The recommendations and questions in this report enumerate key factors that may help a department answer the most important question about a graduate program: does it give its students the time and resources necessary to complete their degrees in a timely fashion? This document offers best practices in seven general areas for improving the institutional circumstances of graduate colleagues as students, scholars, teachers, and active members in the profession. The series of questions under each recommendation is intended to assist in the evaluation of policy and practice in programs and institutions. This document does not attempt to quantify thresholds of affirmative responses that could be taken to register institutional conditions as below standard, standard, or above standard. Rather, the purpose is to help faculty members, departments, and institutions identify areas of policy and practice where progress has been made and areas where change can and should be sought. The report is broken into seven sections: (1) Financial support; (2) Graduate student policies; (3) Graduate student teaching; (4) Advising and mentoring; (5) Professional development and placement support; (6) Integration into the life of the department and institution; and (7) University-wide policies. [This report was prepared by MLA's Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Profession.]