The Graduate and Professional Student Council at SIU-Carbondale is trying to improve the experience for those seeking advanced degrees.
GPSC President Clay Awsumb Wednesday presented an overview of findings from a 2018 survey of graduate and professional students.
He says students seem to enjoy their programs, but they had more negative views about the direction of SIU-C.
"You have someone that says, 'I wouldn't attend here again, even though I like my faculty, even though I like my courses.' So, there's got to be something about how we're actually delivering that faculty and those courses and that mentorship that becomes problematic."
Awsumb says learning what the results mean will take in-person discussions with students.
He says the GPSC also wants to know about how many students work off-campus to make ends meet.
"In so far the assumption being that it would be better for those individuals not to have to work off-campus and to focus entirely on their studies."
Awsumb says the survey found about 10 percent of survey respondents work off-campus. He thought the number would be higher. But, he says that means SIU-C does a good job of providing assistantships.
The 2019 student survey is wrapping up this week. The goal is to have comprehensive reports on both surveys ready by September.
About 15-percent of students responded to the 2018 survey.