Timeline of Activities – bcs-gradvocates

Ongoing activities/obligations:

Responsible for maintaining student representation an all committees (education, grad affairs, seminar, admissions, any faculty search)
Attempt to maintain student representation and involvement in other roles listed here (link)
Maintenance and updates to wiki and google drive, preservation of survey results
10x/year meetings with grad officer ~monthly
1-2x/year meeting each with Department head and/or associate department head
1-2x/year meetings with Dean of School of Science
Biannual Visiting committee feedback
Yearly Interview planning and participation
Yearly Social events: welcome barbecue, whole program socials, cross cohort socials
Organizing and serving on yearly “how to grad school” panels(rotations, choosing a lab, pre-quals, quals, thesis proposal)
Yearly application assistance program: Organize panels and staff office hours

2024 (goals):

Increase training and workshops in response to biannual quality of life survey results with Farrahs help (also mentorship workshops)
Increase socials in an effort to combat isolation (cross cohort, floor wide and neighboring labs)
Implement Program wide banquet
Improvements to complaints policy and clarity about who are our primary resources (refs)
Improve orientation and compliance procedures, produce and advertise key events graphic with dates updated each year
Added transperancy for students on search comittees including an official application process, department policy governing the selection process, clarity on conflicts of interests. Maybe still waiting for guidelines specifying steps of the process and confidentiality?
(Internal) More official recruitment procedures and internal timelines
ReproducibiliTEA journal club and formation of Open Science community within BCS
Neurolunch replaces plastic lunch

2023:

Instituted official gradvocates roles and positions
Reinstitute social chair and more social events
Policies formalized thanks to gradvocate efforts:
—– Professional development policy (enables CPT for international students)
—– Internship policy (REFs organized survey and meeting)
—– Policy and procedures for concerns about faculty
—– TA-instructor agreement and yearly information transfer between TAs
—– Grodvocates Budget policy (internal)
Core course and curriculum changes (many students provide feedback and participate with Jazayeri)

2022:

Placed a student rep on the admissions committee for the first time
Transitioned from ad hoc interview planning process shunted on the first years to a more formal process led by a Y3+ to allow a smooth transition from participant to leadership

2021:

Pre-2021:

Placed student representatives on grad affairs committee, ed committee, seminar committee and faculty search committees for the first time
Began yearly orientations and panels to help students succeed in grad school

2020:

Town Hall: Anti-racism. Outcomes: expansion of power and finances, appointment of DEIJ associate DH, hired full-time DEIJ officer, hired temporary DEIJ consulting group, expansion of outreach programs (like MSRP), development of DEIJ subgroups within each lab, removal of GRE requirement on applications

2019:

Town hall: Transparency and mentorship – inclusion of mentorship in faculty promotions, Department record keeping including rotations, committee meetings, Encouraged department policy up to date on public website, especially covern difficult and uncommon scenarios
Began regular meetings with the grad officer
Creation of BCS AAP

2018:

2016-2017: