To: Northeastern University College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Graduate Student Petition for Equal Funding
As dedicated, hard-working Northeastern PhD students, we demand equal stipend rates for all. Therefore, we urge the College of Social Sciences and Humanities to equalize current students’ stipends to those of the new incoming class.
Why is this important?
The PhD students and TAs of the Northeastern University College of Social Sciences and Humanities have recently learned that the incoming PhD students for the 2014-2015 academic year will receive a TA stipend of $20,000, while the stipends of the current students will remain unchanged at much lower rates - barely adjusted for inflation. This means that many current PhD students in the social sciences will lag behind their newer cohorts by as much as 25% in funding per year. For PhD students predominantly supporting themselves on a TA stipend, this monetary discrepancy is very significant to our standards of living. Yet such considerations are not even as distressing as the effects that this unequal structure of incentives will have on graduate departments, cohort dynamics, and overall university standing.
As dedicated, hard-working Northeastern PhD students, we demand equal stipend rates for all. Therefore, we urge the College of Social Sciences and Humanities to equalize current students’ stipends to those of the new incoming class for the following dominant reasons:
FAIRNESS & PROMOTION OF A COLLEGIAL ENVIRONMENT:
Different stipend rates for PhD students within the same program will breed an environment of inequality. The university is implicitly stating that newer students deserve more financial support than older students, and this may lead to negative relations between students in the department. As a matter of principle, a PhD program should value its students equally, yet this funding policy assures that some students will appear more valuable than others and receive more material support in their academic pursuits. In this way, the department also fails to value the accumulated experience of its older cohorts, especially their roles as mentors to newer students. Moreover, due to the Graduate School’s new 10-hour TA policy for first year students, the older cohorts are increasingly taking over responsibility for TA/RA activities - yet they continue to receive lower compensation over the years.
We understand that as Northeastern University and our departments increase in stature, the university must offer more attractive incentive packages to new students in order to compete with other universities. However, those of us who have already been accepted and are currently enrolled in the program are at least in part responsible for the enhanced reputation of our programs. Further, we also face the dilemma of leaving the program (or supplementing our TA pay with other work that ultimately can detract from our effectiveness as teachers and aspiring scholars) in order to generate more income. A competitive stipend is necessary, but should be applied to all of us.
DISTORTED INCENTIVES:
Unequal stipend rates create a structure of disincentives for current students. This structure rewards new recruits at the expense of students making progress in the department, and this pattern becomes more troubling with each passing year. As it stands now, the new students will receive significantly higher monetary support than other students, regardless of the other students’ years of experience, accomplishments, or other merits. Along with damaging department morale, funding is only one factor considered by potential PhD students and is usually dwarfed by other considerations, including research interests and job placement opportunities.
RETENTION RATES & ACADEMIC SUCCESS:
In time, the distorted incentives created by this funding system may show themselves in the performance of PhD students across programs. With less funding and support, older graduates will have less time to dedicate to their classes and research, and they will have less incentive to remain fully dedicated to their programs. In the long run, these trends may harm the success of graduate program rankings overall, as too many graduate students will not be supported at the same level as others, hindering their potential for publications and other projects.
In light of these main factors, the Northeastern PhD students petition for the equalization of stipend rates across cohorts. As it stands, the current system promotes only unfairness, disunity, and disincentives that harm the future of our university as a whole.
As dedicated, hard-working Northeastern PhD students, we demand equal stipend rates for all. Therefore, we urge the College of Social Sciences and Humanities to equalize current students’ stipends to those of the new incoming class for the following dominant reasons:
FAIRNESS & PROMOTION OF A COLLEGIAL ENVIRONMENT:
Different stipend rates for PhD students within the same program will breed an environment of inequality. The university is implicitly stating that newer students deserve more financial support than older students, and this may lead to negative relations between students in the department. As a matter of principle, a PhD program should value its students equally, yet this funding policy assures that some students will appear more valuable than others and receive more material support in their academic pursuits. In this way, the department also fails to value the accumulated experience of its older cohorts, especially their roles as mentors to newer students. Moreover, due to the Graduate School’s new 10-hour TA policy for first year students, the older cohorts are increasingly taking over responsibility for TA/RA activities - yet they continue to receive lower compensation over the years.
We understand that as Northeastern University and our departments increase in stature, the university must offer more attractive incentive packages to new students in order to compete with other universities. However, those of us who have already been accepted and are currently enrolled in the program are at least in part responsible for the enhanced reputation of our programs. Further, we also face the dilemma of leaving the program (or supplementing our TA pay with other work that ultimately can detract from our effectiveness as teachers and aspiring scholars) in order to generate more income. A competitive stipend is necessary, but should be applied to all of us.
DISTORTED INCENTIVES:
Unequal stipend rates create a structure of disincentives for current students. This structure rewards new recruits at the expense of students making progress in the department, and this pattern becomes more troubling with each passing year. As it stands now, the new students will receive significantly higher monetary support than other students, regardless of the other students’ years of experience, accomplishments, or other merits. Along with damaging department morale, funding is only one factor considered by potential PhD students and is usually dwarfed by other considerations, including research interests and job placement opportunities.
RETENTION RATES & ACADEMIC SUCCESS:
In time, the distorted incentives created by this funding system may show themselves in the performance of PhD students across programs. With less funding and support, older graduates will have less time to dedicate to their classes and research, and they will have less incentive to remain fully dedicated to their programs. In the long run, these trends may harm the success of graduate program rankings overall, as too many graduate students will not be supported at the same level as others, hindering their potential for publications and other projects.
In light of these main factors, the Northeastern PhD students petition for the equalization of stipend rates across cohorts. As it stands, the current system promotes only unfairness, disunity, and disincentives that harm the future of our university as a whole.