CMST Grad Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

The Department of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University stands committed to the advancement of graduate education. This commitment is founded upon the preservation of an intellectual environment for graduate students to pursue scholarly inquiry and professional development. It is our view that such values are best advanced through the combined efforts of faculty, staff, and students toward the protection and enrichment of a department culture receptive to the rights and responsibilities of graduate students under the principles of safety, equity, and transparency. 

Safety

Members of the Department should feel physically, professionally, and emotionally safe. All departmental citizens have the right to feel safe and the responsibility to maintain a safe environment. This includes, but is not limited to, an environment free of physical danger, harassment, exploitation, or discrimination. 

Equity

All members of the Department should be treated equally in ways commensurate with rank and professional rights and responsibilities. Furthermore, the principle of equity affirms the importance of addressing the unique needs of individuals associated with a legally-protected status and/or membership in a historically marginalized population. All members of the Department should be respected—in concrete ways—for who they are.

Transparency

While members of the Department will vary in terms of the roles they play in governance, all members of the department should be made aware, unless specific policies forbid it, of changes in policy, as well as the rationales for such changes in a timely fashion. All members of the Department are entitled to transparent policies with regard to evaluation and discipline, as well as transparency regarding expectations.

This document elucidates your rights and responsibilities as a graduate student within the Department of Communication Studies at LSU. This should be understood primarily as an aspirational document outlining a set of guiding principles for the Department. These are rights, not policies. Thus, refer to the University and Departmental Graduate Student Handbooks, the Department of Communication Studies Bylaws, relevant LSU policy statements and permanent memoranda, and the Student Code of Conduct for information regarding University, College, and Departmental policies.

 

Graduate Student Rights

1. Graduate students have a right to refuse to perform tasks if those tasks are not closely related to their academic or professional development program, and/or are outside the parameters of their contracted assistantship.
   1. A student’s vulnerability in having a lesser status and authority in the academic unit or lesser experience in the academic field of study should not be exploited to the personal advantage of faculty members.
   2. Students should not be coerced into performing tasks in grievous excess of other students because of characteristics that are vulnerable to discrimination.
2. Graduate students have a right to academic freedom as outlined by University policies and principles outlined by the American Association of University Professors.
   1. Graduate students, both inside and outside the classroom, have unrestricted liberty to question and test received wisdom and to put forward controversial and unpopular opinions.
   2. The Department has no right to curb the exercise of this freedom or to use it as grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal.
3. Graduate students have a right to full-faith consultation and mediation if they believe their rights are infringed.
   1. Students should be made aware of all available Department and University avenues for filing grievances, seeking guidance and/or mediation, or otherwise securing advocacy when they feel their rights have been infringed.
   2. Students with grievances against them should be given the opportunity for full-faith consultation and mediation before actions are taken against them.
   3. Students deserve to defend themselves at the hearings.
4. Graduate students have a right to be respected as a person of merit and junior colleague upon gaining admission to a graduate program.
   1. Graduate students have a right to study and work in an environment free of:
      • Exploitation, intimidation, harassment, and discrimination based on characteristics such as gender, race, age, sexual orientation, gender expression, family status, disability, requests for disability accommodation, religious or political affiliations, country of origin, and country of citizenship.
   2. Graduate students have a right to an intellectually stimulating and diverse academic environment that includes members from historically underrepresented groups.
   3. Graduate students have a right to professionalism and reasonable confidentiality in their communications with professors.
   4. A graduate student’s performance or behavior should only be discussed for professional purposes and in a collegial manner.
   5. Graduate students have a right to a fair living wage.
5. Graduate students have a right to professional development as an essential aspect of graduate and professional students’ present and future professional lives.
   1. Graduate students have ownership and access to their intellectual property. They have authorship and acknowledgment on scholarly publications commensurate with their contribution to such works.
   2. Graduate students can take part in activities to foster their professional development including, but not limited to, internships, relevant conferences, volunteer experience, workshops, and courses.
   3. Graduate students have access to professional and academic guidance from their advisor and other members of the graduate faculty.
   4. Graduate students cannot have their progress hindered by graduate faculty as long as the student is within good standing with the Department.
   5. Graduate students can change their faculty advisor.
   6. Graduate students have a right to all funding and benefits as outlined in their contract as long as they have abided by the terms of the contract, and maintained good academic standing in the Department.
6. Graduate students have a right to an objective evaluation of their progress towards an advanced degree.
   1. Graduate students have a right to specific and concrete requirements for achieving an advanced degree. These requirements should be communicated clearly to them upon entrance to the graduate program.
   2. Graduate students should be given a fair opportunity to correct or remedy deficiencies in their academic performance.
   3. Evaluations should be objective, specific, rooted in established disciplinary norms, consistent with University policy, and should be shared with the student within a reasonable period of time. Annual progress reports should be available to the student in writing.
   4. Any intent to rescind funding must be preceded by specific, written performance information well in advance of discontinuing funding..
   5. No changes to degree requirements should affect students previously accepted into the graduate program or academic focus except at the option of the student.
   6. Prospective and currently enrolled graduate students have a right to know the “average and normative time to degree” within a specific graduate program.
7. Graduate students have a right to be informed of financial and resource support.
   1. The Department should provide an accurate description of availability and the likelihood of ongoing financial and resource support.
   2. Prospective and currently enrolled graduate students should be provided a thorough description of the requirements and qualifications necessary for academic employment, training, and financial support within the Department and the University.
8. Graduate students have a right to representation within the Department and participation in governance where appropriate.
   1. The Graduate Student Association reserves the right to form and maintain a governing body within the Department that is free from coercion.
   2. The Graduate Student Association should be informed when new committees are formed, committee names change, or committees take on new responsibilities.
   3. Graduate students should have representatives on standing and ad-hoc committees where appropriate.

Graduate Student Responsibilities

1. Graduate students have a responsibility to uphold and follow Department and University missions and policies at a level appropriate to their ability and graduate program.
2. Graduate students have a responsibility to help foster a professional climate in which all faculty, staff, and students (both graduate and undergraduate) feel safe.
   1. Graduate students should clearly communicate professional boundaries with faculty and fellow graduate students, and to respect others’ boundaries.
3. Graduate students have a responsibility to participate in the Department community to the extent that each is able, and should leave the Department enriched in whatever ways possible.
   1. To contribute to the academic development and the social environment of the Department and program in which they are pursuing the advanced degree.
   2. To contribute to administration of the Department Graduate Student Association, student government, and/or the University.
4. Graduate students have a responsibility to take the initiative in asking questions that promote their understanding of the academic requirements and the financial particulars of their specific graduate program.
5. Graduate students have a responsibility to conduct themselves, in all educational activities, in a manner befitting academic colleagues.
   1. Graduate students’ behavior should be professional and a credit to themselves, the Department, and the University.
6. Graduate students have a responsibility to be respectful of all faculty, staff, and students as persons of merit and dignity.
   1. Graduate students play an active role in fostering an environment free of:
      • Exploitation, intimidation, harassment, and discrimination based on characteristics such as gender, race, age, sexual orientation, gender expression, family status, disability, requests for disability accommodation, religious or political affiliations, country of origin, and country of citizenship.
   2. Graduate students have a responsibility to help promote an intellectually stimulating and diverse academic environment that is hospitable to members from historically underrepresented groups.
   3. Graduate students have a responsibility to maintain professionalism and reasonable confidentiality in their communications with professors.
7. Graduate students have a responsibility to focus primarily on their academic career and apply energy toward the advanced degree within normative time, except when special circumstances apply.
8. Graduate students have a responsibility to uphold ethical norms in research and scholarship and provide accurate and honest reporting of research results, research methodology, and scholarship.
9. Graduate students have a responsibility to understand their role in the development of the relationship between faculty mentor and graduate student.
   1. To have an awareness of time constraints and other demands imposed on faculty members and program staff.
   2. To communicate regularly with faculty, mentors, and advisors in matters related to research and progress within the graduate program.