An in-depth study of the problems and achievements of 100 new college teachers is reported and discussed, covering teacher training and experience; situational factors found to affect their teaching; the varying quality of performance; and recommendations for the teachers, departments hiring them, graduate students, and graduate departments. (MSE)

Designing publications to recruit graduate students is a far different task from designing materials for undergraduates. Syracuse University has found three principles helpful: relying on the expertise of the institution's academic units; providing useful information, not a sales pitch; and using desktop publishing to produce targeted…

This guide is intended to assist college faculty members working with graduate students from developing nations who may need help bridging the gap between their educational backgrounds and the requirements of graduate science programs which are primarily planned for U.S. students. Differences are noted in the pre-graduate school training of such…

The Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity (TATTO) program began in spring 1991 at Emory University to prepare graduate students to be teaching assistants, instructors, and tomorrow's professors, and is based on the premise that doctoral students should be trained in both teaching and research. The first part of the four-stage…

Qualitative case studies of graduate students, focusing on student socialization, are critical for understanding the student experience. Because of the departmental nature of graduate study, cross-departmental studies may be not be as revealing. The qualitative case study approach is particularly useful in examining minority student experiences.…

A small service firm approach to assist instructors and departments improve the quality of instruction at the University of Washington is discussed. Attention is directed to basic assumptions underlying the instructional development program at the University's Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR). One assumption is that an…

Reports on a study of professional socialization and the emergence of career aspirations among 566 graduate students in sociology. Finds that access to initial funding and mentoring have substantial effects on students' professional socialization. (CFR)

Analyzes the structure of academic sociology departments. Stresses the competition for resources and symbolic capital among different groups including faculty, support staff, research staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Focuses on the complex role of graduate students, the constraints, and the opportunities it opens. Urges reform…

Examines the decentralized and discipline-specific nature of graduate education and how it creates a unique and diverse climate for graduate students. The current population of graduate students is described, research on graduate students is described, focusing on four factors that influence the student environment and five types of student.…

A handbook for University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) teaching assistants (TAs) is presented that includes information about university policy concerning TAs and their jobs. Contents cover: duties of TAs, teaching associates, and teaching fellows; appointment, reappointment, and duration of employment; salary; benefits; conduct,…

A guide for developing a departmentally-based teaching assistant (TA) training program is presented. At the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) part-time teaching assistant consultants who are experienced TAs have been employed to help with TA training programs. The following criteria are used to evaluate departmental proposals to hire…

Contends that, in recent years, over half of the Ph.D.s awarded in economics in the United States have gone to foreign students. Asserts that the time-to-completion for the economics Ph.D. degree also has increased. Explores this relationship along with why foreign students study in the United States. (CFR)

The use of exit surveys at the University of Washington was investigated. Objectives were to identify (1) how many departments or programs employed department-generated exit surveys to gather information from graduating students, (2) the type of information collected and its use by departments, and (3) criteria for determining the usefulness of an…

Institutional research at the University of California at Berkeley on graduate student attrition is discussed, focusing on when students in a given discipline are likely to leave a program and factors to which departments attribute attrition. Recommendations for increasing retention are offered, including institutional policies and strategies,…

Efforts to train graduate student instructors (GSIs) at the University of California, Berkeley, are considered in this newsletter issue. Administrative changes and ways to improve GSI selection, training, and evaluation are considered, along with: proposed changes in graduate student teaching titles, grants to help faculty and departments…