WEPAN presentation of department survey
In the fall 2005 term the GWE conducted a survey of all graduate students within the Mechanical Engineering Department to gauge their feelings on the department climate and to solicit suggestions on improvements that can be made. The GWE has committed to implementing a number of student initiatives as a result of the survey and the Department Chair, Dr. Pisano has been actively implementing faculty and administrative solutions as well. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions about the survery or its results please direct them to the co-chair of the GWE. The department has committed to making this survey an annual event to examine current issues and evaluate the progress on urgent matters.
Abstract
Graduate students are particularly affected by the social and physical environment within an academic department due to their frequent interactions with peers, faculty, and staff. In order to assess students’ perceptions of their graduate school experience in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, we conducted an anonymous survey of all graduate students in the Department in November 2005. The survey response rate was 29% (N=98), and participants were representative of the overall population demographics. The results of this survey showed that, in general, students felt well supported by their peers, faculty advisors, and department administrators and they were satisfied with the classroom and research facilities provided by the Department. There were differences in student responses base on gender and international or domestic student status. Women felt less content with their overall experience at Berkeley, less confident in their professional abilities after entering graduate school, and less supported by their faculty research advisors. International students were less likely to interact with peers outside of their research laboratory, while domestic students did not feel as strongly supported as GSIs by faculty members. Overall, the survey reflects a positive climate for graduate students in the Department. We suggest that the Department’s efforts towards improving the graduate student experience be directed towards the following areas: 1) faculty-student interactions, with a particular emphasis on the influence of gender, 2) promoting peer interactions through Department social events, and 3) addressing facilities concerns from students. We hope that the Department will conduct follow-up surveys to measure progress in these areas.
A copy of the WEPAN paper is available here.
A copy of the power point presentation is available here.