Chancellor’s Fall
Conference
Social Sciences, Fine Arts & Humanities
Group 3A
Small Group Questions
How can we expand the pool of high
quality graduate students attracted to our programs? In the area
of student support, how can we use our existing resources more
effectively and how can we increase our resources?
Give them data about school, program,
placement chances
Let them know quality of life
possible in their choice of career
Do more PR about our graduate
programs (e.g., interdisciplinary programs) for example: Web
pages, TV ads, brochures, letters to colleagues
Find better ways to get students from
outside of California
Increase funding
Get more NRTF fellowships
Use technology to help
recruit
Improve numbers of grants that
faculty pursue and get funded
Students go for most published and
cited scholars--improve quality of faculty
Hard to find Ag faculty that should
be co-listed in disciplinary departments so disciplinary
departments should expand their graduate program to include
them.
Expand the diversity of the
faculty--this will improve the diversity of
students
Better advertisement of the
designated emphasis programs on campus
Better advertisement of the
interdisciplinary graduate groups on campus
What kinds of curricular
change/innovation should be considered in our programs?
Encourage students to take courses
beyond their field
Core studies should include
interdisciplinary courses
Curriculum should take market place
into account
Give alternatives which tie into the
professional schools as a joint
program. For example, MBA and law degree in combination
with a Ph.D. or Master's.
What kinds of mentoring work best?
What steps can be taken to improve mentoring?
Faculty cloning should be
discouraged
Students should have more than one
mentor
Should include honest assessment of
students' achievement, knowledge, & products
Mentors should have a long-term
relationship with the mentee
Should give mentee academic and
personal support
Should have tones of older "friend"
or colleague
Should include advising
Should include academic and personal
support
Should help mentee find
resources
Connect alums into the mentoring
system
Students probably need multiple
mentors
Should be someone who knows how to
work the system and will help
student by showing mentee how and by
"going to bat" for the mentee
Includes "showing the ropes" and
"opening doors" for mentee
Should give or help mentee find
financial, personal, and emotional support
Should have a mentor plan within
graduate program to make sure that students do not "fall
through the cracks"
What kinds of placement efforts, both
academic and non-academic, work best? How can we improve what we
currently do in this area?
Advise beginning students what
expectations will be to finish and get placed
Advise students about various kinds
of placements
Teach students how to write CV, write
letter of application, give job talk.
Advise students that flexibility is
key. They will seriously limit themselves if they are not
flexible regarding demographic area or type of
institution
Help students read job
ads
Show students where to find job
opportunities
We should call colleagues about our
students who are coming on the job market
We need to write letters of
recommendation promptly and follow up by calling
Offer internships for students to
give them ideas of multiple opportunities - we could tap into
the alum network to set up some of the internships
Help students develop a conscious
plan which includes multiple career paths. That is, if plan A
does not work, what is plan B?
We need to monitor students to make
sure they have a career plan
