All-expense paid trips to the dentist instead of Cancun may be the deciding factor for graduate teaching assistants who are considering Syracuse University to pursue their graduate studies.

The dental plan is one of several improvements to be offered to graduate teaching assistants for the 2003-2004 academic year. Other improvements include an increase in the assistants’ stipend, reduced parking rates, student access to recreational services, a childcare information service and additional graduate hours for a spouse or domestic partner.

John Mercer, dean of the graduate school, said the changes are a step in the right direction.

‘The dental plan is really the major new benefit,’ Mercer said. ‘The rest are more like improvements, or services.’

The university is providing these improvements because of two main considerations, said Neil Strodel, associate vice president of the Office of Human Resources.

‘From time to time, we do market surveys where we analyze what graduate assistants are looking for,’ Strodel said. ‘We’re trying to recruit them and we have a list of things that are important to them. We have to stack up against the competition.’

SU’s Graduate Student Organization had also been calling for a greater representation on campus and specific benefits. In response, the Office of Human Resources began looking more closely at the various benefits that could be offered.

‘The administration thought that it was timely to listen closely to what the graduate assistants’ problems and issues were,’ Strodel said.

Only those graduate students who are classified as graduate assistants are eligible for the improvements because assistants are treated in many ways as members of the staff, Strodel said. In other instances, graduate assistants deserve specific student benefits, such as access to recreational services and reduced parking rates.

‘Students felt that in some cases they were classified as students, sometimes as staff,’ Mercer said. ‘Historically, that issue had not been looked at consistently.’

Abdou Abdel-Rehim, a graduate student studying physics, is pleased with the benefits and is especially happy with the dental plan and parking rates.

‘I just hope they continue to make improvements in the future,’ Abdel-Rehim said. ‘There shouldn’t need to be outside pressure from other organizations to keep making improvements.’

All of the changes are the result of heavy campaigning by the Graduate Student Organization to other offices of the university, Mercer said.

‘They’ve taken a lot of initiative this year,’ he said. ‘I’m impressed with all that they’ve accomplished.’

Published on April 1, 2003 at 12:00 pm