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Grads grade their graders
WASHINGTON - This month, 32,000 graduate students and recent PhDs got to turn the tables and grade their doctoral programs for a new online survey by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. The survey found that while 81 percent reported satisfaction with their programs overall, only 45 percent of students feel they are well prepared for teaching, and only 38 percent are satisfied with the career counseling they received.
According to Adam Fagen, survey author and a doctoral student at Harvard University, "even programs that excel at research may get an incomplete when it comes to preparing students for nonresearch aspects of their careers." The study also found women and minorities less satisfied with their schools than their counterparts: 28 percent of women and 40 percent of minority students said their programs were not supportive environments for members of minority groups. Survey results for more than 1,300 doctoral programs are online at http://survey.nagps.org/.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Next month, WorldStrides, the country's largest educational student travel company, will send more than 400 teachers and administrators from all 50 states to Washington, D.C., for a "Now, More than Ever Weekend." Three days of sightseeing and speakers are meant to assure administrators, teachers, parents, and students that educational travel remains a safe and essential component in the development of America's future leaders. The weekend will be "about reaffirming what it means to be an American," says Jim Hall, WorldStrides President.
DENVER - Families of five Columbine High School shooting victims are suing the maker of Luvox, an antidepressant that Eric Harris, one of the student gunmen, was taking when he opened fire. Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. makes the drug to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. The lawsuit filed Friday in US District Court charges that "such drugs caused Eric Harris to become manic and psychotic."
We are always on the lookout for 600-word columns written by kindergarten teachers on up to college professors. To submit a "Class Act" column, e-mail Amelia Newcomb at: newcomba@csmonitor.com or write to The Christian Science Monitor, One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115.
