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SU Graduate Assistantships Facing Cuts
By Emma Stuck
Asst. News Editor
Some graduate students at Shippensburg University are facing cuts to their graduate assistantships, as some may become student payroll positions in the upcoming fall semester.
Graduate assistantships, which provide graduate students jobs working with administrators and faculty in various departments and provide tuition waivers, were established to enhance graduate students’ educational experiences beyond the classroom.
However, an increase in requests for academic affairs graduate assistantships led to a review of each graduate assistant position to make sure that high-quality educational experiences were being offered.
Tracy Schoolcraft, dean of graduate studies said the Graduate Council’s GA allocation subcommittee examined how each position requested by supervisors for the fall semester contributed to the graduate-level experience of each student.
The subcommittee discussed the requests in the fall and the decision process boiled down to a judgment call of whether a position was really the best experience for each student in their particular graduate program versus another graduate assistantship. Schoolcraft said that after the subcommittee reached a consensus on next fall’s graduate assistantship budget, the issue was moved on to the Graduate council to get a vote.
The graduate council said that the graduate assistant positions that provided the least educational experience should be allocated to student payroll positions for both graduate and undergraduate students, according to Schoolcraft. The students in the student payroll positions would work 250 hours each semester like a graduate assistant does, but receive $7.15 an hour, whereas a graduate assistant receives $10 an hour.
Before reaching a consensus on the recommendation of allocation, the council gave supervisors the opportunity to tell them in person about the educational experience of each position, in case there was more educational experience to the position than what was written in the supervisors’ letters to the subcommittee.
The recommendations for cuts and allocations were later taken to SU Provost Barbara G. Lyman who signed off on the recommendations. Lyman took the recommendations to SU President William Ruud, who signed off on the recommendations to put the graduate assistantship cuts and allocations into effect.
According to Schoolcraft, five graduate assistant positions in academic affairs will be cut completely next fall semester, which include positions with an institutional research information specialist, a computer science network specialist, the Learning Center, a math tutor and a position in education leadership and policy.
Nine graduate assistant positions in academic affairs will be converted to student payroll positions, which include a John L. Grove College of Business research assessment graduate assistantship and a disability services administrative graduate assistantship and graduate assistantships with the dean of arts and sciences, the dean of education and human services, the admissions office, women’s studies, international studies and the honors program.
Schoolcraft notified the graduate assistants whose positions were being cut and allocated via e-mail at the end of January on the same day the graduate council had voted on the allocation recommendation.
Schoolcraft has been very helpful with the graduate assistants whose jobs are being lost and allocated and has been helping them find new graduate assistantships.
Schoolcraft has e-mailed supervisors who have graduate assistant openings for next fall semester, and she has told the supervisors to give the graduate students first consideration because the students are already graduate assistants who are good at their current positions.
James Manuel, co-chair of the Graduate Student Association Board and a second-year graduate student, hopes to see the graduate assistants who are losing their positions be first in line to receive new positions.
Manuel used to be a graduate assistant for his first two semesters of graduate school, where he worked in the geography/earth science department, and for his last two semesters he has been working on grant-funded research.
Manuel reported to the graduate student community when the graduate council released the allocations and the GSAB has helped give graduate students a voice. The reasons for the cuts were not completely clear at first to some graduate students, and Manuel hopes the allocation process in the future can be clearer so students can fully understand why their positions were cut and allocated.
Two graduate assistants whose positions will be cut and allocated to student payroll positions in the fall are Jeremy Goshorn and Madeline Michaliszyn, who both work with the admissions office.
Goshorn, an open house/volunteer coordinator graduate assistant with the admissions office, helps plan open houses, helps advise the student tour guides and admissions representatives of Shippensburg student organization and helps with student recruitment. Goshorn said he enjoys the experience he has gotten as a graduate assistant because he would love to work in an admissions office in the future.
Goshorn felt really disappointed when he found out that his graduate assistant position would be cut for next fall, but he is currently trying to find another graduate assistantship with either the academic success program or with the academic support for student-athletes office.
Goshorn said he feels that Schoolcraft has been amazing with helping graduate assistants who are losing their current positions find other graduate assistantships.
“I really think she’s been a tremendous help,” Goshorn said.
Michaliszyn, who is a transfer/graduate recruitment graduate assistant, works on program planning and implementation for graduate information sessions and graduate visitation programs and helps with transfer students’ needs.
Michaliszyn became a graduate assistant with the admissions office because she plans to be a high school counselor and believes the position is a great stepping stone to learning how the process works.
“I thought this position would be perfect for me,” Michaliszyn said.
Michaliszyn feels that the cuts and allocations are unfortunate but she sees how different graduate assistant positions focus more on academics than other positions. She is currently looking at graduate assistantships in the academic success program, the career development center and the academic support services for student-athletes office.
Michaliszyn is glad to have Schoolcraft helping her find another graduate assistant position by forwarding her open positions. Michaliszyn said she feels good just knowing she has support in finding another graduate assistantship.
The Slate