Assembly Resolution

November 7, 2008

GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENT ORGANIZATION (GPSO)

RESOLUTION ON ESTABLISHING A COMMITTEE UNDER THE PROVOST TO PERIODICALLY REVIEW AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SALARIES OF STUDENT ACADEMIC APPOINTEES AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY-BLOOMINGTON

WHEREAS, the recent data report by the Graduate and Professional Student Organization (GPSO) on salary and benefits packages at institutions in the Big Ten indicate that some graduate and professional students at Indiana University may receive significantly smaller salary packages than their peers at other Big Ten institutions, and

WHEREAS, this data report further indicates that, in particular, students in the Humanities and Social Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington earn significantly smaller salaries than their peers at other Big Ten institutions, and

WHEREAS, the discrepancy between the salary packages of students in the Physical Sciences and students in the Humanities and Social Science at Indiana University-Bloomington appears to have grown larger in recent years, and

WHEREAS, the health benefits and cost of living in Bloomington does not immediately appear to correct for any difference in salary structure of graduate students at Indiana University-Bloomington and their peers at other Big Ten institutions, and

WHEREAS, in the current economic climate, prospective graduate students increasingly emphasize the available financial packages in choosing to attend an institution, and

WHEREAS, the available packages hinder the ability of academic departments at Indiana University-Bloomington to continue recruiting the best and brightest graduate students, and

WHEREAS, this body recognizes the many potential problems involved in making comparisons of salary packages across institutions, and

WHEREAS, this body recognizes the substantial, positive impact made by the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) at Indiana University-Bloomington in their recent decision to raise the minimum pay threshold for Student Academic Appointees (SAAs) in COAS, and

WHEREAS, given these many considerations, this body finds a need for an institutional mechanism to periodically review the potential impact of the different programs’ SAAs stipends on the overall quality and competitiveness of Indiana University-Bloomington, and

WHEREAS, this body believes such a mechanism should be comprised of informed individuals and be representative of the Indiana University-Bloomington community,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the GPSO Assembly proposes the creation of a committee to review differences between the stipends of graduate students in the different programs at Indiana University-Bloomington and their peers at comparable programs at other institutions and to make recommendations on establishing a minimum pay thresholds for SAAs at Indiana University-Bloomington, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, to allow the most informed, representative and effective discussion of these issues, that this body recommends that the proposed committee be convened every other year, be organized under and report to the Provost, be chaired by the Dean of the University Graduate School and be comprised of an administrator, faculty member and graduate or professional student from each school that awards SAA fellowships at Indiana University-Bloomington.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the GPSO Assembly this 7th day of November 2008.

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GPSO President