Boston University Arts & Sciences

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Student Issues

Although you are the main supervisor of the academic programs of the department, there are a few key players to whom most of the day-to-day operations can be delegated: the directors of undergraduate and graduate studies and the administrative assistant. It is up to you to appoint the most suitable people to these positions and to work with them to develop a well-functioning system that promotes the education and academic lives of the students.

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students with whom your department is concerned tend to fall into three basic categories: those whose major is in your department; those whose minor is in your department; those who take courses in your department either to fulfill the Divisional Studies (“distribution”) requirement or as electives.

The last group interacts almost exclusively with their course instructors, but the major and minor concentrators require attention in a variety of forms: academic advising, scheduling, posted information, department-sponsored student organizations, and availability of opportunities for directed study, work for distinction, and, if relevant, research. Your department therefore must have a system for taking care of their needs, and you should encourage your faculty to become (or remain) deeply engaged in the academic lives of the students.

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Direct oversight of the advising system and other interactions with students is the duty of the department’s director of undergraduate studies (DUS). (In some departments, an associate chair plays this role.) The person that you appoint to this position needs to

• know and understand the various undergraduate academic programs in the department as well as the degree requirements in the College
• have the necessary commitment to students and amiable personality to appear accessible to undergraduates
• be capable of organizing the department's advising system and working with the department faculty to provide students with competent, caring advice on academic issues and related matters (such as post-graduation employment possibilities).

With a good person in this role, you can delegate most of the responsibilities for the undergraduate program to your DUS. On the other hand, you should maintain sufficient involvement and visibility so that students recognize you on graduation day!

Graduate Students

Your department’s graduate program is intimately related to its scholarly as well as educational activities. In the classroom, your faculty imparts to your graduate students the advanced knowledge and techniques of the discipline, and many of these graduate students in turn serve as instructors in your department’s undergraduate courses. PhD students become their professors’ apprentices, learning the tricks of the trade and advancing their specialized areas of scholarly inquiry. In some cases, especially in the sciences, graduate students are integral members of their professors’ research groups and help to maintain the high level of activity required to carry out world-class research.

These wide-ranging roles played by graduate students require a multi-faceted, nurturing system to administer to their needs. These needs include planning their course of study, securing financial assistance, training as instructors and as research assistants, preparing for exams (e.g., a departmental comprehensive exam required for a master's degree), selecting a topic for their thesis or dissertation, choosing a faculty research advisor, selecting members of examining committees, making available adequate scholarly resources, maintaining facilities conducive to their scholarly work, and providing social activities.

Director of Graduate Studies

The faculty coordinator of your department’s graduate program is the Director of Graduate Studies. You should select a director who is organized, attentive to detail, and personable. That person will need to be familiar with financial aid matters, the graduate curriculum, degree requirements, and other rules and regulations (e.g., visa issues).