In an age when Facebook study groups and PowerPoint lectures are an accepted part of studying at university, there are still students fighting to integrate more technology on campus.
That’s where the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) comes in.
SOGS, which represents about 3,700 full-time and 450 part-time Western graduate students, is working with the university’s administration to allow graduate students to make online thesis submissions, a first for the school.
“We’ve been trying to get them going on that for a couple years,” says Dan Dechene, former vice-president (external affairs and communications) for SOGS.
A test trial for the submissions was in the works this past spring, with full implementation hopefully this fall, he says.
It’s one of the aims of the organization, which is structured like the University Students’ Council but for graduate students, to work with administration to help make better conditions for the people it represents.
SOGS also mediates problems of an academic nature on behalf of graduate students. Ensuring students have adequate office and research space and access to quality housing and funding are key priorities.
Many graduate students are also starting to buy property in London and renting to undergraduate students because they know they’re going to be stationed in the city for four to six years while they complete their work, Dechene says, adding it’s also meant as a good financial investment.
SOGS hopes to host more information sessions in the coming year on such trends as they become more and more popular, he says.
Recognizing such new student interests helps the organization stay fresh, along with spicing up popular events with interesting speakers.
For example, Jorge Cham of PhD Comics was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Western Graduate Research Forum. Cham is well known for his Piled Higher and Deeper comic strips, which are about the trials and tribulations of graduate school.
SOGS organizes the annual forum, which is in partnership with the School of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Students, formerly the Faculty of Graduate Studies. It’s an event where students showcase their research and win substantial financial prizes.
In terms of academics, there are two categories of graduate programs at Western: one where students have to pay tuition for programs without funding – typically one-year programs – and one where students get funding to do research-based graduate studies.
SOGS is important because it’s easier on graduate students to have all their needs met in one place from one organization, which is also a strong voice for them, Dechene says.
“There’s a lot that can be said when you get a larger group of students together.”
SOGS has also been working with Western’s administration to make the school more welcoming to graduate students with families by ensuring there is adequate family-friendly housing and access to daycare and proper leave policies.
As well, last year there was a push at Western to increase the amount of funded graduate research, with targets of 5,000 graduate students by 2010, and 10,000 graduate students by 2014.
SOGS is also lobbying for aid to ease the financial burden on international students, who pay $3,000 for health insurance for their families in addition to standard tuition and fees, when participating in graduate programs in Ontario.
In addition, SOGS administers services such as the graduate student health plan, financial aid and awards. And it puts out a quarterly publication, called Western Graduate Review, which profiles graduate students from the university.
It also owns and operates the Grad Club, a bar/restaurant located in Middlesex College. The Grad Club is open to all staff and graduate students. It offers a boardroom for rental, which has even been done for a wedding, and the only outdoor patio on campus. All profits raised from the Grad Club go toward student bursaries.
Some important dates for graduate students include:
• Sept. 8
International Graduate Teaching Assistant Conference
View Program/Register: https://uwo.ca/tsc/ita_day.html
• Sept. 9
Graduate Student Conference on Teaching
View Program/Register: https://uwo.ca/tsc/ta_day.html
For more information, visit SOGS, or contact Vice-President (External) Saidur Chowdhury or President Rick Telfer.