Student Support Organizations

This paper, delivered by the current and former heads of the Ritsumeikan - American University Joint Degree Program (JDP), examines the structures and community-based initiatives necessary to support an environment where students studying in English can have a university experience equivalent to their Japanese medium degree peers. The paper examines initiatives undertaken by various actors at the Kinugasa campus of Ritsumeikan University over the last decade in support of the English language medium based students based there (Global Studies and JDP major students and large numbers of exchange students). The initiatives examined include the creation of: library services in English, an English medium college writing tutorial system (the first in a Japanese university), English based internship classes, and student community led support programs. The initiatives of various actors in this regard are examined and range from centrally initiated programs from the core of the university, individual college level activities, and student group/association projects. The process and efficacy of both such top-down and bottom-up initiatives is examined, as is the necessity of such structures in providing essential out-of-classroom support for international and English medium students. The decade long journey to full provision of these services and the transition of many from centrally administered projects to community based ‘self-propagating’ associations is an interesting case study in institutional and student community adaption to the provision of services to a new and growing section of the student community in Japan: English language medium students.

Purpose-The growing demand for doctoral education and the role of the doctoral degree to advance nations socially, economically, and culturally forces countries and individual institutions to respond to concerns stemming from the doctoral process. Numerous initiatives to support doctoral students have been adopted with varying features across countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine doctoral student support programs in two countries: the USA and Turkey. These countries offer higher education systems at different stages of maturity and stability. Design/methodology/approach-The data for this study came from a comparative case study analysis of doctoral student experiences in support programs at two research universities, one in the USA and one in Turkey. Ten American doctoral students and eight Turkish doctoral students were interviewed, for a total of 18 interviews. The study utilized the conceptual framework specified by the PhD Completion Project initiated by the US Council of Graduate Schools. Findings-The two national systems featured in this study are at different points of their development. These developmental starting points influence the rationale and construction of a student support program, particularly one focused on advanced degrees, research activity, and knowledge production. The Turkish higher education system faces the challenge of building its infrastructure to be responsive to national needs in future decades, including producing qualified faculty as teachers and researchers. The American model of doctoral student support concentrates on increasing diversity within the academy. By focusing on first-generation students, students of color, and women in STEM disciplines, efforts are directed toward not just improving the quantity of graduates, but also the diversity of those graduates. Originality/value-While doctoral student support programs are increasingly common in multiple national contexts, analyses of these programs are rare, and comparative analyses even more so. The emergence of new academic disciplines, the trend toward interdisciplinary research, and the prevalence of neo-liberal policies has made the doctoral experience increasingly complex. The data presented here reveal that while doctoral education is influenced by country-specific contexts, doctoral students from multiple countries share many of the same experiences.

Two short pieces written while I was a graduate student in a booklet offering advice for students wishing to start anthropology clubs. The first describes the activities and strategies of the anthropology club at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that I founded ("Anthropology Circle"). The second describes problems typical of trying to organize clubs--humourously and helpfully, I hope).

Lohmann, Roger Ivar 1993. "Anthropology Circle" (pp. 7–8) and "Notes on Anthro Clubs from a Bitter, Crusty Old Grad Student" (pp. 23–24) In NASA Guide to Anthropology Clubs. Donald Scott Wesolowski, ed. Arlington, VA: National Association of Student Anthropologists and American Anthropological Association.

In this chapter, Chris and Natasha discuss their different perspectives on writing and how it can work for the reader sitting in that empty seat at their table. For Chris, it was constantly moving, or so he claims, that got him to a timely finish. He calls it ‘continuous writing’.  Natasha pushes him on this, what it means in practice and what it means across disciplines. Her concern is staying true to who she is, developing and using a voice that is her own as she is run through the mill of postgraduate study.

This study analyzed what graduate student assistants believed they needed to persevere and graduate. Most participants were graduate students serving assistantships at the University of Alabama in 1998. The Graduate Student Services Survey was mailed to 1,150 students, and 144 responded. The survey collected information on demographics, employment status, time spent on campus, involvement in the Graduate Student Association, interest in resources for graduate students, preferred form of communication, and interest in workshops, research expositions, and social activities. Data analysis indicated that most of the students were employed. Most did not feel a need for tutoring. About 30 percent desired to attend workshops on thesis and dissertation writing, computer training, writing a vita or resume, grant writing, and financial aid. About half of the students were interested in research expositions, conferences, and forums where their research could be presented. About 35 percent were...

The premise of this book is simple: if the chapter writers could go back in time and talk with themselves when they began their studies, what advice would they give? Isn’t hindsight a bonus? Each chapter will offer this hindsight. The chapters will not be their personal stories, but useful lessons learned through their experiences. Those lessons will be offered to aspiring and current graduate students to help ensure that their studies are successful. Chapters contain contributions from a range of academics and academic-practitioners, from those getting established in their careers to those that are more novice and emergent. Its contributors include scholars from many universities throughout the United States. Contributors cover essential aspects of graduate study, such as writing and publishing, relationships with supervisors, utilizing rejection and critique, and becoming a researcher. Contributors write of studying for higher degrees and coping with family, illness, disability, and distance. Culture is bridged between Hispanic scholars and their colleagues in mainstream academia, and international students offer advice to those coming to these shores to study. This volume provides indispensable advice that every graduate student could utilize and follows on from the successful publication of Postgraduate Study in Aotearoa New Zealand: Surviving and Succeeding (McMaster & Murphy, 2014). The US edition will be part of an international ‘survive and succeed’ series currently being produced in Australia, the UK and South Africa.