Many of the standards which are stressed in this document already form part of Faculty and Graduate School policy. However, much of this policy does not play the important role in the day-to-day conduct of graduate education which was meant at the time of its formulation. We hope that this document will bring these issues to the attention of the community, faculty and students, and provoke discussions at all levels of the University -- from the Faculty to the Graduate School to departments and to individual faculty and students -- on how to make bring these standards to life and thereby enhance the quality of graduate education and life, and thus the ability of students to apply their talents while here.

Graduate Students in the Academic Community

The Resolution of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of April 14, 1970 on Rights and Responsibilities, states that the University community is "ideally characterized by free expression, free inquiry, intellectual honesty, respect for the dignity of others, and openness to constructive change" and "by mutual respect and trust" among its members. Much of this statement remains an 'ideal' for many graduate students. The level at which graduate students are accepted as members of the academic community varies from one faculty member to another and from one department to another. As essential members of the community, graduate students are entitled to the same professional respect and have the same responsibilities as all other community members. Graduate students are, upon admission to the academic community, entitled to be treated as respected persons, as scholars of merit and as colleagues and to be extended the professional rights so engendered. Specifically:

1. Graduate students necessarily have a lesser status and authority in the community: this status may not be exploited by faculty or administrators.

2. The contributions to research and publications by graduate students require appropriate recognition, e.g., co-authorship on publications to which they have made significant contributions of ideas and/or research.

3. As vital members of the University community, graduate students should have input, through elected representatives, into academic and administrative matters which affect their education and quality of life at Harvard.

4. Graduate student input is especially important to the intellectual life of individual departments. As a group which is crucial to continued intellectual vitality of departments and programs, graduate students should have input into matters of program structure, academic direction, etc. in their departments.

This already happens in some departments in the Faculty. In most instances, graduate students are fully engaged in discussion of program structure, faculty recruitment, etc. In departments that have graduate student representatives, representatives do not attend meetings (or portions of meetings) which deal with review of student progress, disciplinary actions or admissions.

Advising in Graduate Education

Perhaps the most important aspect in the intellectual and professional development of a graduate student is the relationship that develops with his/her advisor(s). This individual has the most direct influence in shaping the course of a graduate student's intellectual growth and career path. The Faculty should see their roles not just as that of just teachers but as mentors. This rather medieval mentoring relationship has been lost gradually in present day graduate education, but it is this very relationship which is crucial to a successful graduate education.

There are three areas in which this advising / mentoring relationship is crucial to graduate students: advising relating to the content of the student's research and work, evaluation of student progress and planning future work, and the professional development of students.

Research Advising and Mentoring

1. Directors of Graduate Studies (DGS's) should discuss with incoming graduate students the process of selecting a thesis advisor or committee. The DGS should point out the importance of choosing an advisor not only on the basis of the student's interests but on how well the advisor and student can work together. The DGS should utilize continuing graduate students as a resource for new students in the process of selecting a thesis advisor.

2. The relationships between faculty and graduate students, and in particular the advisorŠstudent relationship, should be characterized by an aspect of mentoring. Faculty should provide advice, encouragement and constructive criticism of students' research and work, and take seriously their roles in fostering the intellectual developments of graduate students.

3. Graduate students should receive regular guidance, discussion, and feedback from their advisors. It is generally most effective to have regular meetings at the mutual convenience of student and advisor, or regular communication by other means if the student and/or the advisor is absent from the University. Students should receive timely, detailed comments (written when appropriate) on drafts of written work or presentations.

4. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences should support all faculty in their roles as advisors through the availability of information and programs on advising students and managing research groups.

5. The responsibility for good/proper advising rests with faculty members as well as with graduate students themselves. Thesis advisors, thesis committee members and DGS's have the ultimate responsibility to ensure that students receive adequate advising. Departments and programs must provide confidential mechanisms to address issues regarding advising at any stage in the Ph.D. program. Incoming graduate students should be made aware of such mechanisms early in their programs. [Finding mechanisms to encourage improvement among faculty who repeatedly neglect or abuse their advising role is still an issue which must be considered and addressed here.]

Student Progress Evaluation and Planning

1. Departments should have in place their own procedures for reviewing student progress on a regular, at least annual, basis. Such reviews should include input from the student assessing progress made and setting out future plans, and should involve consultation between the student and his/her thesis advisor and committee.

2. All decisions regarding a student's progress must be communicated in writing to the student.

3. Students may appeal the outcome of formal evaluations that they believe do not accurately reflect their progress or are due to unreasonable expectations. Mechanisms for such appeals should be established in all departments and must be communicated to all students.

4. Students have the opportunity to correct deficiencies in their performance once informed of them. Any intent to terminate a student's degree candidacy for academic reasons must be preceded by at least one semester's advance notice, specifying reasonable goals which must be achieved to avoid termination of candidacy. Decisions on the termination of degree candidacy for academic reasons are made by the Dean of the Graduate School, upon recommendation by the department, and can be appealed by a student to the Administrative Board of the Graduate School (with the student members in attendance). [This is somewhat different from the current regulations, in the student handbook and that for DGSs.]

Professional Development and Career Choice

1. Faculty should help to create awareness of the different career options available to graduate students, including non-academic careers. Programs must reflect student needs and interests as well as 'field needs,' provide opportunities for learning and practicing skills (e.g., teaching, and written and oral presentation) relevant to the job market.

2. Graduate students should feel comfortable in making career choices which lead away from the generally expected academic path. Faculty should support students who seek both academic and non-academic careers; those students who express interest in non-academic careers should not experience loss of concern or interest by their advisor or department.

3. Attendance at conferences and symposia, publications, and fellowships are critical to the professional development of graduate students as researchers and scholars. Department and individual faculty members should be systematically involved in the professionalization process of graduate students. Departments should develop programs which aid students, early on in their graduate career, with such aspects as becoming involve in professional associations by informing students of opportunities, assisting in the preparation of conference presentations and papers, and providing funding for participation by their students.

4. Graduate student participation in university governance is not only desirable because graduate students are a part of the academic community, but is also beneficial in preparing graduate students as future faculty. Departments and faculty should encourage graduate students to become involve in this process by participation in student government, house tutorships or other available mechanism.

Program Structure

Apart from the student-advisor relationship, the structure of the graduate program is perhaps the most important influence on the quality of education a student receives at Harvard. It is vital that programs have clear requirements and that workloads expected of graduate students take account of all the demands of the Ph.D. program and professional development.

Reasonable Program Requirements

1. An expected normal time to degree should be specified for each graduate student program, and the program requirements should be such that they can be reasonably completed within that specified time. In order to arrive at a realistic time to degree, one must take into account coursework, individual study and necessary field research which is not 'required' in the program structure but which are necessary in the student's chosen field or sub-field.

2. The research workloads expected by advisors from graduate students should be reasonable, taking into account all of the responsibilities of the student's program -- including inter alia coursework, teaching, preparation for general exams and other (e.g., additional research languages) requirements, and preparation of publications, conference presentations, area papers, thesis prospectuses and the dissertation. [A reasonable expectation for the total workload is the equivalent of 4 half-courses per semester, or five teaching fifths, that is, of the order of 50 hours per week.]

3. Graduate students may participate in activities outside their degree program (e.g., taking or auditing classes in other parts of the University or being a House Tutor) and outside the University. A reasonable amount of free time outside of academic commitments, without pressure from advisors to work in excess, must be kept in mind by advisors and professors. ??

4. Faculty expectations of work by graduate students should take reasonable account of pregnancy, the need to care for small children, health problems (e.g., RSI) or personal / family difficulties. Students may take leaves of absence for such reasons after informing their advisor and department and with the approval of the Dean's Office, and these leaves should not be "counted" for any purpose towards the student's time in graduate school. [Some mention in Handbook about leaves of absence, but this would change the rules.]

Financial and Other Support

1. Graduate students have the right to an accurate description of the financial support available and an indication of the likelihood that they will receive it. This information, including eligibility and service requirements, shall be made available to both prospective and enrolled students.

2. Allocation of departmental, program, and university resources (e.g., office space, copying privileges and computer resources) should reflect the needs of graduate students equally with those of other members of the university community. The availability of resources should be communicated to all students to ensure equal access to them.

Implementation

There is little point in enunciating these principles and standards to guarantee quality in graduate education without providing mechanisms for (a) maintaining awareness of the principles and policies among faculty, administrators and students alike, and (b) providing simple and fair mechanisms for asking questions and raising complaints. Thus, we recommend the following:

1. Departments and the Graduate School must establish clear, fair and impartial procedures for addressing complaints from students, which shall be widely publicized among students. Reprisals by faculty, departments or other university bodies against students making inquiries or complaints are not permitted. Whenever possible, the identity of the complainant should be kept confidential.

2. This statement should be distributed annually to all faculty and graduate students. Although many of the policies which are discussed in this document are already in several publication such as GSAS Student Handbook and the Teaching Fellow Handbook, this document provides a focus on the importance of these policies for Graduate Student Life in general. Students should be aware the basics principles.

3. Faculty Discussion. It is hoped that this document will stimulate discussion among faculty members in different forums. Early discussions of these issues with Professor Mendelsohn, Master of Dudley House, have already led to a series of interdepartmental discussions involving faculty and students which have focus on many of these issues. It is hoped that similar forums in the three major areas of graduate education (Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences) will follow where frank discussion about graduate student life, education and advising will be discussed.

4. DGS meetings. We hope that the GSAS Deans will also carry forward these discussions in their annual meetings with Directors of Graduate Studies and Department Administrators.

5. Departmental discussions. Finally, we hope that the Graduate School's Dean of Student Affairs with the GSC will facilitate intra-departmental discussion by attending meetings in individual departments which will focus on the issues raised in the issues raised in this document, and perhaps other issues not included here.