2019 ACCUTE Graduate Student Caucus (GSC) Survey Results

1. 2019 ACCUTE Graduate Student Caucus (GSC) Survey Results

2. Quantitative Findings • Numerical data on graduate programs submitted by departmental representatives of the following institutions: • U of Calgary • Simon Frasier University • University of New Brunswick • Dalhousie University • University of Saskatchewan • Brock University • Lakehead University • Trent University • University of Western Ontario • University of Windsor • Wilfred Laurier University

3. Enrolment Statistics

4. Program Statistics

5. MA Program Options • 8/12 offer both coursework and thesis options • Only 2 ask for a language requirement (and one only for thesis option) • 11/12 include a professionalization course • Time to completion is most commonly 12 months.

6. PhD Program Options • Most common form of comps is 2 written elements, 1 oral • 7/8 have language requirements. • 5/8 have a required professionalization element. • Average years to completion, according to faculty responses, is 5-6.

7. Tuition Comparison

8. Qualitative Findings • While the portion of the survey soliciting quantitative (i.e., numerical) data was sent directly to department administration, the following qualitative data is the result of self-reporting from one English graduate student per institution. • Survey returned by graduate students from 20 universities:

9. I. Graduate Representation for ACCUTE-GSC • 15 of 20 respondents have departmental graduate student societies with annual elections • 10 of these include the ACCUTE GSC rep in these elections • 19 of 20 respondents have ACCUTE GSC graduate reps • 7 of these positions are volunteers solicited by either students or faculty • 9 of these planned to attend Congress and the GSC lunch

10. II. Institutional Graduate Representation • 19 of 20 schools have graduate student associations or unions • Ryerson has a joint undergraduate and graduate student union and is considering having a separate graduate union • 19 of 20 schools’ teaching assistants are unionized • Laurier is in the process of unionizing their TAs • (Some of these unions do not extend to research assistants) • 13 of 20 report overall awareness of student rights • 14 of 20 report overall awareness of employee rights

11. III. Space, Service, Socialization • 18 of 20 report overall satisfaction with their libraries • 6 of these qualify that satisfaction with concerns about upcoming library budget cuts (i.e., reduced catalogue size), delayed access to books (having to reserve books 1-2 days ahead of time), and reliance on supplemental resources like RACER • 2 report outright dissatisfaction with their library resources, with UNB reporting an absence of several of the required texts for comprehensive exams • 13 of 20 report having designated office space for PhD students, whether shared or private • Some of these do not provide office space for MA students • 7 report having study rooms that can be booked ahead of time and are usually reserved for TA duties • 9 report having designated computers, usually shared, with Queen’s reporting access to personal laptops

12. III. Space, Service, Socialization • Number of department-wide social events per year • 9 of 20 report 1 or 2 events per year • 6 of 20 report 3 to 4 per year • Dalhousie reports more than 20 per year • Number of department-wide non-social events per term (e.g., lecture series, readings, colloquia, competitions, etc.) • 5 of 20 report 1 to 2 events per term • 6 of 20 report 4 to 6 events per term • 6 of 20 report more than 10 per term

13. IV-A. Professionalization • 12 of 20 report mandatory professionalization courses • Aside from these, 2 report having methods courses that have a brief professionalization component • 9 of 20 report department professionalization workshops/training • 8 of 20 report having a faculty graduate placement officer responsible for graduate professionalization initiatives • Ryerson has a practicum placement option, with a faculty member assigned to help place graduate students in internships • 16 of 20 report professionalization workshops offered by their faculties of graduate studies

14. IV-A. Professionalization Departmental vs. Graduate Studies Faculty professionalization efforts:

15. IV-A. Professionalization Summary of department professionalization efforts ranking: • Lowest rankings:3 of 19 rank these efforts at 2 or below • Mid-range rankings:7 of 19 rank these efforts at 3 or 3.5 • Upper rankings:5 of 19 rank these efforts at 4, 4.5 • Highest rankings:3 of 19 give these efforts a perfect score of 5 • UNB’s ranking is specific to their faculty’s mentorship and not necessarily to the department itself

16. IV-A. Professionalization Desired professionalization efforts • Teaching training and lecturing opportunities beyond Taships • More rigorous support for academic/tenure-track oriented professionalization • E.g. Workshops, appointments, guaranteed teaching • Dissertation writing support • Alt-Ac & Para-Academic support • E.g. Job search and CV-writing workshops, co-op/internships, mentors • A designated faculty placement officer for professionalization • Public humanities initiatives Academic Non-Academic

17. IV-B. Hiring • 15 of 20 departments alert their graduate students when hiring new faculty • 15 of 20 departments encourage their graduate students to be involved in the hiring process • 5 of 20 departments give their graduate students a vote in the hiring decision • 4 of 20 departments solicit and consider graduate student feedback in their hiring decisions

18. V. General Specific concerns raised by English graduate students: • Mental Health Support • Limited or lack of funding for mental health services including private therapy, medications, and medical leave • Discriminatory attitudes towards mental illness • TA Support • Increased ESL teaching load without proportionate training, support, or compensation • Comprehensive Exam Support • Standardized procedures • Increased awareness of exam alternatives • Travel Funding • Program administration and toxic departmental politics • Lack of interdisciplinary community-building (e.g., social spaces for graduate students across departments)

19. V. General In September 2018, how aware were our graduate student representatives of… • …ACCUTE? • 12 of 20 fully aware • 4 of 20 minimally aware • 4 of 20 not aware • …the GSC? • 11 of 20 fully aware • 2 of 20 minimally aware • 7 of 20 not aware • …the GSC Survey? • 8 of 20 fully aware • 1 of 20 minimally aware • 11 of 20 not aware

20. V. General Suggestions & future questions for the 2019-2020 GSC survey: • Survey timing (avoid month of April) • Document outlining the responsibilities of GSC representatives • Questions re: peer relationships and support networks • Questions re: graduate student advocacy • “Year X” penalties • Are grad students penalized for not completing their degree within a certain number of years? • Travel funding • To what extent does travel funding negatively impact your department’s students’ likelihood of attending Congress/conferences generally?

21. GSC Representatives Each year, the GSC Executive members need graduate student liaisons at English departments across Canada, especially as we conduct the GSC Survey. These representatives’ responsibilities are chiefly as follows: • Filling out the qualitative questions of the GSC Survey • Soliciting numbers from departmental chairs or graduate assistants for the quantitative portion of the survey • Passing on survey data to graduate student colleagues or respective graduate student societies in order to advocate for specific reforms in home departments • Raise awareness of the ACCUTE GSC, the GSC Survey, and GSC events during Congress Ideally, we would like GSC representatives able to attend ACCUTE. However, given the variability of travel expenses and limits of graduate student funding, attendance is not mandatory.