THESIS STUDENTS are now guaranteed minimum office space and computer access under a “dazzling” new agreement between the University and the Post Graduate Students’ Association (PGSA).
The agreement sets out the minimum resources available to students studying at Masters and PhD level and includes access to staff email and internet accounts, faculty grants of $2000 per year to cover research costs, a minimum of 4-5 square meters of office space and access to a dedicated computer.
The agreement was the product of 15 months of discussion between the University and the PGSA. Graeme Whimp, President of the PGSA, says the agreement is “remarkable and pretty dazzling. I’m not sure of standards which meet this minimum anywhere else in the country. Auckland University has minimum resource standards, but only for PhD students. Whimp says what makes the agreement revolutionary is the protocol for addressing concerns. The agreement sets in place a process for complaints, and unresolved concerns will be addressed personally by Deputy Vice Chancellor Neil Quigley.
Quigley says the agreement is an important part of retaining, and bringing, post graduate students to Vic. “We can’t expect to attract good post graduate students to Victoria unless we provide good facilities for them to work in,” he says.
The agreement will be reviewed in 2009.