Task Force Set to Discuss Graduate Student Stipends

The committee, which was created over the summer, will examine the factors that determine the value of stipends and will compare them to peer institutions, said Branson Page, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation.

George Harper, a student member of the task force, said he thinks UNC-Chapel Hill's relatively low stipends are a major problem and threaten graduate school enrollment.

The UNC-system Board of Governors approved in March a $300 campus-initiated tuition increase for UNC-Chapel Hill. Five percent of the tuition increase is earmarked to raise graduate student stipends.

"Really, we are lacking," Harper said. "It's getting hard to convince people to come to Carolina."

The task force will compare UNC's stipends to those of peer universities, Page said. The group then will create a practical plan to find funds for raising stipends.

Page said it could be well into the spring semester before the committee finalizes a plan. The recommendations made by the task force will be sent to Provost Robert Shelton for review. "(The group) will gather and digest the information, then give us options on how to proceed," Shelton said.

Page said the task force consists of about 13 members, including five students, and that he is pleased the group includes almost as many students as faculty and administrators.

"(The students) are not token representatives," Page said. "They are equal members of the committee."

Harper said more graduate students must become involved in the committee's efforts to make it successful in the future. "If students don't take notice, then the administration won't."

Harper said that before the task force was formed there was no one to address many of the financial problems graduate students face and that the committee's first meeting will be a major accomplishment.

"(The University) has convened a group," he said. "That's largely the result of myself and Branson Page harping on the administration."

Shelton said the University needs to improve its support for graduate students. "Anything that deals with the care and treatment of people is at the top of our list of issues."

Page said formulating a plan that the administration can carry out will be the hardest part for the committee.

"I think everyone is on the same page," Page said. "The tough part is figuring out how we are going to do this in practice."

Although the committee's work will be a long process, he said he is excited that UNC-CH is taking action toward improving stipends.

"Quite honestly, I'm sick and tired of fighting to talk about (stipends)," Page said. "I'm proud of the administration for examining the issue."