What rights do graduate students have in the face of ambiguous policies, poor teaching or even unethical faculty?
Until now, there hasn't been a clear answer to that question. But in December, an APAGS working group developed a document that they hope will help students take action in the event of such scenarios. The "Position Statement on the Rights of Psychology Graduate Students" broadly covers student rights as to institutional environment, program policies, professional and educational training opportunities, and appeals and grievances.
"This document outlines what students ought to expect from their graduate programs," says APAGS Assistant Director Eddy Ameen, PhD, who advised the working group on the development of the statement with the research help of then-APAGS intern Rita Dwan. "We have so many programs, disciplines, training models, pedagogies and generational differences across psychology higher education that APAGS saw it as our duty to outline a minimum set of criteria that could unite students from these various programs."
Student bills of rights have been gaining traction in recent years as students have become increasingly vocal about perceived poor treatment in their institutions. According to research by APAGS, those concerns have included, for example, a lack of quality health insurance, inadequate policies for airing complaints, or faculty who don't sufficiently credit students who contribute toward research publications.
APAGS plans to submit its statement to the APA Council of Representatives for possible approval this year. But that it isn't yet official policy doesn't mean students can't benefit from it now, says former APAGS Chair Emily Voelkel, PhD, who chaired the bill of rights working group.
"Psychology graduate students can still use it to advocate for their needs," she says. "They can take it to their program developers, directors of clinical training or other officials in their program or institution and say, ‘These are the things that APAGS has said should be the rights of people in our program.'"
The document also can serve as a template to help program developers design new programs or modify existing ones, provide a starting point for student discussions and help students who have experienced such difficulties feel they're not alone, she says.
"It can be validating to see in a document that other people must have experienced these kinds of things," Voelkel says.
APAGS is seeking input from fellow grad students on how to use and distribute the document. The working group also welcomes suggestions on how the document could be improved. Post your comments on the APAGS blog.
To access an electronic version of the statement, visit the APAGS blog post noted above, or find it at "Position Statement on the Rights of Psychology Graduate Students".