Support and Climate Communications Channels for Ph.D. Students

 

Goal: 

• Establish clear channels within the engineering school for Ph.D. students to discuss wellness and other academic issues in a safe manner that protects their privacy and academic standing in the school.
• These channels will be used for the following purposes: 
  • Academic-related stress issues or challenges with progress in the doctoral program
  • Advisor-advisee relationships or explore switching advisors
  • Reporting misconduct of faculty member(s) toward graduate students

 

 Departmental-level channel:

• Within the department, students are encouraged to reach out to Graduate Group Chairs, Program Directors, and/or graduate administrators as their first line of support on adviser-advisee issues and other academic issues.  
• If needed, the Graduate Group Chairs and graduate administrators will escalate to the department chair and Graduate Dean to assist.

 

School-level channels:

• The Office of Academic Services Graduate Advising Team is available to meet with students who are experiencing an academic or related concern. The staff provide a safe space for students in the event they prefer to reach out to someone outside of their department.  The Graduate advisors can also refer students to relevant University-level services.
• Any potential faculty misconduct will be reported to the Graduate Dean, who will initiate an investigation inquiry in consultation with the Dean.

 

Student-led channels:

• The Dean’s Doctoral Advisory Board meets with the Graduate Dean on a monthly basis to provide feedback and raise concerns on behalf of students. The list of board members is listed on the SEAS Students Slack channel (upennseascomms.slack.com) as a pinned post.
• Students are encouraged to approach the student leaders (only if they are comfortable)  to raise any concerns that they may have.
• The president of GSEG, and a representative from the Dean’s Doctoral Advisory Board will attend the monthly Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC) meeting chaired by the Graduate Dean. The committee is composed of the six graduate group chairs and graduate staff from the Office of Academic Services (OAS). 
• The student leaders can also directly report incidents to the Graduate Dean. 

 

University resources:

• Penn Ombuds (https://ombuds.upenn.edu/) – provides mediation services between faculty and students and confidential exploration of options
• Bias Incident Reporting Form (https://diversity.upenn.edu/diversity-at-penn/bias-motivated-incident-report)  – report incidents of bias involving Penn students, faculty or staff, anonymously if you wish
• Graduate Group Feedback Form (https://vpe.wufoo.com/forms/w1dk1nrj0k8ihvl) – for PhD students wishing to report on academic experiences within their Graduate Group.
• University Compliance reporting mechanism P-Comply hotline (phone and email): https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/22868/index.html
• Penn CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services). https://caps.wellness.upenn.edu/
• PENN SIS (Student Intervention Services) https://home.vpul.upenn.edu/intervention/ 
• A list of all University reporting options can be found at https://gsc.upenn.edu/resources/wellness/safety-and-campus-conduct#reporting