The administration and various faculty members are working to soften any added constraints graduate students may experience, including teaching more classes next year, as a result of University-wide budget cuts.
"I'm trying to create new courses and sections for undergraduate students next year, as well as new opportunities for graduate students to teach," College Dean Edward L. Ayers said.
Ayers said he does not foresee graduate students suffering any unreasonable burdens next year.
"One thing we will not do is simply load more work on graduate students without additional compensation, he said. "Some departments will rely more on graduate students than others, depending on their particular situation."
University Provost Gene Block voiced similar sentiments, noting the University's efforts to attend to graduate students' needs.
"Budgetary problems may have some impact on whether there are increases in graduate student support," Block said. "However, the University is trying hard to improve the financial situation for graduate students."
Several department chairs said they appreciated the administration's support.
"I think the deans are very responsive to the needs of graduate students," English Dept. Chairman Michael H. Levenson said.
The English department does not anticipate placing graduate students in new positions of responsibility, Levenson said, but he does expect "a scrambling to figure out enrollment pressure."
Even if their responsibilities do not change next year, many University graduate students will encounter increased pressures.
"The budget crisis makes the problem of paying them harder. And in a few areas, the workload may increase a small amount," Faculty Senate Chairman Robert M. Grainger said.
The University's freeze on faculty hiring will have a large effect on a graduate student's workload, he said.
"If you can't hire new faculty, you still have to keep teaching certain courses," he added. "And in that case, you might ask graduate students to fill in."
But History Dept. Chairman Charles McCurdy said he does not expect history graduate student duties to change greatly next year.
"We won't put any more graduate students in classrooms next year than we did this year," McCurdy said. "And we intend to hold section sizes constant"
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