Some schools say GA spots not for everyone

and Shirley Zilberstein Two University graduate schools have advised doctoral students that the residential staff positions being created under the new college house system, which could result in students losing up to $2,000 from their stipends, may not be suited for everyone. The School of Engineering and Applied Science will not nominate students who receive stipends to participate in the residential graduate associate program. And an administrator in the School of Arts and Sciences advised grad students via e-mail that the program's benefits package may not benefit everyone. As part of the new residential system, which will reorganize the current residences into 12 college houses with extra programming, the University will hire 55 graduate students to staff the houses in addition to about 50 already in place. As of last week, the office of Academic Programs and Residence Life had received 40 applications. Chris Dennis, the office's director, refused to say how many additional applications had been submitted since then. Last week, faculty members and administrators involved in the program said they are not worried about the number of applications, since they expect at least half of the current GAs to stay on. Officials will accept more applications on a rolling basis. Although the undergraduate residences currently have about 50 GAs, next year's $6,900 benefit package for incoming GAs, which includes room and board, is less attractive than the one that was offered to current GAs. Under the new system, some incoming GAs may lose as much as $2,000 of their stipends, money Penn gives doctoral students to cover living expenses. Through a partnership between Residence Life, SAS and the schools of Education and Social Work, the schools will nominate GAs and pay Residence Life up to $2,000 to cover the costs of staffing the residences. The schools would then deduct the amount from the students' stipends. Professional schools, such as the Medical School and the Dental School, do not offer stipends. Engineering administrators said the school will not nominate doctoral students for the positions, although the students will be able to apply on their own. Instead, the school will suggest students in master's programs, who do not receive stipends, as possible GAs. "I think [the room and board] is a less appealing package than [a regular first-year stipend]," said Dwight Jaggard, Engineering's associate dean for graduate education and research. He noted that such a package hurts the school's competitive edge in recruiting students. "Most of our peer schools give packages that are either fellowships or research positions," he said, adding that a GA position may take a student away from his or her research. And several current GAs raised concerns that their new GA counterparts will be paid less for the same number of hours worked. Dennis admitted that the stipend cut may cause brief pay differences, but said that he expects the other graduate schools to sign on to the program. "There will be a moment's time when the transitional arrangements may cause some temporary inequities, but that shouldn't last for more than a year," he said. And SAS Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Walter Licht said the appointment process will ensure "quality control" in selecting GAs. "For the first time, we've got some monitoring on this," Licht said, noting that in past years graduate students did not require departmental permission to be GAs. Interim University Provost Michael Wachter said the packages will more than offset the stipend reduction by allowing almost $700,000 in new funds for Penn's graduate students. Although administrators emphasize the leadership and learning opportunities available to prospective graduate associates, some students and faculty members say they are ignoring one side of the coin. On January 12, Wachter sent an e-mail to all graduate students encouraging them to apply for the positions. Licht, however, forwarded the e-mail to all graduate chairpersons, adding a note highlighting several disadvantages of the program absent from Wachter's initial e-mail. Although Licht expressed confidence in the program, he advised students to consider the time commitment and the reduced stipends when deciding whether to apply to be GAs. History Department Graduate Chairperson Thomas Safley, in turn, forwarded both e-mails to his students. Other SAS department heads, including those in Chemistry, English, Math, Philosophy and Sociology, did not send the e-mails to their students.