6A
Thursday, December 8.1994
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Graduate student survey conducted
By Colleen McCain Kansan staff writer
A survey of 484 KU graduate students revealed that many of them gave high marks to their academic experiences at KU but that they believed professional development programs should be improved.
The survey, which was conducted last spring by the Graduate Student Council, asked questions about academic, financial, professional development, social and structural issues. Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 2,344 current graduate students, and 484 students, or 21 percent responded.
Michelle Violanti, Clarks Green, Penn, graduate student, helped coordinate the survey. She said she was most surprised by the ratings students gave professional development at the University.
"Although the scores given to professional development weren't extremely low, I didn't expect them
to be below average." Violanti said.
The surveys' respondents were asked to evaluate each issue using a seven-point scale. A rating of one was unacceptable, four was average, and seven was excellent.
The average ratings for interview preparation and job search preparation were 3.03 and 3.59, respectively.
Conversely, the average rating for faculty preparation to teach was 5.47.
"Basically, we found that people believe that they are getting a very good academic experience," Violanti said.
Violanti said a common complaint among the surveys' respondents was that no system of communication existed to inform students about issues such as financial aid and graduation requirements.
"One way that the Graduate Student Council is responding to the survey is to begin setting up computer accounts that provide useful information accessible in each academic department," she said. "The accounts
will make important information more easily accessible to students, and they should be ready by the middle of the spring."
Andrew Debicki, dean of the graduate school, said the surveys' results would be evaluated by the graduate school's administration.
Debicki said he was pleased that students were happy with most areas of their graduate school experiences.
"Surveys of graduate students also have been conducted by the faculty and student affairs, and all three surveys will be considered together in context," Debicki said. "We will compile a composite of the surveys' findings and go from there."
"My impression is that people are being well-prepared in academic work, but perhaps more could be done to prepare students for jobs," he said. "In the future, what the graduate school can do is to work with the individual departments to make sure they have needed programs in place."
Senate postpones vote to raise activity fees
By James Evans
The fate of an increased student-activity fee was put off until next semester by the Student Senate.
Kansan staff writer
The Senate tabled the bill and will continue discussion on it Jan. 25, the first Senate meeting of the spring semester.
The Senate Finance Committee recommended to Senate that the fee, which is included in each student's tuition, be raised from its current rate of $28 to $35. The Senate would have $1.5 million in spending power for the fiscal year 1996 with the increase.
The finance committee cited that the fee should be raised because of an increased number of campus groups
that were coming to Senate for financing each semester. The fee generated $1.29 million for the Senate for fiscal year 1995.
"It's like giving birth to an elephant," said Chad Browning, treasurer for Student Senate. "I'm not too happy about it. But it needs to be done."
Browning said the fee increase allowed organizations to receive the current level of funds adjusted to the inflation rate. He based the increase on a 3.5 percent inflation rate.
Browning said the Senate had held the funding for some of the larger groups on campus, such as the Transportation Board and the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, at about the same level for the last 10 fiscal years.
"It is our turn to pick up the slack and support groups more," Browning said.
On Oct. 18, KU GTAs were declared public employees entitled to unionize, negotiate contracts and bargain for employee benefits. On April 17, an election will be held to determine whether GTAs want to form a bargaining unit. But in the mean time, Reidy said, GTAs and administrators would be wise to begin informal discussions about complicated issues.
Reidy, a GTA union movement leader, has invited KU administrators to begin informal discussions about health care benefits. But administrators have declined, he said.
Serving downtown since 1936 1031 Massachusetts Downtown
Ed Meyen, executive vice chancellor
David Reidy said he was puzzled as to why administrators were unwilling to open a dialogue with him and other graduate teaching assistants about health care benefits for GTAs.
THE HARBOUR LIGHTS
By Colleen McCain Kansan staff writer
GTAs ask administrators to open talks
lor, said such discussions could be considered an unfair labor practice. Any comment that discourages public employees from forming an employee organization is a violation of the Public Employer Employee Relations Act.
But Reed said he and Scott Stone, the GTAs' attorney, agreed that informal discussions could not be considered violations of the statute.
"What the GTAs are requesting would create a problem in terms of unfair labor practices," Meyen said. "The issues they want to discuss are central to the bargaining unit issue, and it would appear that we were trying influence their decision."
Dan Murtaugh, a GTA and leader of the union movement, disagreed.
Serving downtown since 1936
"Administrators have read the statute in an excessively broad manner, and they are hiding behind this interpretation," Reidy said. "If they don't want to talk to us, then they should just say so. We're not asking them to do anything that violates the law; we just want a nonbinding dialogue about matters of mutual concern."
"If they hadn't sought to form a bargaining unit two years ago, we could have talked," Meyen said.
Meyen said administrators would have been willing to discuss issues such as benefits before GTAs began their efforts to unionize.
"We tried to work with them and got nowhere, so we began our efforts to form a bargaining unit."
Sept.27.1993 Oct.28.1994
Hearings to determine whether GTAs are public employees conclude.
Gus Bogina, chairman of the Kansas Senate Ways and Means Committee, vows to fight increased funding for GTAs.
Gus Bogina's motion to dismiss the four-count complaint filed against him is released. Bogina denies making the comments attributed to him.
Nov.16.
Oct.18. 1994
Ed Meyen, executive vice chancellor, denies the GTAs' request to begin a dialogue about GTA salaries and benefits.
Monty Bertelli, hearing officer for the Kansas Public Employees Relations Board, rules that GTAs are public employees who are eligible to form a collective bargaining unit.
Kansas Association of Public Employees files a four-count, unfair labor practice complaint against Gus Bogina for allegedly trying to discourage GTAs from forming a union.
Source: Kansan staff research
Hearing officer Monty Bertelli sets April 17 as election day for GTAs to decide whether they want to form a collective bargaining unit.
krista McGlohon/KANSAN
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