Most research on graduate students tends to ignore aspects of graduate student life that fall outside the research lab and classroom. While academics are the primary focus for a graduate degree, it is often the non-academic factors that can make or break a student's experience.  Fortunately, there is a recent and growing trend toward examining "graduate student quality of life" issues.

• GSL Surveys/Assessments
• GSL Presentations & Publications
• Other UMD Reports on Graduate Students
• Quality of Life Surveys/Reports at Other Universities

GSL Surveys/Assessments

Graduate Student Transition Survey: report due November 2005
This study seeks to better understand the needs of graduate students when they first arrive on campus at the University of Maryland.

Graduate Student Needs Assessment Survey (pdf): 2002 (2005)
This graduate student quality of life survey was administered in April of 2002 by the newly appointed Coordinator of Graduate Student Life in conjunction with the Stamp Student Union and Campus Programs Research Advisory group. The survey was intended as a co-curricular complement to the academically focused 2000 Graduate Student Survey conducted by a Continuous Quality Improvement team and the Campus Assessment Working Group.  The survey was administered to 2,000 randomly selected University of Maryland graduate students via the web and resulted in a 32.5% response rate.
Click here for a copy of the GSNAS survey (html).
Click here for a copy of the GSNAS Executive Summary (pdf). 

Graduate Department Student Services Survey (pdf): 2004
This survey, conducted in November 2003, sought to better understand the services provided to graduate students by their departments at the University of Maryland. Support services for graduate students are typically provided at three different levels: campus-wide, school/college, and department/program. This survey sought to understand which services are and are not already provided at the school/college and department/program levels.

The survey was administered by the Coordinator of Graduate Student Life and the Stamp Student Union Research Advisory group. The survey was distributed to 2,000 randomly selected University of Maryland graduate students and resulted in a 22% response rate. Due to the fact that some departments had relatively few respondents, the data was analyzed not at the department/program level but instead the report identified trends by school/college.
Click here for a copy of the GDSS survey instrument (html).
Click here for a copy of the GDSS report (pdf).

Report on Graduate Housing Services at Peer Institutions (pdf): Nov 2003
This benchmark study, conducted in November 2003 by the Offices of Off-Campus Housing and Graduate Student Life, examines university housing for graduate students at the University of Maryland and several academic and geographic peer institutions. The study also reports which administrative division runs the services provided at each university.

GSL Presentations & Publications

Watchmaker, C., Guy, S., Pontius, J., Lynch, C., Moppet, A., Sharkey, M. Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Service (AGAPSS) NASPA Knowledge Community Pre-Conference. Envision and discover: Innovative approaches for serving graduate and professional students. Stetson University College of Law, Tampa, FL. 2005 NASPA National Conference.

Pontius, J. Programmatic responses to graduate student needs. Presented at the NASPA’s AGAPSS Knowledge Community Pre-Conference, Tampa, FL, March 2005.

Pontius, J. Addressing the Social Needs of Graduate Students. Outlook Magazine. May 18 2005 issue.

C. Watchmaker, C. Bair, M. Poock, K. Nostas, J. Pontius. Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Service (AGAPSS) NASPA Knowledge Community Pre-Conference. It's our turn: Enhancing services for graduate and professional students. Regis University, Denver, CO. 2004 NASPA National Conference.

Pontius, J. Building graduate student community through social event planning. Presented at the NASPA's AGAPSS Knowledge Community Pre-Conference, Denver, CO, March 2004.

Pontius, J. Working toward an understanding of graduate student needs. Presented at the American College Personnel Association, Minneapolis, April, 2003.

Pontius, J. Understanding and addressing the needs of graduate students. Presented at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, St. Louis,  March, 2003.

Dean, K., Pontius, J., & Sheffler, T. Graduate student services: An institutional commitment to meeting graduate student needs. Presented at the Maryland Student Affairs Conference, College Park, February, 2003.

Pontius, J. Breaking through the undergraduate barrier. Presented at the Maryland Student Affairs Conference, College Park, February, 2002.

Other UMD Reports on Graduate Students

Graduate School Review Report (pdf) Feb 2005
The Graduate School Review Committee was charged in late August, 2004 by the Provost to evaluate the functions and responsibilities of the Graduate School. The objectives of this review were to identify the essential functions of a graduate school in the context of the mission and culture of the University of Maryland, and to identify the optimal organizational structure required to execute these functions.

Report of the President's Task Force on Graduate Student Success March 2004
The Task Force was charged to make recommendations for policies regarding graduate student success. Through comparisons with peer institutions the task force examined issues including: 1. Time to degree, 2. Campus subsidies for students, 3. Tuition revenue generated by graduate students, 4. Expectations of teaching and research assistants.The report also includes recommendations related to advising and mentoring, placement services, student services and quality of life issues.

Report of the President's Task Group on Academic Incentives, Efficiencies, and Effectiveness: March 2004
"The Task Group on Academic Incentives, Efficiencies, and Effectiveness has focused its work around actions that would, if implemented, maintain the quality of our academic programs in the face of reduced State support." The report, among other items, suggests that the University eliminate or consolidate a number of services by the graduate school that may be redundant.

Housing Needs of Graduate Students (1.5 MB pdf) March 2003
Report provided for the Graduate School by Urban Planning on the state of Graduate Student Housing at the University of Maryland and recommendations for improvement.

Quality of Life Surveys/Reports at Other Universities

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Graduate Student Life Survey
• Ohio State University: Graduate Quality of University Experience Report (GQUE)
• Carnegie Mellon University: Graduate Student Survey
• Carnegie Mellon University: Graduate Student Child Care Survey
• University of California, San Diego Quality of Campus Life
• Stanford University: Graduate Quality of Life at Stanford
• Princeton University: The Graduate Student Life Initiative
• University of Virginia: Feasibility Study for a Graduate & Professional Student Center
• Northwestern University: Perspectives on Academic and Social Life
• Stonybrook University: Graduate Student Quality of Life Survey
• University of Chicago: Graduate Student Experience Report
• California Institute of Technology: GSC/WEST Quality of Life Survey