Committee addresses cross-disciplinary grad studies

Integrating fields of study for graduate students and Teaching Assistants' accents topped the list of issues tackled at last week's Academic Policy meeting of the University Board of Trustees.

The group of 55 Penn alumni and prominent professionals makes up the University's key decision makers who have the final say in most major University decisions.

The Board gathered at the Inn at Penn for its summer meeting, one of three held each year.

Deputy Provost Janice Bellace discussed a report on the success of integrating knowledge among undergraduates as well as current problems of integrating knowledge among graduate students.

The integration of knowledge from various disciplines is a key facet of the Penn Compact, University President Amy Gutmann's three-pronged plan to improve the University.

The success of integrating knowledge among undergraduates can be explained in part by the philosophy that undergraduates are expected to obtain a broad education that encompasses aspects from many fields of study.

Graduate students, on the other hand, are attempting to gain mastery in specific areas in preparation for future careers such as lawyers or doctors.

Other problems include financial issues of graduate students crossing schools, placement issues if a graduate student does wish to take a class from another school, the lack of information regarding opportunities and registration for classes at other schools and the fact that the home department of graduate students may discourage the taking of classes outside the program.

Political science professor Jack Nagel pointed out that each school pays for its own classes, so there is a financial burden when graduate students cross schools.

The administration is aiming to increase transparency in graduate programs and create cross-school supervision of dissertations in order to promote interdisciplinary activity at the graduate level.

Despite the problems of integrating at the graduate level, Noah Drezner, GAPSA's outgoing vice-chair for policy, said he was amazed at the amount of progress made this year when it comes to graduate integration of knowledge.

Another issue up for discussion was the problem of some foreign TA's not having a sufficient grip on English and students struggling to understand them.

The administration recently changed the financial aid structure such that students are not allowed to be TA's their first year at Penn -- unless they are in the fields of biology, chemistry and physics.

The Board will next convene at the Inn at Penn in the fall.

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