Student Union
Harvard, Student Union Reach Agreement
Harvard University reached a tentative agreement this week with its 4,400 graduate student union who “teach, conduct research and work on campus,” according to news sources.
If the contract is ratified, it would be “the first in university history to provide more than 4,000 student workers at Harvard with workplace protections,” according to the student-run Harvard Crimson.
Student workers will now be granted a 2.8 percent pay raise, a minimum wage of $16 per hour for “for non-salaried student workers,” and $17 per hour “for students with hourly instructional roles.”
Teaching assistants working at one of Harvard’s professionals schools will also receive a pay raise, up to “$5,520 per section per semester.” Health and child care will also be elevated, the university will now “[guarantee] union members up to $575,000 in funds to cover dental costs, co-pays, and other out-of-pocket expenses.”
And for child care, “the union also secured childcare subsidies via a new $350,000 fund,” the Crimson reported.
In an email to faculty, Harvard Provost Alan Garber announced that students are "the heart of our institution,” and said the university’s decision “appropriately addresses the employment-related concerns of our student workers, while also ensuring the integrity of the University’s research and teaching mission.”
The students and the university reached the agreement on June 15 after 19 months of bargaining and a strike in December 2019.
The new union is called the Harvard Graduate Student Workers-United Automobile Workers.
The compromise between Harvard and its graduate students does not include some “prominent demands,” according to WBUR Radio, including “the right for student workers to bring complaints of harassment and discrimination to a neutral process of arbitration.”
Ruby Rosenthal contributed to this report.
See all News Updates of the Day
Fewer students disclose race in applications to top colleges
FAfter the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions last year, fewer students are disclosing their race or ethnicity in applications to top colleges.
Writing in USA Today, Zachary Schermele notes that the data is preliminary, but it could signal a change in the way students are approaching college applications. (October 2024)
Overall college enrollment is up, first-year enrollment down
For the second year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, college enrollment has climbed in the United States.
But the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center noticed a substantial drop in the number of freshmen, which could be troubling for future enrollment, according to a report in Forbes. (October 2024)
South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool
The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their curricula. Experts say this step is not only innovative but also helps level the playing field among students. Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.
International students may be able to get jobs at school
International students studying in the United States may be able to work on campus.
Jobs can include working in libraries, labs, food service and dormitories – but students will have to research the rules before applying for jobs, according to U.S. News & World Report. (September 2024)
Report says college rankings have the potential to mislead
Each year, prominent lists of college and university rankings are compiled and released to the public, but a report conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago says those rankings have the potential to mislead.
Writing in Forbes, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier says changing methodologies can distort results, and profit motives can create doubt. He argues that rankings should be replaced by an objective rating system. (September 2024)
