graduate handbook: the students’ roadmap Dr. Susan Carvalho Interim Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Does your program’s webpage and/or Graduate Handbook serve not just to lay out policies and practices, but to help students think about time-to-degree and career planning?
to-degree. The Graduate School will be requesting your roadmap or timetable; please consider including it in your Handbook as well, if you have not already done so.
Most graduate students would put two main goals near the top of their UK agenda: finish the degree, and get a job. While our programs’ webpages tout our research and spell out policies, requirements, and support options—as they should—there is not as much emphasis on the expected timetable for degree completion and the support that students can find for career planning.
Career guidance Most faculty members would say that they are not guilty of “career-shaming” – which occurs when students feel that they have disappointed their advisors by opting for a nonacademic or teaching-focused career path. However, we hear again and again from graduate students that the burden of expectations weighs heavily upon them, and that they worry about losing an advisor’s moral or tangible support if they choose a different path than the one held up as ideal.
Below are suggestions for two items that may or may not—but probably should—be included in your Graduate Handbook, as they help to set a tone and create a culture about what comes next, for your very busy graduate students. Timetable for degree completion As we all know, degree completion timetables are not onesize-fits-all. As we continue to implement various metrics across graduate education, we would like to measure time-to-degree against each program’s plan or ideal, with consideration of discipline-specific benchmarks, rather than (or in addition to) using more generic targets. In attempting to do this, we have learned that many programs have not spelled out their expectations for each semester or year of a student’s progress toward degree completion. Such benchmarks may be known among the faculty, but might be understood by students more as suggestion than as expectation. The timetable in the Graduate Handbook can define the “timely progress” on which the students’ continued financial support might depend. This roadmap will also be helpful when programs compete for central funding, in order to evaluate actual time-to-degree against expected time-
Why this difference of perspective? In part it is because, while advisors don’t really think less of these alternative career paths, they also may not have the opportunity to talk explicitly or often enough about them. Instead, we assume the students know that we broadly support whatever their own goals might be, as they progress through their degree program. One way to help influence this culture of acceptance is to include mention of multiple career paths, in the Graduate Handbook. The Graduate Handbook can also lay out, in terms that are as positive as possible, the alternatives available to students who might not advance or who want to opt out of the program. What alternative options might they consider? What career opportunities might those options create? Where can they get more information? Advisors know that sometimes the fit is not right for the student – or that “life happens” and interferes with one’s plans for straight and clear career paths. Making these possibilities explicit can reinforce a culture of timely degree completion, multiple approved career paths, and alternatives if the plans change along the way. 1
Block Funding for Graduate Programs Dr. kevin sarge associate dean for finance, funding, and analytics One of the priorities of the Graduate School Funding office is to change the way Graduate School-based funding is disbursed in order to better support programs’ abilities to recruit and support outstanding students. Having been a DGS for nine years, I know how much time is spent by DGSs, students, and departmental/college staff submitting applications for the many distinct Graduate School funding mechanisms. In addition, the funding decision timelines are also often not conducive to programs’ timetables for sending offer letters. For these reasons, the Graduate School has begun a program called Block Funding, that will put more flexibility into the hands of many DGSs. This program will determine the five-year average amount a program received from six different funding mechanisms (KOF, GSAY, Dissertation Year, Reedy/QA, Dissertation Enhancement, and Travel Awards), aggregate these monies, and then tell programs in December what amount will be available for them to use for student recruitment and support for the next academic year. The goal is to have stable annual Block Funding amounts for three years. The Block mechanism is being piloted this year with five programs, with another 20-30 programs to be selected by a committee this year. Programs not included in the Block Funding mechanism will continue to operate as they currently do; they will
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be eligible to apply for Graduate School fellowships that are not among those aggregated into the program, which currently include the nine privately endowed fellowships and the Presidential, Matthews-Singletary-Wethington, Lyman T. Johnson Awards, etc. The vision is that the Block Funding mechanism will allow programs to know in a timely manner what money they have at their disposal, for example, quickly make attractive offers to stellar applicants. However, with this money comes accountability, specifically the expectation that programs will use this money to improve metrics related to student quality and success, and the overall national reputation of their program. The metrics we will use are aligned with the goals of the University of Kentucky 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, Transforming Tomorrow. For the Graduate Education part of the Strategic Plan, some of the major metrics are selectivity, GRE/GMAT scores, diversity, and program rankings. We will also include graduation rates, job placement, and other metrics. Changes in these data, which will include comparisons to similar programs at other universities, will guide decisions about the amount of funding that each program will receive in the future. We hope that this flexibility will help programs to move towards greater national prominence and success.
Diversity Recommendations from UKBGPSA Dr. cleo assistant dean for graduate The UK Black Graduate and Professional Student Association (UKBGPSA) met with members of the Graduate School leadership team in September 2015 and asked that 5 initiatives be considered for implementation. The five Graduate School initiatives recommended by the student association are: 1. Create Graduate School Diversity Office 2. Re-instate the Graduate Diversity Advisory Council (GDAC) 3. Recruit and retain more African/African American graduate and professional students (via the Lyman T. Johnson Diversity Award) 4. Conduct a survey of all graduate and professional students addressing aspects of inclusion, discrimination, and perceived racial climate at UK 5. Create a Lyman T. Johnson Pioneer Award (similar to the LTJ Torchbearer Award) There have been two meetings (November 2015 & February 2016) with underrepresented student groups, which included the UKBGPSA, and President Capilouto and his leadership team. The discussions focused on a number of initiatives, which included racial climate, as well as bias
price academic services protocols and reporting and the University structure for the Office of Institutional Diversity structure. To see the recent open letter to the president from UKBGPSA, visit http://bit.ly/UKBGPSA. UKBGPSA, along with a number of other student groups, hosted a UK Call To Action Town Hall meeting on February 29, 2016 from UKBGPSA Vice President 7-9pm, University of Kentucky, Eseosa Ighodaro and President Erica Littlejohn Singletary Center Recital Hall. Calls for the campus to unify, educate, and empower were the primary markers of the town hall gathering. To review the program, please visit http://bit.ly/townhallprogram The Graduate School has moved forward with several initiatives presented by the student association and will continue to move ahead and address each suggested proposal, in cooperation with DGSs and students.
graduate diversity outreach dr. susan carvalho Interim Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School For graduate students who are members of underrepresented groups, the experience of isolation can be overwhelming, and can be a significant threat to academic and personal success. For this reason, the Graduate School has re-examined its structures alongside national benchmarks, to ensure that we are serving all of our students as well as we can. The outcome of this analysis is that effective April 1st, Dr. Cleo Price will assume the title of Assistant Dean for Graduate Diversity Outreach and Student Records. In this position, fifty percent of his responsibilities will be officially dedicated to diversity outreach (both recruitment and campus environment). Dr. Price has in fact been deeply involved in this work for some time, having served as the staff advisor to the UK Black Graduate & Professional Student Association (UKBGPSA), and has been an official or unofficial mentor to countless students. Notably, he was
recognized for these efforts last year as a recipient of the Lyman T. Johnson Torchbearer Award. His new duties will include leadership of the Graduate Diversity Advisory Council, the establishment of a mentorship program for LTJ Fellows, continued work with the UKBGPSA, and serving as a point person for issues raised by under-represented students, whether as individuals or as groups. Dr. Price will also continue oversight of degree certification and tracking of student progress. Please feel free to contact Dr. Price with recommendations, issues, or needs related to diversity and inclusion. While he will serve as point person and be a valuable resource to students, faculty and staff across UK graduate education, the broader team in the Graduate School will also support this work, in pursuit of our shared priorities. 3
Enhancing Graduate Student Professional Development Dr. Morris Grubbs Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development While very little reliable national data exist on career paths of graduate students across the disciplines, what we do know is that the nature of work traditionally associated with most degrees continues to shift. Suzanne Ortega, President of the Council of Graduate Schools, has characterized the general shift in the broader labor market as a movement away from a job-based economy to a project-based economy. We in graduate education could take this continued shift as relatively good news: the hallmark of a graduate degree, after all, is the management and mastery of extended projects, chiefly in the form of theses and dissertations. The problem, however, is that mastery of academic projects, which are customarily solitary projects, does not translate naturally or well to mastery of projects outside the classroom, lab, or writing space. Some disciplines, of course, are better suited to this translation than others. The lack of translation or transference of skills from Academe to the broader work world is one of the common points of public and political criticism of higher education, particularly graduate education. This concern is implicit in the allegation that universities are producing too many Ph.D.’s. Ortega, speaking at a meeting of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools earlier this spring, reframed the criticism this way: “We are not overproducing Ph.Ds, but we may be underutilizing them.” Ortega’s remark locates the problem not only in higher education, but also in employers outside the academy, who may be undervaluing or overlooking what a master’s or Ph.D. graduate can bring to the table. UK’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020 envisions graduate-degree holders with the skills and habits of mind to succeed across multiple terrains in a shifting, fluid world. To accomplish this, it challenges all of us in graduate education to (1) “enhance professional development of graduate students,” (2) “provide graduate students with the appropriate balance of research, teaching, engagement, and/or experience in creative activity,” and (3) “provide comprehensive career planning and placement services to graduate students.” What Two Recent Surveys Reveal The Graduate School surveyed graduate faculty and graduate students earlier this semester about professional 4
development perceptions and needs. (We thank Dr. Sarah Lyon in Anthropology and colleagues in CELT and the Stuckert Career Center for helping to draft the survey questions.) Over 930 students (1,020 if we count those who partially completed it) and 276 faculty participated, a response rate of roughly 20% from both groups. Approximately 55% of the students were doctoral, and 44% were masters. Of the doctoral students, 53% were pre-Qualifying Exam, and 47% were post-quals. The aim of the surveys was to get a pulse reading on trends and needs related to career path development. This month we will send the overall data and the collegespecific data to department chairs and DGSs to take into consideration in their planning. (Thanks to Erin Shoot for generating the college-specific data and creating reports.) Highlights of the aggregate data include the following: • 89% of graduate students say they are “very actively” (59%) or “actively” (30%) thinking about career paths • 82% of graduate students say they are planning (46%) or considering (36%) alternate-academic or nonacademic careers. • 85% of graduate students say that more career development initiatives are needed (53%) or somewhat needed (32%) beyond what the department currently offers. • Graduate students’ top four preferred means of gaining career path information and training, listed in order of most responses, are workshops, mentoring, online resources, and internships. • The top three transferrable skills graduate students want to develop to complement their scholarly training are project management, grant writing, and supervision of peers and co-workers. • The four stages in the doctoral curriculum when career development could be addressed, in order of the number of student responses, are post-Qualifying Exam, between coursework and QE, during coursework, and in orientation or first semester. • 88% of graduate students feel that faculty are supportive (58%) or somewhat supportive (30%) of alternate-academic or non-academic career pursuits. • 87% of the graduate faculty respondents indicated that
career exploration and career mentoring are essential/ found under the “Current Students” and “Student very important (46%) or important (41%) in the realm Development” tabs. of graduate education. • A career counselor for graduate students located in • 19% of graduate faculty respondents indicated that their the Stuckert Career Center. (Note: The previous halfdepartment offers a course or workshops in preparing time counselor resigned earlier this semester; a search students for non-academic jobs; 8% were unsure; and is underway to fill the position.) 73% indicated that that no course or workshops were • A Graduate Career Symposium, co-sponsored by the offered inside their department. Graduate School, the Graduate Student Congress • 87% of the graduate faculty respondents ranked the (GSC), and the Stuckert Career Center. Sessions will skill of communicating one’s discipline and research include panel discussions, workshops, and a keynote to public or novice audiences somewhere between speaker. A small pilot is planned this April, followed by essential and very important (51%) to important (36%) an expanded version next year to include a session for as a learning outcome in graduate education. graduate advisors on career mentoring. • A pilot workshop on identifying and articulating Career Development Initiatives transferrable skills gained in graduate school (including Several professional development initiatives are underway in a TA/RAship), co-developed by the Graduate School in the Graduate School, guided by the Strategic Plan, the and CELT. recent survey data, and results from a 2013 transferrable • Workshops in the fall on communicating one’s research skills survey sent to alumni of UK graduate programs and broader discipline effectively to the public and the (n=623). Individual colleges and departments are also media. developing plans for enhancing professional development. • An expanded 3MT (3-Minute Thesis) competition to A&S, for example, has established a Careers Committee include students from a wider range of disciplines. charged with reviewing and fostering career path initiatives. • Expansion of Preparing Future Faculty and Preparing The Graduate School will soon poll deans and DGSs to Future Professionals initiatives. gather efforts underway across the university in order • Faculty discussion groups focused on effective career to help publicize them and to encourage collaborative mentoring for graduate students. development. We hope that these initiatives in conjunction with your Here are some of the initiatives underway or planned for own college and program initiatives will serve to move the near future: the discourse away from a concern of overproduction of • A new webpage on the Graduate School’s site titled Ph.D.s toward a concern of how best to prepare students “Resources for Finding and Navigating Careers,” for success in multiple career venues.
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National name exchange pat bond senior assistant dean for admissions and recruitment The National Name Exchange is a consortium of activities consistent with the national efforts to increase universities that was established in 1976, which annually the enrollment of traditionally underrepresented peoples collect and exchange the names of their talented but in graduate education. underrepresented ethnic minority students who are in their This is the first year that the University of Kentucky has sophomore, junior or senior year of their undergraduate participated in the National Name Exchange and the education. results of our participation will be seen in the recruitment The purpose of the Exchange is to ensure that participating of University of Kentucky graduates to highly ranked universities continue to identify a pool of qualified students universities as well as increased diversity within UK’s who could be recruited to the graduate programs at these graduate programs. institutions. The consortium of universities conducts other
selectivity: does it really matter? dr. susan carvalho Interim Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School The question of whether selectivity (the percentage of applicants who are accepted into a graduate program) is a valid measure of anything has been a subject of discussion this year. Nationally, selectivity is used as a proxy for program quality, visibility, and competitiveness. Increasing numbers of institutions are advertising, on their public websites, their data on the following metrics: Entering GRE/ GMAT, Selectivity, Yield, Diversity, Time to Degree, and Job Placement. The universities of Iowa, Texas A&M, Cornell, and Michigan are just four of the many universities that tout these data as evidence of their graduate programs’ stature. The discussion has been complicated by the concern that this metric—which is not always indicative of program stature and can involve many factors—would be used
to determine funding allocations or to draw conclusions about a program. However, no single metric will be used for any such evaluations – all of the metrics need to be considered in relation to each other, to discipline-specific benchmarks, and to the realities of the individual programs. At the same time, awareness of the selectivity statistic can lead to an examination of whether the applicant pool is as large as it could be, should be, or needs to be. This issue leads to two others: whether the pool is diverse enough, and whether the quality and depth of your applicant pool is as high as you want it to be—however you define “applicant.” As we continue to gather and share discipline-specific national data, we look forward to continued discussion about how it should be interpreted and used.
graduate diversity advisory council pat bond senior assistant dean for admissions and recruitment The Graduate Diversity Advisory Council (GDAC) was reestablished in Fall 2015.The GDAC works with the colleges and the Directors of Graduate Students to broaden the pool of applicants and promotes holistic review of applications as a strategy for improving enrollment of diverse students. The Council consists of diversity officers and recruiters representing all colleges across campus, as well as 6
representatives from diverse student groups. The University of Kentucky’s new strategic plan challenges us to “recruit and retain outstanding graduate students from all backgrounds” and this Council’s emphasis is on the recruitment of highly talented graduate students to the University of Kentucky’s graduate programs. The council works in a collaborative and advisory manner with all stakeholders across campus.
3MT: Practicing Essential Skills Dr. Morris Grubbs Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development Communicating research effectively has always been at the core of graduate education. Peer-to-peer communication in the form of dissertations, refereed articles, and disciplinary conference presentations is higher education’s currency. And yet the skill of communicating research to a lay or indifferent audience, or to an audience potentially skeptical of the value of the research or even the discipline, is indispensable. Its necessity is affirmed by a recent survey of UK graduate faculty, with 51% of the 276 responders ranking the skill “essential to very important” and 36% ranking it “important.” While teaching is a good way to sharpen the skills needed to engage audiences in one’s discipline, the classroom has its limitations as a professional development setting. Presenting a poster also serves a valuable role in graduate student development, but the audience is usually preengaged with disciplinary knowledge and interest. Competitive presentations such as the 3MT, or ThreeMinute Thesis, while they also have their limitations, serve to complement, test, and expand the skills students are gaining as a TA, RA, or conference participant. The goal of the 3MT, which originated at the University of Queensland in 2008 and has spread internationally, is to give students training and experience in presenting their research clearly, concisely, and engagingly to a public audience. Presenters are allowed three minutes, and can exhibit a single static slide. The judges use a rubric with twelve criteria in the form of questions, such as, “Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background to the research question and its significance?” and, “Did the presenter capture and maintain the a u d i e n c e ’s attention?” Judges for the competition r a n g e from print reporters, TV anchors, and marketing specialists, to attorneys and physicians, directors of non-profit organizations, and government officials. For most graduate students and indeed some faculty, the thought of confronting
such an eclectic and demanding audience can be quite daunting. The UK Graduate School and the Graduate Student C o ng r e s s have steadily grown the 3MT competition over the past four years. Last fall’s competition included more than fifteen master’s and doctoral students in the preliminary heat, with eight finalists presenting before an audience of approximately 80 students, faculty, staff, and Lexington community members. Departments represented in the final round were Entomology (Sydney Crawley—first-place winner); Microbiology (Katie McKenna—second-place winner, Sara Alhakeem; Grant Jones; and Michelle Pitts); Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences (Shayan Mohammadmoradi—third-place winner and People’s Choice winner); Biochemistry (Caitlyn Reidmann); and Classics (Jonathan Hall). UK’s Sydney Crawley recently presented her 3MT in Charlotte, NC, at the annual meeting of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS). Competing were 40 master’s and doctoral students from 40 of the 200+ institutions in the CSGS, whose membership spans from Texas to Maryland. Disciplines ranged from Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering to 19th Century American Literature. Aniket Ingrole, a student at Florida State University, won first place (and $1,000) with “Safer Football with Bio-Inspired Helmets.” Allison Tharp, a student in English at the University of Southern Mississippi, was one of three second-place winners with “Physical Containment in Protest Literature.” Watch for announcements in early fall about the local 2016 competition. The goal is to expand the heats to include students from a wider range of disciplines. We also want to draw a larger audience from the UK and Lexington communities. For winning insights, interested students and faculty should watch sample 3MT videos on the Graduate School’s site, as well as videos of competitors at other universities around the world. 7
graduate student fellowships office of administrative and fiscal affairs DGS-Nominated Competitive Fellowships Northern KY/Greater Cincinnati UK Alumni Club Fellowship Nomination Deadline: March 8, 2016
Jeffrey Fellowship for Tobacco Research Nomination Deadline: March 15, 2016
McNair Fellowship Nomination Deadline: April 12, 2016
Kentucky Opportunity Fellowship One year continuation for Non-Block Funding Programs (April 1, 2016)
Max Steckler Fellowship Nomination Deadline: April 6, 2016
DGS-Nominated Allocated Fellowships Graduate School Academic Year Fellowship One year continuation for Non-Block Funding Programs (April 1, 2016)
DGS-Nominated Recruitment Fellowships Lyman T. Johnson Awards Renewal Nomination Deadline: March 1, 2016 New Nomination Deadline: April 1, 2016
SOCIETY OF POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS Postdoctoral scholars and fellows now number approximately 270 researchers working in most sectors of the University of Kentucky. The Office of Academic Administration in the Graduate School oversees the administrative processes during their work and study assignments here. The Graduate School has recently partnered with the Office of the VicePresident for Research in efforts to support the newlyformed Society of Postdoctoral Scholars. The purpose of
the group is to develop a sense of community by fostering professional and social interactions among postdoctoral scholars throughout the institution. The group sponsors periodic meetings and lectures providing opportunities for networking and exchanging information on issues relevant to their work at UK and life in the Lexington community. They are currently in the process of preparing for the Second Annual Postdoctoral Symposium for Kentucky postdoctoral scholars and graduate students to be held in June, 2016. For more information, contact UK’s organizers at uk.sops@gmail.com.
spring commencement The Graduate and Professional Commencement Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 8 at 7pm. Please note this is a later time than in previous years. The Graduate School administration is exploring the possibility of a celebratory reception for graduating students, their advisors, and other guests on Friday, May 6. Please remind students to register for the commencement ceremony at www.uky.edu/commencement, and to order their robes if they have not already done so. The deadline to order gowns without a rush fee is March 11. 8