Affairs Subcommittee focused on the TA/TF health insurance situation last year. This year, the subcommittee will be involved in a broader question of changes in the student health services overall approach, including the question of student health fees and insurance coverage for all students.

The GPSA is also now dealing with a review of a survey done in the Spring Term of graduate students (primarily funded students). One concern raised by the results of the survey is the lack of an approved philosophy regarding graduate student representation on departmental committees. They request a memo from the Provost's Office urging departments to recognize the value of including graduate students on appropriate committees. Council was asked to help articulate this value and to give a general sense of the level of representation by students at their schools.

Council members from the Law School, Pharmacy School, GSPIA, and Medicine noted that graduate students are included on their committees (such as Curriculum, Faculty Appointments, Admissions) and that the experiences have been very positive for the schools. Graduate students are important members of these committees because they add a new perspective to issues and because they are the "consumers" of the education.

Kathleen DeWalt noted that when the University formed the Planning and Budget Committee, student representation was required, which seems to point to precedent for recognizing the value of students on key committees.

Steve Hirtle noted that participation on departmental committees is also an important step in a student's professional development, and departments should consider offering students the opportunity for involvement as part of their responsibilities toward the student.

Council agreed that Vice Provost Baranger will write a memo to deans and departments to remind them that graduate student representation on committees is a valued practice at the University.

Another issue raised by the survey is that of sexual harassment. GPSA recommends that all graduate students be required to participate in a required orientation in which guidelines and procedures for handling instances of sexual harassment will be outlined. This request will be taken to the Sexual Harassment Task Force.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.

This page developed and maintained by Paula Janikowski .........Last revision: January 27, 1997