Graduate Community Initiative Working Group

There is a systematic exclusion of graduate students from campus services. A number of mental health organizations and extra help organizations are available for undergraduates and staffed but undergraduates. Their mission states that they are open to all students however they will also tell you that since they are funded primarily through the UG student activity fee, they have to cater their services towards the undergraduate student body.

The current services that are available do not have enough capacity to accommodate all the students attempting to get help.

There also needs to be something done to address the cost of fitness centers on this campus as open more ready access to these will help students maintain not only physical but mental wellness.  

There are also other services such as through student disability services such as CULift whose parameters of service exclude a majority of graduate students based upon where they can afford housing.

Services for graduate students across campus are a consistent problem. Colleagues continue to tell me they don’t know where they belong, they are part student and part staff with only portions of the benefits of both. Understanding that putting graduate students in with staff is not an option, there needs to be a systematic approach to student services where there are undergraduate and graduate options for student services or to re-evaluate services so that they do not systematically exclude the graduate and professional student body.