Graduate Student Support Network

Meeting of October 7, 2009

1. Introductions
2. New Developments
3. Calendar of Events
4. Discussion
5. UCSB Graduate Student Services Across Campus
6. Plans for the 2009/10 Academic Year

1. Introductions:
   • Committee Chairs:  Christian Villasenor and Britt Andreatta
     • Goals of the Graduate Student Support Network (GSSN):
       • Facilitate information sharing with respect to grad student services offered by various organizations on campus
       • Determine what graduate student services are needed and ensure access to those services
       • Serve as a steering committee by advocating on behalf of the graduate community
     • Meetings:
       • One meeting a month, 1st Wednesday
       • Timed to be the day after the GSA Assembly Meeting in order to collect student concerns and communicate them to the GSSN
       • The committee is comprised of representatives from the following units:
         • Graduate Division
         • Graduate Program Assistants from various departments
         • Disabled Students Program
         • Office of Student Life
         • Graduate Student Association
         • Women’s Center
         • Housing and Residential Services
         • Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity
         • Library
         • Career Services
         • International Students and Scholars
         • Student Health
         • Counseling Services
2. New Developments:
   • Goals of the Graduate Student Resource Center (GSRC):
     • Create a vibrant space for all graduate students
     • Act as a referral service for graduate students seeking services offered by various units on campus
     • Organize workshops
     • Invite visitors from Grad Div, Student Health, the Career Center, etc to participate in drop in hours to give the GSRC the “one-stop-shop” feel
     • Organize monthly social and academic events with efforts to create community
     • Organize diversity targeted events – coffee hour with a faculty member
     • Provide Grad Peer drop in hours:  12pm to 3pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays
     • Visit departments to provide information about the resources available at the GSRC
3. Calendar of Events:
   • Goal to provide a centralized place to find events offered by various organizations that are geared towards graduate students
     • GSRC will post your events geared towards graduate students.  To do so, contact the peers at peers@graddiv.ucsb.edu
     • To find the calendar and additional information about the GSRC, please stop by.  They are located in SRB 1215, or vist their website:  http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/studentlife/GSRC.htm
4. Discussion:
   • What are we seeing with our new and returning class of graduate students, and how can we help to provide them with appropriate resources and services?
     • 938 new graduate students have accepted an offer to attend UCSB, and have submitted an intent to register
     • 798 have registered so far, the official census will take place next week
     • There are close to 3,000 graduate students total
   • Career services anticipated the jump in graduate enrollment based on the number of students that visited the center to request help with graduate school applications.
     • More graduate students are looking for jobs.  Some are doing so due to a decrease in TAships and/or other funding opportunities.
     • In the Santa Barbara area, only 25% of jobs require more than a high school diploma.  High level skills are not in demand in this area.
     • Graduate students comprised 10% of the attendees last month at the On-Campus Job Fair.  This event has traditionally been targeted towards first year undergraduates looking for jobs at the UCen and other service providers on campus.  The increase in graduate student participation was noted by Career Services.
     • Graduate students are increasingly taking full time jobs ahead of finishing their degree.
       • Why:  cut funding, reduced TAships, feeling that job opportunity may not come up again…
       • Issues:  Has led to graduate student requests for lighter academic loads to accommodate full time work schedules.  Impacts on normative time are expected.
     • To find out more about Career Services for Graduate Students, please visit:  http://career.ucsb.edu/gradstudents/index.html
   • International Student Issues
     • International students are reporting concerns.
     • Many are in the sciences and engineering.
     • Some are not being offered TAships due to out of state fees. They see exclusion from TAships as discriminatory practice rather than as a budgetary one.
     • International students cannot work off campus due to visa issues.
     • Many report being pressured to advance to candidacy in 1 year, even though statistics show an inability for most to complete their PhDs in 4 years, particularly when advancing so early.  Fees return to out-of-state levels after three years for International students.
     • The OISS reported an increase in international students reporting uncompensated research/lab work.  International students are less likely to report these situation for fear that they will lose out on future compensated opportunities in labs when advisors do have available funding.
     • The upswing in FBI presence is generating significant stress amongst International students.  International students are not aware of their legal rights, yet they are being randomly visited by the FBI.  A workshop was held on October 7th at 2pm to address these issues.  Niels Frenzen from the University of Southern California was the guest speaker.  For more information, contact UCSB Office of International Students:  http://www.oiss.ucsb.edu/
   • Mental Health
     • Discussion from the GSA Assembly meeting regarding mental health was brought up as an area that needs focus this year.
     • Some graduate students have been hesitant to disclose their conditions to their departments for fear of reprisal and that faculty and staff need more training on how to accommodate this disability.
     • Students with mental health disabilities have expressed a need for the Disabled Student Services policy to be more visible/clear that mental health conditions are included.
     • The ratio between students and mental health professionals on campus is inadequate according to standards
     • Training is necessary.
       • Training on the basics of how to help students with mental health disabilities, i.e. awareness of where to send them and how to follow up
       • Training to understand the necessary accommodations for these students
       • Training to recognize signs of a distressed student before a situation gets out of control
     • Appointing mental health liaisons to each sorority and fraternity is a model that has been recently implemented and may serve as a good model within departments as well.
     • Turi Honegger from Counseling Services would like to make the following information available:
       • “I wanted to announce two Graduate Student Psychotherapy Groups that I am running this year.  They are both process oriented group therapy with an emphasis on relationship issues (any kind of relationship) as well as the isolation of depression and social issues related to anxiety.  Your referrals are appreciated.  We offer the first group at 4pm to 530 pm on Wednesdays and the same time on Thursdays for the second group.  Grad students can contact me directly (by e-mail) for prescreening or call Counseling Services.  These groups will run for the entire year”
5. UCSB Graduate Student Services Across Campus:
   • A quick sheet for graduate services on campus has been compiled, complete with descriptive text, URLs, and contact information.
     • A master list will be made available via the web.  Details coming soon…  When it becomes available, please review and submit any missing organizations that provide services to graduate students.
6. Plans for the 2009 -10 Academic Year:
   • Ideas for staff, faculty, and graduate student training
   • Soliciting speakers to provide forums addressing student mental health
   • Providing, evaluating, and communicating available services directed towards the graduate community.