Arts & Humanities Student Survey Results
Spring 2015
Submitted by Shelby Hamm
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
2
Table of Contents
Executive Summery............................................................................................................................4
Top Three Areas in Need of Improvement Overall: ............................................................................................................ 4
Top Three Areas of Performance Overall: .......................................................................................................................... 4
Areas for Improvement by Department (50% or fewer students satisfied): ...................................................................... 4
Quantitative Results – Multiple Choice Responses ..............................................................................5
Total Respondents by Department ................................................................................................................................. 5
Please select the current degree you are seeking. ......................................................................................................... 5
Please select your residency. .......................................................................................................................................... 5
How would you describe the advising you received during coursework?...................................................................... 5
How would you describe the advising you received in preparing for your qualifying exams? ...................................... 6
How would you describe the advising you received in preparing and writing your thesis or dissertation? .................. 6
How much have the faculty encouraged your professional development? ................................................................... 7
Have you gained any teaching experience this year? ..................................................................................................... 7
How satisfied are you with accessibility for appointments with faculty? ...................................................................... 7
How satisfied are you with faculty response times to emails calls?............................................................................... 8
How satisfied are you with the course subjects offered?............................................................................................... 8
How satisfied are you the course times offered? ........................................................................................................... 8
How satisfied are you with the days courses are offered? ............................................................................................. 9
How satisfied are you with Arts & Humanities staff overall? ......................................................................................... 9
Have you visited the Career Services Office this semester? ........................................................................................... 9
Have you gone to any Preparing Future Faculty programs this semester? .................................................................. 10
Qualitative Results – Written Responses........................................................................................... 10
How could your coursework advising experience have been improved? .................................................................... 10
How could your qualifying exam advising experience have been improved? .............................................................. 12
How could your thesis/dissertation advising have been improved? ............................................................................ 14
What suggestions do you have for improving how much faculty encouraged your professional development? ....... 14
How have faculty helped you gain teaching experience this year? How could they better help in the future? ......... 18
How could your satisfaction with course offerings, times, or days be improved? ....................................................... 21
What other suggestions do you have for the faculty, staff, or school? ........................................................................ 23
Have you visited the Career Services Office this semester? If yes, how satisfied were you with the experience? If no,
why have you not visited the office? ............................................................................................................................ 26
Have you gone to any Preparing Future Faculty programs this semester? If yes, how satisfied were you with the
experience? If no, why have you not gone to the programs? ...................................................................................... 27
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
3
What advocacy issues would you like to see the Student Council of Arts & Humanities (SCAH) pursue? .................. 29
What types of programming or community events would you like to see? ................................................................ 32
What panel or speaker topics would you like to see? .................................................................................................. 33
Do you have any other comments or questions? ......................................................................................................... 35
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
Executive Summery
Summery is based on overall responses to all questions, both multiple-choice and text entry, within the survey.
Top Three Areas in Need of Improvement for Arts & Humanities:
1. Qualifying Exam Preparation
a. Lowest total satisfaction score, 56% of students are satisfied
b. Same as last year, but satisfaction improved 17%
2. Course Subjects Offered
a. Second lowest total satisfaction score, 62% of students are satisfied
b. Same as last year, but satisfaction improved 5%
3. More TA Positions
a. Most requested topic in writing sections
b. Same as last year
Top Three Areas of Performance for Arts & Humanities:
1. A&H Staff
a. Highest total satisfaction score, 87% of students are satisfied
2. Faculty Encouraging Professional Development
a. Second highest total satisfaction score, 83% of students are satisfied
3. Days Courses are Offered
a. Third highest total satisfaction score, 79% of students are satisfied
Areas for Improvement by Department (50% or fewer students satisfied):
1. Advising - Thesis/Dissertation
a. Music
0%
b. Cultural Studies
25%
c. Philosophy
50%
2. Advising - Qualifying Exams
a. History
33%
b. Cultural Studies
50%
3. Advising - Course Work
a. Arts Management
4. Course Times
a. Women’s Studies
b. Arts Management
c. Philosophy
d. Cultural Studies
5. Course Subjects
a. Music
b. History
c. Philosophy
d. Arts Management
40%
41%
43%
50%
6. Appointments With faculty
a. Art
40%
b. Arts Management
40%
33%
33%
40%
43%
45%
7. Email Response Times
a. Music
b. Cultural Studies
40%
42%
4
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
Quantitative Results – Multiple Choice Responses
Notes on methodology: All percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number. Totals marked “-” mean
that students did not find the question applicable for their current situation.
Total Respondents by Department
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
Students
3
5
7
12
32
17
5
9
32
122
Please select the current degree you are seeking.
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
PhD
83%
78%
59%
80%
33%
88%
66%
MA
100%
100%
100%
17%
19%
41%
20%
56%
9%
28%
<10
33%
40%
43%
42%
50%
41%
60%
67%
52%
49%
10+
67%
60%
57%
58%
50%
59%
40%
33%
48%
51%
Other
3%
11%
3%
5%
Please select your residency.
Miles from CGU
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
How would you describe the advising you received during coursework?
5
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
100%
60%
33%
58%
62%
76%
60%
67%
61%
67%
How would you describe the advising you received in preparing for your qualifying exams?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
100%
100%
100%
50%
62%
33%
60%
55%
56%
How would you describe the advising you received in preparing and writing your thesis or dissertation?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
75%
25%
89%
80%
0%
50%
68%
65%
6
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
How much have the faculty encouraged your professional development?
A lot or Some
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
100%
100%
100%
73%
89%
94%
80%
86%
64%
83%
Have you gained any teaching experience this year?
A lot or Some
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
0%
40%
17%
50%
50%
29%
40%
14%
46%
40%
How satisfied are you with accessibility for appointments with faculty?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
100%
40%
40%
67%
82%
82%
60%
57%
71%
72%
7
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
How satisfied are you with faculty response times to emails calls?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
100%
100%
83%
42%
79%
71%
40%
86%
79%
74%
How satisfied are you with the course subjects offered?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
67%
60%
50%
55%
71%
41%
40%
43%
81%
62%
How satisfied are you the course times offered?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
33%
60%
40%
45%
83%
65%
60%
43%
84%
68%
8
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015
How satisfied are you with the days courses are offered?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
67%
60%
80%
82%
83%
76%
60%
57%
88%
79%
How satisfied are you with Arts & Humanities staff overall?
Satisfied or Very Satisfied
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
100%
100%
50%
91%
89%
88%
60%
100%
89%
87%
Have you visited the Career Services Office this semester?
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
Yes
0%
60%
17%
25%
7%
12%
0%
14%
11%
14%
9
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 10
Have you gone to any Preparing Future Faculty programs this semester?
Applied Women’s Studies
Art
Arts Management
Cultural Studies
English
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion
Total
Yes
33%
20%
0%
17%
14%
24%
20%
14%
11%
15%
Qualitative Results – Written Responses
How could your coursework advising experience have been improved?
Most Common Responses:

Advisors are disinterested


More guidance and contact with advisors
Regularly scheduled meetings with advisors

Advisors do not know the requirements

Advisors not helping with career goals or information
Responses:
1. Show more interest in the fact that I have to make a career from this and offer advice
earlier
2. If only professors could respond to emails more promptly...
3. While the advising that I have received was pertinent to the taking of classes, there is
much more that I wish I could have, including better advising with regard to the state of
jobs in academia, and how my education prepares me to be competitive in such a state.
Congruent with this would be advising on how to become more prepared for postgraduation realities
4. This could be improved with a dedicated staff of advisers that know the ins and outs of
CGU and the coursework necessary for a student to graduate on time. It can be very
frustrating when you have no idea what classes will count towards credits for graduation.
I have experienced this as an undergrad and it left a very unpleasant memory in a sea of
good.
5. more overall departmental community and professorial presence
6. It would be helpful if my enthusiasm for a subject could be met by a professor's
resourcefulness. In other words, good ideas about where to look for things, etc. This is a
marginal suggestion, however, because my experience with advising has been quite good.
7. One possible recommendation would be to have formal midterm advising sessions.
8. more regular contact with my advisor... most was done via email, so often she had no
idea where I was in my progress or what my aims/goals were
9. My initial adviser, Marlene Daut, was rarely around, and during my 3 1/2 years of
coursework, I saw her once. I was interested in working with her, but I did not because I
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 11
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
was not sure if and when she would be available during the next steps of my degree. The
department seems to have a lot of faculty absences for such a small department.
My advisor could have paid more attention to my needs & requests...said advisor could
have also responded to emails much quicker. 3 months for a return email, or umpteen
emails about the same topic before a response excessive.
More time with professors after class when issues are fresh on our minds.
My advisor was great and any questions I had she could and would answer. So, I would
have not changed much.
Regularly scheduled (say, once a month) meetings with advisor(s).
CGU teachers have no concern for the welfare of their students. This university is a joke!
The only way it could have been improved is by hiring faculty who actually care. I am not
sure that is any system of boxes or charts on a job application that can prove this.
I had an issue with my financial aid that took some time to be resolved, the issue should
have never occurred in the first place, and should have been resolved almost
instantaneously.
More present faculty that can provide individual attention.
more contact between advisor and advisee would be helpful
Giving me more background on the courses and how they compliment my career goals.
having someone actually listen
my advisor needs to provide detailed information or direct me to proper resources
instead of a blanket "Gee - I don't know"
Haven't yet been in contact with my advisor... Was given new one and she is hard to get
ahold of. Intimidating, as well...
Greater timely feedback would be appreciated. Although, one may receive an "A," it
would be great to know why, this would help to shape us as scholars.
At times, replies to questions and concerns could be a little more prompt.
More information about quals process + professionalizing opportunities. I feel like much
of the job market is still a mystery to me. I want to know how I can be competitive in the
academic job market.
more guidance in the early stages of the program
In my opinion, I was referred to the website a lot. I would have preferred more face time
with someone. As a new student I had a lot of questions. I also received a lot of conflicting
answers.
it can be confusing when your advisor has strong opinions about your coursework
requirements yet is completely wrong - it's often unclear that department secretaries are
the best people to actually help with requirements.
I'm proactive about seeking advisement, so I got everything I needed during coursework.
Better use of email and/or introduction of collaboration software.
The advising could be more specific according to the situation of an individual student.
I can't think of anything I missed.
I think maybe a little more help understanding how to write a dissertation proposal.
I have been in two separate programs; in the first I was very unclear after speaking with
my adviser, but presently I am very clear. So I guess it all depends on the adviser. I also
think that the program requirements are very unclear for transdisciplinary studies, so that
really needs improving
The head of the philosophy department could not be such a sleezeball focused on his own
research rather than the lectures he is responsible for
More access.
couldn't have; Lori Anne is the BEST
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 12
37. More mentoring regarding finding a focus and specialization. I ended up taking courses
that were not specialized sufficiently.
38. I had Robert Dawidoff as an advisor. He didn't even give me grades for the classes I took.
CGU refused to hire any professors in my department. For the entire period I attended,
there was one full time professor in my department. I recommend that you look up the
acceptable student to teacher ratio for other colleges that cost the same amount as CGU.
39. I enjoyed the courses, but more advice should have been given to direct courses at
qualifying exams and dissertation.
40. Most unfortunately, my "real' advisor has been on leave during this, my first, year. My
replacement advisor (dept. chair) has been wonderful, but he is not involved in my course
work. He is extremely busy, and not in my field, per se. The "advising" I received from the
only member of my dept. from whom I have so far taken a course this year left much to
be desired. While he is a great personality in the classroom, the feeling during his office
hours is of being rushed. He has twice had his children in his office during my
appointments in his once-a-week hours, and when I finally managed to get an apt with
him outside of hours, telling him that I would come despite having to miss part of another
class to be there, he announced as soon as I arrived that he would have to leave in ten
min. to pick up his child. All this being said, if what I had received during these meetings
was valuable, encouraging, and supportive, I wouldn't be mentioning the childcare issue
at all, for which I have a lot of sympathy. On the contrary, my final meeting with this
professor (the rushed "ten minutes") was full of discouraging critique (at the end of my
first semester). He announced to me, perhaps defensively, that he saw the English dept.
as needing to be "whipped into shape" (presumably by him). Afterwards, it was hard not
to imagine that what he meant was: I needed to be whipped into shape. I do take issue
with this point of view, especially since I know myself to have been judged capable by
both my former institutions and CGU admissions. This advising experience made me feel
unworthy and incapable of participating in my field. Thank god I was mature enough to
seek out other advising to nurture and encourage me. Part of that has been in the dean's
office: she is tremendous and a big part of the reason I have moved on from this early
negative experience and recovered my enthusiasm and self-confidence. I look forward to
next year when my real advisor is back.
41. I love my advisor--but I do feel there is little communication between administration and
advisors
42. The advising experience could drastically improve through a structured protocol that
requires regular meetings with a knowledgeable and interested faculty member. Please
note the protocol suggested is dissimilar from the one ostensibly in place. The experience
would vastly improve if advisors were trained in and then guided by a checklist and
timeline for their fulfillment of their advisement obligations. Instead of sending out more
emails and having departmental notifications to encourage or force students to meet with
their advisors, there should be an acknowledgement that the quality of advisement varies
widely with the commitment of the faculty advisor, and no quantity of meetings can
compensate for a deficiency in the quality of advisement from a disinterested faculty
member.
How could your qualifying exam advising experience have been improved?
Most Common Responses:
 More guidance and contact with advisors
 Advisors need more knowledge of the requirements
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 13
Responses:
1. Be more available
2. My committee members were all very responsive and awesome.
3. Am not yet at that point in my studies.
4. More from my advisor... all help I received was through other professors who were more
invested in my progress
5. One of my qualifying examiners was on a leave, and a little difficult to get in touch with.
6. So far so good
7. It's unclear how the prospectus should look for our folio. Me and another student pieced
it together by talking to everyone else.
8. Increased communication between not only the student and their exam writers, but
between the department and exam writers. Two of my three exam writers were unsure of
what they were required to do when preparing my qualifying exams.
9. I passed my quals with flying colors, but that has nothing to do with the faculty at CGU. I
had one faculty member from the 5Cs who sat down with me on a weekly basis to discuss
readings. The CGU faculty were always too "busy" to do so.
10. Expectations should be made clear during coursework.
11. Getting the chance to look at other peoples' exams might have helped in preparing my
own
12. Slight variation in what my advisor had in mind versus what others in the program went
through
13. I'd have liked more interactive advising during quals prep to help me stay on task with my
reading and to help me feel comfortable that I was working in the right directions.
14. It could be improved by receiving more guidance and encouragement from the professor.
15. I think the meetings about qualifying exams that are currently offered would have been
helpful then to give a clearer picture of what the exam process is like.
16. A little more explanation about crafting questions for the exams.
17. Only now beginning that process, so not ready to comment
18. The head of the philosophy department is a scumbag who is ruining the lives of his
students
19. More access, more input from faculty (not my advisor - who did provide input)
20. I think it's hard to know until I've completed them
21. A more detailed set of guidelines and expectations
22. Expectations for the exams were very clearly laid out.
23. There seemed to be a lack of communication/understanding between program and
department over policies and processes.
24. It is odd to have to develop my own questions for the quals. I felt like I was being set in a
trap and although I passed quite well, it was quite possibly the hardest part of the
process.
25. Very well
26. There was not a lot of direction when I was getting started. I had to seek out a lot of
information on my own. Even after I got the general lists from the A&H office, I had no
idea if I had to read every book on each list or only a certain amount. Once I got into
contact with my professors, however, they answered a lot of my questions and it
alleviated a lot of my anxiety.
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 14
27. It was great
28. Anything would have improved my advising experience, as it was abysmally inadequate.
29. I didn't receive any advising during the prep time--only arranged to meet face to face with
my committee members.
How could your thesis/dissertation advising have been improved?
Most Common Responses:
 More guidance and contact with advisors
Responses:
1. More attention and check in with students
2. My committee scattered so my advisor/members were not as present and responsive as I
might have hoped.
3. My advisor is very helpful with advice and recommendations.
4. Again, most guidance has come from professors other than my chair, who has provided very
little guidance
5. David Luis-Brown has been a phenomenal resources during this process, and I have very
much appreciated Eric Bulson's support as well. Dr. Bulson went above and beyond to advise
me on a fellowship application, though he was not on my committee.
6. Not there yet, stay tuned
7. I am just now in the dissertation writing stages, but I do not anticipate there to be any
openness or willingness of any CGU faculty member to meet with me or review my work. In
fact I sent a professor a draft of one chapter three weeks ago after stalking him down on
campus and have yet to hear a reply. I realize now I am in this alone. I deeply regret coming
to this institution.
8. A greater faculty involvement.
9. More contact between advisor and advisee would be helpful, reassuring, and supportive
10. More clear direction in the process
11. The ideas about my topic was only mentioned briefly so far.
12. If I were residing in the Claremont area, it would be better, but that's not a fault of the
advising.
13. Have not begun this process
14. Same comments apply
15. Certain faculty made the process very difficult and even bordered on bullying me, suggesting
texts that did not help me excel.
16. Early stages but so far so good
17. Would like more mentoring during this process.
18. I'm not sure yet. I am at the start of this... I'm skeptical ....
19. I had a really good advising experience, I don't feel it could have been improved
20. Require regular meetings. I know "we're adults" and all that, but students get lost in this
process. I am very forward in asking for assistance and still can't find it often enough!
What suggestions do you have for improving how much faculty encouraged your professional
development?
Most Common Responses:
 More department specific workshops/programming
 Discussing what professional development is & why it is important
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 15
Responses:
1. Encouraged publications
2. Be more in tune with the new generation and our career needs and that it is more
difficult to navigate today
3. Could the department offer more job-related info, so that the students could really have a
sense of what possible professional development is out there?
4. General discussions about the state of academic jobs and opportunities in my area of
expertise. Information about preparing for job applications, post-docs, etc. General
discussion about what resources CGU offers with regard to job placement and
recommendations of how to proceed post-graduation.
5. Perhaps a more dedicate effort to have students interact with professionals in their
respective fields.
6. In the religion department: encourage more students to apply for both regional and
national AAR conferences. There is encouragement for presenters and encouragement to
attend in general, but it would be great for more students to be encouraged to apply to
present as well.
7. The English dept. should formalize relationships with local colleges to get our students
into TA/RA positions
8. There are many things offered at CGU that are branded as "professional development."
What seems lacking, however, is a coherent introduction to just what that means. While
offering a lot of things sounds good, and being encouraged to attend them reinforces
their importance, I still think that a basic introduction to the concept of developing as a
professional historian, artist, etc. is lacking. Perhaps an initial meeting at the start of each
semester concerning the questions students have and answers faculty can provide
(having to do only with professional responsibilities) could be a helpful way to better
guide students' professional development.
9. Not really relevant for me at the moment
10. This is a tough one because overall the faculty have been very supportive. However, if one
recommendation can be made it would be to conduct more professional development
sessions at the departmental level.
11. I think the department could become more an advocate for student development (in
addition to professors who provide more personal, one-on-one advising). There are
workshop that are sponsored by the department for preparing for qualifying exams,
presenting at academic conferences, etc., but workshops could also include financial
support during quals/thesis (perhaps in cooperation with the Financial Aid office?), more
on-going discussions on personal developing/networking/researching in specific areas
related to a student's interest, etc.
12. I have found the weekly newsletters to be extremely helpful. I think posting more
opportunities for professional development on these newsletters would be great.
13. Some of the professors in English are amazing and wonderful, and if sought out, they are
generous with their time and advise. Others, however, seem very imposed upon when it
comes to student interactions and giving of their time
14. Dr. Luis-Brown has been incredibly supportive of my professional development, offering
detailed and honest advise on fellowship applications, adjuncting, positioning myself
within the field, and pursuing publishing opportunities. Dr. Martin has offered research
assistant opportunities that have also been helpful for fleshing out my knowledge of the
field. I can't help feeling that more could be done to diversify coursework assignments to
include writing abstracts, book reviews, and grant proposals.
15. Show some interests in their students, ALL OF THEIR STUDENTS NOT JUST A SELECT FEW.
Maybe say hi once in a while when professors see students on campus.
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 16
16. Core faculty should be more aware of options for counseling available through Career
Development Office, perhaps through more contact with CDO. Art faculty and students
feel that the artist career path is too different from other fields at CGU and do not expect
to be able to get relevant help.
17. New Masters students could use more feedback and casual discussions about preparation
for focusing and narrowing the field. We need more social opportunities to learn from
each other...the traditional Sunday dinner at the professor's home type thing.
18. In fact it has been the opposite. The first day of orientation, the department head sat
everyone down and discouraged any one from attending conferences or pursuing
academic work. The most important thing is the our classes, she said. I thought this was
the most narcissistic and inaccurate thing I have ever heard, so I did not listen. I now have
an adjunct job and have presented at multiple conferences each year. I am applying for
full-time work now. Although getting faculty to write letters of recommendation has
been an absolute joke.
19. They tend to steer you into nonrepresentational contemporary art, when it should be
more open to other possibilities.
20. We need more help looking at all the available options for jobs after graduating. We need
more help preparing job application materials, more contact with successful alumni, and
more guidance in general for publishing our work.
21. Professional Development in Academia often involves publishing and teaching in which
CGU Arts & Humanities needs to further develop resources and opportunities for
graduate students, especially PhDs who will be entering a highly competitive job market,
in order to create a notable reputation for CGU SAH grads and to prepare them for the
job market.
22. I hear a great deal of dissatisfaction from peers at the lack of teaching opportunities and
Teaching assistants hips at CGU and within the consortium, it is distressing as I look
forward to where I might be able to reasonably gain practical experience
23. More comprehensive topics that relate to the career path we wish to seek.
24. Allow students to take courses in the other colleges when they align with research
interests.
25. Perhaps workshops on writing CVs, or academic interviews offered by the faculty would
help
26. Possibly developing some events that encourages professional development within the
program
27. Faculty generally say they are too busy to meet to discuss job prospects, CV building,
publishing ideas, etc. Administrators (e.g. student success center) are left to do this work
and generally do not understand the field.
28. Most faculty never directly encourage professional development or offer insights in this
area...
29. More concrete/hands-on opportunities... not just general advice or "you really should try
to ____ more"
30. The experience in the area of encouragement has been wonderful for me personally. I
just wish there is more funding available at school. But I have received great
encouragement from the faculty through their acknowledgment and support.
31. Many students come to CGU and complain about lack of opportunities as if they had no
idea what they were getting into. Perhaps department or student council could make a
bigger deal about the things students DO participate in- such as in AAR/SBL, etc.
involvement, more faculty participation at Religions in Conversation Conference so it
didn't come across like a low grade student forum, etc.
32. Workshops on something like informal interviews for academic jobs, faculty panels/talks
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 17
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
about publishing as graduate students, how to position themselves competitively in the
job market or even something basic like the different jobs in academia that someone with
a master's degree can get. I think a lot of students still come in to the program thinking
they can only teach, but I think it's a good idea to show incoming or first-year grad
students of the different avenues they can take with a graduate degree.
Career based advising. Some students would like to have other careers outside of
professorships. It would be great is some professor with extra knowledge or backgrounds
could advise students with other goals.
A lot of the professionalization workshops are devoted to Drucker students. It would be
nice to have more offerings that pertain to humanities academia.
More emphasis on publication opportunities (and assistance with writing for publication).
Periodic faculty/student meetings for discussion of career advancement
Some professors encouraged me to do more research and developed my interests in the
subject, but in some cases it was just the matter of passing the course.
Faculty should encourage students to understand how contingent faculty are exploited
and to consider our own place in this system. Students who seek adjunct positions for
teaching experience may help their careers but also may hurt themselves somewhat.
Periodic contact? Recommendations for professional development? Timeline?
I am not even sure what things constitute professional development. One professor had
us make syllabi in class. That was very helpful. Another professor had us write book
reviews. That was helpful. Otherwise, I am not sure my other professors did anything in
the realm of professional development.
I have actually had a great deal more counsel about professional development by
academics outside of CGU. This has not been a big focus area. I have had some--a little-advice, but not much.
I know that CGU is criticized for this all the time, but I think it is important. We need more
teaching and research opportunities than are currently available. Not only are these vital
to our professionalization, but they would offer students the chance to gain a much
needed source of income in light of the staggeringly high costs entailed in attending CGU.
Stop being focused on money, actually teach a course for once. losers
More communication. Perhaps more discussion about alternative careers for scholars.
Faculty in my program are overloaded. Hire more professors.
If anyone in my department had read anything that I had ever written. I would be elated.
Other than one class I took with josh Goode, nobody else has ever returned and
commented on any writing I have ever done. I work with professors from my master’s
program and put that schools' name on them.
I felt encouraged my professional development - I know everyone receives email about
preparing future faculty, but maybe there's another way to make students aware of those
services and their importance? I don't know I feel the services are there if you're paying
attention.
Faculty usually don't want to be bothered looking at a CV, so this falls to administrators
who may or may not have an understanding of the fields.
I did the footwork myself to learn of opportunities for PhD students still in coursework-like the Maguire grant, soon to be in its last year. I instigated and pursued my opportunity
for this fellowship pretty much on my own, mentioning it to replacement advisor and
coursework professor, who both thought it sounded great. But I suppose what might have
been more helpful would have been initiative from faculty to help make me aware of
opportunities and encourage me to pursue them. Another student initially advised me to
seek a Maguire. I was encouraged persistently last fall by a "replacement" faculty member
(regular teaching position at Cal State) to attend lectures and other activities within
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 18
driving distance. But not from Claremont faculty, specifically.
50. career prep
51. It really seems an issue focused on individuals: those who are helpful and interested make
wonderful advisors and mentors and those who are merely getting their ticket punched
or only showing some favor to their own RA's or that which enhances their own selfinterest make for inadequate and potentially damaging ones. I do not know how you
address, systemically, this significant problem at CGU, but I do think it should be
addressed since it has been long overlooked. I suggest the focus for improvement needs
to radically shift from the inadequacies or presumed disinterest of students to taking a
closer look at the faculty's involvement and impact on development. Hopefully this shift
would tip the impact to one that is predominantly more positive in the future, rather than
the one that is, at present, more negative. This survey could be the beginning of that
process.
52. More department focused career development initiatives
How have faculty helped you gain teaching experience this year? How could they better help in the future?
Most Common Responses:
 More TA positions
 Communicate opportunities to students
 Faculty haven’t been helpful
Responses:
1. No. Have TA positions and relationships with universities around CGU
2. Help me to find teaching experience, etc.
3. Helping to connect me with people who need adjuncts.
4. In my experience so far the faculty do try to give advice about future teaching, including an
exercise aimed at helping us think about how we would teach others about the materials
read for class. It is interesting, but teaching is not my primary goal
5. Not really, except that they wrote me a letter of recommendation. Is it possible that we
could have some TAship for the PhD students? Or could the professors help PhD students
stay connected to the 5C faculty?
6. No help at all. Any assistance would have been helpful.
7. This is my complaint as a CGU student and likely shared by others. There are precious few TA
and RA positions available, and faculty could be more helpful by working with the
administration to secure more funding or opportunities along these lines. One option is that
faculty could allow PhD students in particular to work as TAs even on a volunteer basis if no
funds are available. This way at least students will gain experience and can list these on their
CVs as preparation for gaining later employment.
8. In my experience, faculty issue general guidelines for how to facilitate and they make
suggestions for covering material. I find this helpful. The best experience I've had with this
was a roundtable discussion in a history class about how to help students assimilate
something unfamiliar to them in history into something concrete. Every class should include
that conversation as part of their instruction.
9. Perhaps assist with the networking processing -- connecting with professionals in the field,
passing on information about research grants, and being attuned to a student's overarching
goals. Perhaps there should be some questionnaire/profile/survey that students take
annually that can become the rubric for on-going discussion with their faculty advisor re:
personal and academic development, vocational exploration and goal setting, etc. In
essence, begin with a broad sense of a student's academic and personal profile, and have a
network of services/people/resources that a student can avail herself to.
10. My professors advised me in how I should approach the faculty at the other 5c's. I think it
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 19
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
would be more helpful if CGU faculty can recommend to professors students that might be a
good fit with their research/courses.
In terms of offering advice for my future as a faculty member, I receive a lot of guidance from
Eric Bulson. And John Halperin has written me a letter of recommendation. Otherwise, all
effort has been my own
David Luis-Brown has been an invaluable adviser on finding and keeping work as an adjunct.
While I was living near campus, I would have attended any departmental discussion group
about adjuncting, especially if such a group was framed as a professional practicum and if the
meetings were attended by one or more faculty.
they have helped 0% and seem to want to help less
See above and substitute PFF for CDO.
Very helpful to have us lead class discussions at select times. Good training.
I was a TA this past Fall 2014. But I was a TA for a graduate course and I was not teaching
anything, which makes sense. I do hear from other students how their advisor/professor got
them a teaching position at Loyola or that they got TA position at Pomona mostly because of
their connection. Wish that was offered and cultivated more.
They have not been helpful in the least. Pedagogy is not anything that is covered even
remotely in my program. It really is a crying shame. I got a healthy dose of pedagogical
theory during my master's and still seek outside professional development in the form of
workshops, but this university only cares about the almighty dollar.
Not at all; did this on my own.
No help and arguably hindrance.
Not at all. I got this job on my own...and it's not even teaching in my field!
My advisor has been super helpful in making sure that my coursework and degree path are
geared not just toward getting the research going, but also making my experience more
marketable in academia. Separately, I have had a faculty member mention that the world of
academia is in flux at the moment and wouldn't generally recommend going into university
teaching until the dust settles without solid experience, her suggestion of securing more than
the odd TA'ship for my CV is solid, but even PFF folks have mentioned the trouble with
helping students gain practical teaching experience- regardless I am very eager to enroll in
the PFF course next semester it is offered- seems more doable than the odd workshop here
or there!
Some faculty have required students to teach sessions, lead discussions, or give short
academic presentations.
They are limited by resources. I wanted to be a TA for a faculty member, but cost was
ultimately the reason we couldn't figure it out.
Provide opportunities to teach in non-graduate courses. (as a grad student, I do not want to
hear another grad student present!) But undergraduate courses and other opportunities
should be made available.
There are little opportunities to gain teaching/research assistance and these positions seem
to be rotated among program favorites/insiders...
I'd like to know where to look for teaching opportunities, or which ones I should be looking
at. I have no idea which steps I should be taking for that... And I would REALLY like to get
experience.
No, actually I am employed full-time as a professor at a two-year college. I attend Claremont
part-time.
An email sent by a faculty member about an urgent need of an instructor at a community
was the avenue for me to enter the district. I wish to see more of such connections between
the department professors and local universities and colleges.
My area faculty have sought out work for students where possible
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 20
30. More active communication and collaboration with the 5Cs for grad students to gain
teaching experience. I feel like many of the faculty at the 5Cs don't really know what we do
at CGU. I think it'll open up discussion and opportunities for collaboration while also getting
grad students the teaching experience they need (if they want to teach). At the moment, the
added pressure to find teaching jobs OUTSIDE of CGU is a barrier to preparing for the job
market. If the faculty or the department can assist in something like this in a more systematic
or streamlined way, I think it can alleviate this problem and assist grad students in gaining
the job experience and professionalism that they need.
31. TAships
32. Not at all. CGU needs to work more actively to establish formal connections with regional
undergraduate universities to better help us find teaching work.
33. My advisor has been understanding of how getting a lot of teaching experience increases my
time to complete the dissertation.
34. No help. I found my job on my own.
35. Yes, helpful with letters of recommendation.
36. I guess the school needs to raise more money for teaching assistantships? I don't know the
answer to this one.
37. Faculty had nothing to do with my teaching experience. I was recommended for the current
adjunct position by a colleague. Faculty have never broached the subject.
38. Please note that the teaching experience I have gained is not a result of any help from CGU
or its faculty.
39. NO. pay attention, wake up
40. I had not asked for help with this process.
41. They are willing to give references. No advice on where or how to get teaching experience.
42. Faculty have been very helpful in keeping me appraised of opportunities in this area, even if
they are not all yet applicable to my degree status and experience. It is very helpful to have
faculty brining such opportunities to students' attention.
43. There are no opportunities for me to gain any teaching experience through CGU. I have
spoken to deans of students (3) since my arrival, department directors (3), and I work for the
President's office. Nobody has given any assistance.
44. They been really helpful and encouraging especially as I am not the strongest public
speaking.
45. Assistance in finding PT teaching jobs.
46. Replacement advisor mentioned that many students teach at La Verne. That was that.
Maguire grant "partner" at CMC happy to have me as a student and as an R.A., but in no
sense looking for teaching assistance. It's hard to know how faculty could help with this very
great lack in the CGU system. The "obvious" resource, it seems to me, are the CUC colleges.
There are "ways" to gain teaching experience that might look different from the traditional
"teaching at LaVerne." I lived in the Williams College community for many years, and I know
for a fact that Williams makes far more use of "teaching assistants" than the CUC colleges
claim to. Williams’s students (usually seniors) are offered grant-funded jobs as T.A.s to
faculty. They hold office hours with that professor's students to help them with writing, etc.
And they attend the classes taught by the professor, which in and of itself offers a wealth of
"teaching" experience. As students we can only offer CUC professors our services and
humbly accept whatever opportunities they are willing to provide for us. It seems to me that
CGU admin and staff could do more to build bridges for us here. It would take courage. I'd
guess the best way to go about this would be to target individual academics in the CUCs who
might be open to working with us. Also: what, really, can CGU offer the CUCs faculty (who
seem to believe that they are self-sufficient)? We need to be better at promoting ourselves,
selling what we have to offer. Can we offer something to their students on our campus that
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 21
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
would be truly attractive and helpful? Can we do a better job of "imagining" what our
students could do for their faculty and students, then articular that? The end of the Maguire
is a very bad omen for CGU, which is already isolated culturally from the CUC schools in many
ways. CUCs are (should be) our life support system, on every level. We need to send more
student ambassadors out, and we need faculty to actively help us build those bridges.
Working with CUC faculty is an opportunity second to none, in terms of future connections
for CGU students. Bring back the Maguire or create something bigger, better still. CGU is
dying of oxygen deprivation, limping along as the ill-favored elder sibling of the CUCs. We
can't survive without them. They give us imminence and endless opportunity--whatever it
takes to strengthen this connection.
Not at all.
They have informed us about opportunities to get teaching experience.
I don't feel like the faculty talk about the process of actually becoming a teacher/professor at
all. I guess if you sought it out they would, but they don't offer it. Considering most people
getting a PhD in English are planning to continue in academia, I think the classroom
experience should be more of a combination of learning the material and preparing to run
your own classroom.
By paying attention. They could better help by paying more attention. Some do, many do
not. Curiously, those hired in the last couple years seem to be the least interested in student
progress and more interested in their own agendas. This is gravely disappointing.
The faculty are helpful I suppose but what can they do in regards to promoting teaching
experience except tell you to go to community colleges or what not in the area if you are
working on a PhD. It’s just a real problem gaining experience when our program doesn't offer
it because we're graduate only so there's no potential TA positions. It would be great if CGU
could get some sort of relationship with another school, 5 Cs or other, to help but the faculty
does all they can, and I’m sure if there was more ways for them to help they would.
No, I already teach.
Help provide opportunities beyond "class presentations"
How could your satisfaction with course offerings, times, or days be improved?
Most Common Responses:
 More evening classes
 More class options/variety
Responses:
1. More classes on secularity. More classes on Monday and Fridays.
2. More evening classes. Why are none offered online either?
3. The course offerings seem very limited and repetitive every year.
4. More evening courses
5. I don't think it is particularly good to have classes scheduled back-to-back. I suppose this is
something that schedulers try to avoid, but it has crept up in my schedule. Six hours straight
(in my case) with literally no break (my first professor often overshoots his time) is rough. I
don't see why classes cannot have at least a 30 minute break before the next one is
scheduled.
6. Have more classes during the 4-7pm slot.
7. I would have loved to have wider course subjects offered by the English program. There
seems to be a gap between Early Modern Literature and Victorian Literature that is not
covered by the English program at CGU. I also found many of the course selections to have
conflicting times scheduled and it was unfortunate because there were multiple courses I
wanted to take but could not because of time restraints. As a side note, I think it would be
helpful for the class if professors more strictly adhered to the class limit of 12 students. I
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 22
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
found that in quite a few courses we exceeded this limit and professors would let students in
week after week.
be more robust...offer classes across the discipline and not just in professor specialties
Art course times and days are mainly individual studio appointments with faculty and adjunct
teaching artists, not lectures or seminars. CGU budget cuts and austerity measures mean the
Art department is unable to offer appointment times beyond a narrow slot of days/hours.
This is particularly unsatisfactory when students have to compete fiercely for time with core
faculty, or when I cannot meet often enough with an adjunct artist who is on my committee
and key to my work development.
9 AM courses are very tough to get to for commuting students.
I think my program, philosophy, caters mostly to MA students and for that reason the same
course are always offered. Of course that’s also because we have very few active faculty.
I can’t really blame the university for this. I am in a small department and the faculty teach
many of the same classes each semester. I realize how hard it is to design a new course. I
quickly learned that the variety of courses can be satisfied by taking 5Cs and School of
Theology courses.
We should be offered more courses.
When I first applied I was under the impression that night courses would be available based
on information that I received from former students. However, there were little to none
night courses offered for my area of study (CLST).
Greater attention should be given to courses of the same general theme regarding time
conflict.
Greater breadth in subject matter would be great.
No more 7-10 classes.
Afternoon classes always work best for me because I work mornings.
More afternoon options. I work during the day.
Earlier notice of the class offerings would help. For instance, I am planning to teach over
summer, but I have to postpone that scheduling until I know the cgu summer class schedule
There should be more courses involving arts programming as well as practical classes for
software use.
I worked full-time while in course work and it is extremely difficult to only take evening
courses.
It would be great to have a catalog that showed a list of all courses that have been approved
and typically when they are offered. This way, as a student, we would know what is actually
available and could plan our course of study, so that it is more tailored to our interests.
Many of us graduate students work, this is just a fact and being about to appropriately
schedule our schedules more in advance would be helpful. UCLA has a catalog for example,
that lists all of the courses that are offered and during what quarter they are usually offered.
Would be nice to have cross-area classes in religion (e.g.: North American religion and
philosophy)
Night classes would be better for many students but many faculty members do not want to
teach them.
Just continue to keep in mind the full time working student.
More options!
A clear understanding of what to expect in future semesters.
more offerings in Theology within the school of religion
I'm too far past coursework to answer this.
It would be helpful to have a greater variety of English courses offered each semester. In
particular, there are not always courses that fill every requirement for the major each
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 23
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
semester.
I don't like when courses are offered in LA. I would prefer that all classes be held on CGU
campus.
Days and Times are not a problem, but getting courses to satisfy my trans-disciplinary
program requirements can be a challenge.
half of them are taught by the named scumbag
More evening classes so that we can have day jobs since CGU does not offer full financial
support for PhD students like other PhD programs do.
Provide evening or early morning courses
more US history offerings, more evening classes
The faculty to student ratio is unforgivable. I make this decision by looking at data from other
schools.
More options, however that means more staff and more money.
I worked full-time during coursework so I basically took courses that fit my schedule.
It's all good Love the courses.
courses (in history) should have some time between them not just necessarily back to back,
classes often run over and then one is perpetually late to the same class. If professors do not
wish to teach classes earlier or later perhaps do not put 2 European history classes back to
back or 2 American history classes back to back because at least the flow over from class A to
class B will be less probable.
What other suggestions do you have for the faculty, staff, or school?
Most Common Responses:
 The staff is awesome
Responses:
1. I think staff are all very nice and willing to help. Susan, Holly, and Jessica are awesome staff
that students can really go to and rely upon, as compared to the faculty members....
2. Each department should create a list of recent placements for PhD graduates/alumni. One
model for the religion department might be UCSB's page, available here:
http://www.religion.ucsb.edu/people/alumni/. If we have a page like this for each
department at CGU, it would provide greater transparency and show the employment
successes (or lack thereof) or our graduates.
3. More departmental community and support.
4. I've received some help from staff about how to find opportunities across the 5Cs. However,
I've come up with some opportunities of my own (e.g. research with faculty) that I think most
students at CGU are unaware of. As part of the Consortium, it is odd to me that there is not
(or does not appear to be) more networking with 5C faculty. I see many places for
improvement in advertising these opportunities (for example, a webpage dedicated to
announcements, grant opportunities, writing a professional email, or even the very art of
how to approach faculty and inquire about research, mentoring, etc.). If one is already
resourceful, then s/he will have little trouble navigating this part of their gradate education
(presuming they know how important it is to extend their reach beyond the confines of their
discipline, skill set, etc.). For the majority that are not resourceful in this way, however, there
are tremendous opportunities for collaboration with 5C faculty that go untapped. That's a
real loss, in my opinion. The motivation must come from the student, but CGU should, in my
opinion, play a more central role in facilitating it.
5. My feelings about the department are pretty mixed. I have had some great advisers and
supporters, and Drs. Bulson, Ferrell, and Luis-Brown have consistently gone above and
beyond the call of duty to advise me. That said, there is a feeling among students in the
department that some faculty are only present in name. I know that some students have
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 24
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
avoided working with particular faculty because they can't be sure how often they will be
around, or because they have been consistently difficult to reach. Though I understand
that publishing, lecturing, etc. help elevate the status of the department, there is a feeling
among my peers that these duties sometimes take precedence over training students. The
morale among students approaching the job market is pretty low in the department, and I
would love to hear more about CGU's successful placements--especially since the university's
acceptance rate and job placement are not published publicly. Though he is beloved by
students, John Halperin does not seem to be keeping up with current trends in scholarship
and professional development. His students, though ardent, often seem singularly focused
on primary source texts to the detriment of contemporary scholarship. It would be a shame
to seem him go, but it may be time to update the auxiliary staffing to someone with a
stronger knowledge of contemporary criticism--especially if that person will be sitting on
qualifying exam and dissertation committees.
Let’s get it together...we have so much potential to be great and attract many more
students. I fear that the experience of the Alumni and current students are not working in
CGU's favor for recruitment purposes
More social time and settings. I wish we had a Harry Potter great hall kind of place that is for
students to study and run into each other and faculty...like the traditional Men's Club.
Hagelberger's doesn't quite cut it. More parties.
The classified staff have always been extremely helpful.
We need more ethnic, racial, and religious diversity on campus. CGU is sorely lacking in this
regard.
How could everyone be more wonderful? Comparing experiences with other students in
graduate programs elsewhere, public and private, and recalling my own academic history,
the staff at SAH is spectacular, I have total confidence that my advisor and the folks at SAH
will solve or guide me to solving almost any problem I have! Thus far my experience has been
amazing and a strong marker of satisfaction with my decision of graduate programs. I don't
have enough words to convey my gratitude and happiness with this great group of people!
Look more into what the students aspirations are. They rely too heavily on experiences that
many people have not had and therefore those people cannot participate as actively.
The student advisors have been a great help for me.
Sarah Jaques-Ross is a bright light in the A&H office. She is not only responsive and
professional but kind, considerate and is a true resource to CGU. Sarah understands the
programs, takes time to listen and respond effectively. My suggestion is to hire more people
like her as soon as possible.
The staff are excellent. Holly Domingo is the best. She responds to my emails almost as soon
as I've sent it!
We need more professors in the department. We need more professors in the fields other
than the U.S. and Europe. I also feel that having more faculty members would make it easier
for me to approach the professors and make requests without feeling sorry for contacting
the same one or two professors for all my needs.
Would be nice if student council did more community building programs
Staff is amazing, especially department secretaries/academic liaisons, but nobody knows
about them. They are there! Go talk to them about coursework requirements!
Updated classrooms, they are in need of a makeover,
For those of us outside the Claremont area, it would be helpful to get notes (perhaps by email or a blog) on some of the presentations/meetings, particularly those concerning how to
progress in the program or professional development.
There needs to be a FAR better support system for PhD candidates to help them process
through the program in a timely manner.
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 25
21. Can't think of any at this time.
22. Fire all the philosophy staff, replace them with professors from other arts & humanities
departments
23. This is not a business, please reconsider the corporatized approach to scholarship. Thanks.
24. The Arts & Humanities staff are wonderful. They are always friendly and tremendously
helpful. Jessica, Holly and Sarah are especially great.
25. I am very happy with the faculty that exists in my department. That is, I think Josh Goode is
great. But, you guys accepted me as an early America/French colonial/archives historian and
you have no early American historians and Janet Brodie taught less than three classes per
year, with one being an intro for masters students, for all of my class work tenure.
26. I had a great experience, I don't have suggestions for the school, as much as I wish I had been
taking advantage of more that was offered!
27. Sarah Jaques-Ross is a gracious and courteous staff member. She knows the administrative
and academic processes, and I am thankful she is in A&H.
28. I think surveys like this are exactly what we need. Sarah j-R is phenomenal. Holly Domingo is
phenomenal. These people always make me feel welcome and valued. The Religion Dept., in
which I have taken a number of courses, has been extremely accessible and helpful, esp. Dr.
Min and Dr. Schneider. Good, personal, down-to-earth and supportive advising is where it's
at.
29. To put it crudely, it is a buyer's market in the academy these days and there is no reason why
Claremont cannot get powerful publishers and researchers who are, at the same time,
committed teachers. CGU should not further sacrifice the preparation of its students to
bolster the number of its publications. Teaching should not be sacrificed on the altar of
scholarship. A current and future danger of such an imbalance is, of course, that these
unengaged and not infrequently arrogant scholars reproduce themselves and create a
generation of professors ill-prepared to critically engage in their classrooms, all the while
blaming students for an assumed inability or unwillingness to communicate in the classroom,
etc. It is a cold hard fact that most graduate students will not end up at research I
institutions and to proceed as if we would does a disservice to everyone, except the high
priests of scholarship, who need not sully their hands with the difficult work of teaching and
even the more difficult work of modeling how to teach. The central work of modeling how to
be a decent human being in a professional environment needs improvement at our school.
Professors do not need to command our reverence, but they should earn our respect for
being devoted to their field, to their professions, to their institution and to their students.
They should also be able to consistently demonstrate basic courtesy rather than an air of
entitlement. I receive and have received some exceptional instruction at CGU: instruction on
what to be and what not to become. Several of my professors at CGU have earned my
respect and more. I am grateful they are here. However, an unfortunate number have not
and, ironically, they are the ones who walk around the campus most visible, most vocal, and
most proud of themselves. More thoughtful recruitment and redirected faculty
development may help increase the importance of teaching within faculty identity. I think
it would be great to see people care more about teaching, care more about people, and see
CGU work toward building a campus climate that both fosters and supports those attitudes.
30. Holly Domingo (sp?) as been wonderful and has always been a great point of contact and a
support in my studies.
31. People don't always seem to be on same page - need more consistency (school wide too, not
just A&H)
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 26
Have you visited the Career Services Office this semester? If yes, how satisfied were you with the
experience? If no, why have you not visited the office?
Most Common Responses:
 Yes, I was very satisfied
 No, I plan to visit in the future
 No, I don’t need to
 No, I don’t have time.
 Yes Responses:
1. Very satisfied
2. Generally, satisfied. I have met one-on-one w/ the Career Service director, and have
also attended several workshops that the Center offers.
3. Christine is a treasure! I'm so glad we have her.
4. During my orientation tour. Otherwise not needed at this moment.
5. Very
6. Very satisfied
7. Not very.
8. I visited the fellowship office.
9. Very
10. I was completely satisfied. The experience was amazing (compared to previous awful
experiences there). The new director really knows her stuff re: the academic job
market.
11. very helpful
12. Not this semester, but I have visited the career office and they were very helpful,
more helpful than faculty.
 No Responses
1. No interesting workshops. It’s more for business students.
2. I have a full-time job.
3. I have an internship already.
4. On to do list
5. I do plan to visit them in the future
6. Jobs they offer do not really seem related to my field.
7. I live too far away (working out of state)
8. I believe it is too early for me to be concerned with this.
9. Live out of town; work full-time
10. I haven't made time for it. I do plan to go, though!
11. not needed at this time
12. I have not yet felt like I needed the services of this office.
13. I plan to visit, but I haven't yet had the chance. I've heard really positive responses
from students who have been.
14. If the school shows a lack of interest, why would career services?
15. I don't feel like I require their services yet.
16. Not looking for a job.
17. no time
18. I do not believe they will be of any use.
19. Live out of state
20. Just starting coursework, not quite ready for the end!
21. I am an exchange student and only here for one semester.
22. Have not had time.
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 27
23. I am only on the Claremont campus on days which I have class, so I never have free
time on those days.
24. I would like to
25. I have not felt it would be beneficial at this point. I won't be looking for a full-time
job for about another year.
26. Not sure what I'm asking them about or what they can do for me.
27. I have a job that I am happy with.
28. No time, all events during daytime
29. Busy with school work. Planning to visit at the end of the semester to update CV and
prepare materials for job applications.
30. This is my second semester, and I am planning to visit the office in the near future.
31. I have not had the need.
32. Offerings do not seem tailored to humanities students
33. Not sure where is it located and what services could be provided
34. I live away from campus.
35. Didn't know there was one.
36. I have not had a reason to visit.
37. I currently have a job in my field. I will probably go there closer to the time I graduate
to at what better jobs are available once I have my degree.
38. I guess I didn't see a need for it. And I don't really know what they do there.
39. Never seem to have the time between classes, study, work study, adjunct teaching -just no time.
40. I plan to make an appointment soon
41. I haven't had time yet
42. I don't really know what they offer so I don't know whether I need to or not.
43. Busy at the moment
44. I am living in another state.
45. Already working two jobs and on career track at another institution.
46. They have no help for teaching experience or academic jobs. Giving me access to a
database is not help. I have access to better listings on my own. Also, a job database
that is targeted toward undergraduates at the other consortium universities isn't
helpful. I'm a doctoral candidate, I am not a twenty year old who can make ten
dollars an hour.
47. No time.
48. I have not had a need to
49. Seems like they are not oriented toward humanities majors.
50. I plan to visit at the end of the semester.
51. I plan to schedule and apt in the next week or so to discuss dissertation grants I may
be eligible for.
52. I’m not yet starting a career I’m just working part-time as I finish my masters and
perhaps go on to a doctoral program
53. don't know location or what they actually do
Have you gone to any Preparing Future Faculty programs this semester? If yes, how satisfied were you with
the experience? If no, why have you not gone to the programs?
Most Common Responses:
 Yes, I was very satisfied
 No, scheduling conflicts
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 28




No, I don’t have time
No, I don’t see the value
Yes Responses:
1. Shamini is a fantastic support staff. Her dedication to her students is a breath of
fresh air.
2. I went to two. They were both pretty good. The problem with it is that this program
is outside of departments. This sort of thing needs to be taught in the discipline.
3. Went to an intro session and am very interested in the course next time offered
4. Very satisfied
5. The PFF program is a good idea. But I didn't really find the content to be of great.
The sessions were too long, and it was difficult to motivate myself to attend on
Saturdays.
6. very satisfied with PFF
7. I enjoy the variety of programs they offer
8. They are GREAT
9. very helpful
10. I like Shamini. But again, this provides no actual teaching experience or preparation
of future faculty. How do you expect someone who has never been a tenured faculty
member or taught at a research university to teach me to do so?
11. I was very satisfied with the experience, and learned quite a bit.
No Responses:
1. Don't see the value.
2. No time. Don't have faith in the program.
3. Time conflicts
4. No
5. I plan to in the future, but they often conflict with my work/class schedule
6. Schedule conflicts.
7. I live too far away (working out of state)
8. I do not intend to be come a teacher or professor.
9. Live out of town; work full-time
10. Again, I haven't made time for it.
11. The timing seldom seems to work out--I'm usually busy on Mondays and Fridays, and
the Saturday intensives take up too much time
12. have not been able to fit them into my schedule
13. Did not fit my time schedule. Also, I wish the services could be tailored to specific
disciplines/departments, so I can be with colleagues that have similar interests and
concerns.
14. I wanted to look for opportunities that would provide real teaching experience.
15. I have been teaching for five years now, so I already have this area covered
independently
16. I should though...I've heard Shamini does amazing work.
17. Final semester, no time!
18. Don't know about it
19. Takes too much time out of my day, right now it is not feasible.
20. Have not seen any advertised.
21. I do not see value in what they offer.
22. Not this semester yet, but I did last semester. Very satisfied.
23. Live out of state
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 29
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
too expensive
I am an exchange student and only here for one semester.
Did not know of them.
I am only on the Claremont campus on days which I have class, so I never have free
time on those days.
I have been to several in the past but have not had time or felt it is necessary this
semester.
Too lazy
Didn't know when they were/that there were any at all. I have visited their office
though, and they are helpful ppl
I currently have a teaching position.
Terrible timing, no evening options
Same as above
Not had the need.
I completed my PFF certification earlier. The program under Shamini Dias is
exponentially improved from the version when I first arrived at CGU.
Have no idea when to start, or what is the annual schedule.
the time/hours doesn't work with my schedule
I live away from campus.
I attend the program when I was doing coursework.
I have been too busy.
I'm not preparing to be faculty
Not on campus enough.
Never seem to have the time between classes, study, work study, adjunct teaching -just no time.
Due to having to work, I cannot make time for PFF
I haven't had time yet
I live far from Claremont and, being only in the Master's program, I haven't though
these programs were necessary for me yet.
The email week of isn't enough notice for me to schedule it in my calendar
I am living in another state.
Attended the programs several years ago.
I'm trying to get to some this semester.
I am still figuring out if that is my career goal
I have a small child and limited access to daycare services
They are during the day and I usually can't make it to campus at that time because of
work.
scheduling conflicts
timing
What advocacy issues would you like to see the Student Council of Arts & Humanities (SCAH) pursue?
Most Common Responses:
 TA positions
 More funding
Responses:
1. TA positions
2. Tuition. Fellowships. Funding for student efforts.
3. Alumni panels, more current student panels
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 30
4. TA positions
5. TA positions
6. I would like to see more small reading/study groups for dissertation writers and people
getting together to work through material that can then be presented at conferences.
7. TA positions and RA positions please! Alumni panels (help current students stay in touch
with alumni) could be helpful too.
8. More engagement with career advising and advising for classes.
9. TEACHING POSITIONS FOR PHD STUDENTS--WE NEED MORE TA AND RA FUNDS
10. TA positions, community events
11. I refer you to my previous response concerning how to better advertise (and encourage)
opportunities at the 5Cs.
12. Alumni panels are always interesting and helpful.
13. Yes, career development that includes networking with alumni panels, offering TA positions
(at other Claremont colleges?), etc. In talking with my colleagues in the department, I know
finances is a big stressed for us -- so anything that can help in making grad school less
financially burdensome would be extremely helpful. Also, as an older student, I've spoken to
several other older students. Some of needs of older students include child-care assistance,
time management (since many are currently working), and vocational re-evaluating and goal
setting would be helpful. Also, because I commute about an hour each way to CGU, I'd really
would like some place where I can take a nap, relax, etc. when I'm here for an entire day.
14. TA positions. More funding for the students. Also more funding for students that pursue
opportunities outside of the classroom. I also believe there should be something done about
the language requirement. The $2,500 that is required for a course is absurd.
15. TA positions would be great. It would also be great to bring more external conferences to
campus (regional organizations).
16. Maybe just support the students across the board...they three examples you’ve provided are
a good start
17. Impact of CGU-wide austerity measures and budget cuts to quality of instruction and value of
CGU degree
18. TA positions. More help sifting thru upcoming conferences and submitting to conferences.
19. TA positions
20. TA positions should be a high priority. CGU students are not being considered for many jobs
because we graduate with little to no teaching experience.
21. TA or RA positions
22. Ta positions
23. TA positions, career advising
24. preparation for job market, help with publication opportunities
25. TA positions, night classes.
26. TA positions, and student advocates/mentors.
27. All of those examples are exactly what I would like to see.
28. Definitely a focus on professional development and how to succeed in academia post
graduating from CGU.
29. TA positions and perhaps more clarity on pathways to gaining teaching experience internally
would help
30. more political influence concerning TA positions
31. Career advising specifically made for arts management who wish to go into non-profit. Too
much of the programming is for MBA exclusive.
32. CGU desperately needs to find a way of getting TA positions for its students to build some
type of teaching experience.
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 31
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
TA positions and alumni panels.
TA positions, alumni panels, workshops on applying for academic jobs
Teaching experience, parking
TA positions, research assistantships
All of the above
Career advising for the academy.
TA positions!!!!
TA positions!!!!!!!!
TA positions
More on career advising, TA positions, and assistance in finding fellowships.
Connecting to alumni and local programs. I would like to see council STOP advocating for TA
positions within Claremont colleges because it is useless at best
Alumni panels, TA positions, career advising, more talks/seminars/lectures hosted by the
department pertaining to digital humanities, scholars and professors from various literature
departments (not just Americanists, poets, and early modernists).
TA positions, career advising
Veteran's Outreach
Training instructors to be more responsive to intolerance and racial animus disguised as
academic disagreement in the classroom -- address such issues directly rather than ignoring
or allowing such behaviors to persist under the guise of academic freedom.
TA positions
TA positions and career advising.
career advising, TA positions
TA positions, career advising
TA positions
TA positions
Money money money. The school needs money, and it is pretty obvious. More endowments,
more fundraising. This will improve scholarships and everything else.
T.A positions
TA positions or just any teaching-related opportunities, even if they are outside of the
Claremont Colleges.
TA Positions
TA positions. This is a must.
TA positions
TA positions
TA positions, career advising
Anything that helps us get some sort of money. Most of the students I know will be writing
their alumni donation checks to Sallie Mae and not CGU.
TA position
I would like to see standardized material outlining the PhD program in the humanities with
approximate progress toward degree guidelines, such as how long students usually take
between completion of course work and qualifying exams, etc. While I know every student's
progress is different, it would be helpful to see a general outline of what to expect (probably
broken down by discipline: history, English, religion, etc.).
Any help whatsoever would be nice.
Career advising more specific for programs.
TA & RA positions, awards
TA
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 32
69. ta positions
70. N/A
71. Respectfully, I'd rather be advised on teaching and career opportunities by my faculty
members. That is optimal, and where I think money should go.
72. Career advising, TA positions, and alumni panels
73. TA positions! Perhaps even supplemental instructor or internship opportunities that allow
grad students to work with/shadow the instructor throughout the semester to learn how to
craft a syllabus, lesson plan, etc.
74. TA positions
75. TA positions, funding opportunities, professional development.
76. More TA positions. With the undergraduate colleges right there, there is more than
abundant opportunity to offer teaching experience. I would like to have more of that at my
fingertips to gain experience and confidence. It is frustrating because many teaching jobs
require experience, but you need to get someone to hire you to get that experience. If CGU
offered more TA positions, that would help.
77. Support for teaching at sister schools. And wider distribution of those positions among
students.
78. TA positions
What types of programming or community events would you like to see?
Responses:
1. dissertation writing, qualifying exams
2. Arts events.
3. I don't know, can we have more social events for Cultural Studies students, instead just
meeting for journals or work-related topics? The English Dept. always offers really nice social
events for colleagues to hang, but Cultural Studies students don't really even know who's
there in the same program....
4. I very much enjoy the Thursday Arts & Humanities forum. I'd like to see this continue. Is
there a way for students to make recommendations for future speakers?
5. Could CGU/SAH partner with other academic institutions around the greater LA area and
offer satellite workshops, training, etc.? Or perhaps partner with satellite institutions and
offer CGU students opportunities to teach one class session (to gain experience), or shadow a
prof in the field of a student's interest? The same holds true for research - perhaps partner
with a journal, or academic publishing company and offer research assistant positions?
6. As an English student I would love to see a conference organized by the department.
7. Too many to list. Sorry, no enough time to list right now
8. Get togethers that are not during class times. Maybe mentors in the program paired with
first years'...
9. Possibly family oriented community events.
10. Free food :p
11. More BBQs and open movie screenings.
12. It would be great to see some support group offerings, such as writing or working groups,
mentions of how to get interdisciplinary collaborations rolling- there are so many resources
to access, from spaces to people, it would be great to get more information on how people
are using what and how!
13. SAH celebration
14. Ones that I can actually attend. The events always occur at 4:00 and never get to go because
I am in class. More trips for the entire student body to enjoy. To profit and non profit
locations.
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 33
15. Cohort gatherings
16. Not sure
17. Getting to know faculty, organizing local social trips, making connections with similarly
interested programs/faculty in SoCal
18. I think it would be nice if in the beginning of the fall semester, there can be an organized
event in which first-year students can meet other students in the program. Not just a general
English or A&H party, but one that is deliberate to acquaint all the people in the program.
Would help build some connections, not to mention get more English students in Student
Council-sponsored events, department-hosted talks, etc.
19. Any music events that I can be involved with and get some experience for my career in the
near future.
20. Regular social events planned for people in the more disconnected phases of their programs
(quals, dissertating) to help them continue to have a sense of community.
21. lectures, panels
22. Music festival
23. Smaller get-togethers that are social but still focused on particular academic interests.
24. Unfortunately, I don't really have time for additional community events because I also have a
full time job and family. Maybe an event geared for families would be something I would
attend...
25. Everything offered that I have attended is great.
26. I think I just need to have some time for those that are already offered.
27. Career Development events that are promoted in advance rather than 3-4 days (or less)
before the event. Some of us work three, four jobs during the day to make ends meet (in
addition to our studies). Asking for time off to attend an event takes time.
28. Not sure
29. I prefer casual drinks and conversations with our faculty to any other event. Perhaps a drinks
and social hour? The English Dept. did that earlier this semester and it was great fun.
30. human rights
31. literature & philosophy (theory)-oriented events
32. Music
33. philosophy conference
34. Not my focus--faculty and my experience with them is what I profit from.
35. International community
36. Professional development
37. These are good.
38. More films, perhaps more thematic or based in a series.
What panel or speaker topics would you like to see?
Responses:
1. secular studies, atheism, sociology of religion
2. I'd like to see a panel on how to deal with copyright and keeping my scholarship open-source
while still being recognized in the appropriate ways to get a tenure-track position and
eventually tenure.
3. More academic job prep related topics?
4. Professional development is good, research lectures are fascinating, and alumni events are
nice. In particular, I'd like to see more lectures on interdisciplinary collaboration among the
different disciplines. That would bring more students from different areas together and
enhance the conversation among students and faculty as to how to better engage with those
areas unfamiliar to us. Hearing about one's specialism is interesting, but it does not need to
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 34
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
be bounded to a discipline (e.g. the speaker can be clever and extend his/her work into
themes appealing to other disciplines).
I'd be interested in hearing reflections from PhD students on their Master's degrees--what
they did that was helpful, what they wished they'd done differently, etc.
Anything related to history especially if it has a transdisciplinary flavor.
Post45 American Literature. British Enlightenment and Romantic Literature.
see last question
Still discovering these.
More guest speakers. Also I know that the surrounding colleges also have speakers but they
are rarely advertised to the CGU student body.
Interfield speakers would be interesting. CGU places a huge emphasis on the
interrelatedness of fields (particularly in the humanities) but I rarely see speakers come to
campus to discuss this issue.
Career development
I would like to see more on eastern religions.
Preparing for job market
n/a
How to turn my degree into a paycheck.
Alumni or professor panels.
Integrating technology in a pragmatic and practical way to learning, research, and teachingI've got mobile devices, I've got internet access, I've got a computer, its 2015, we should be
doing amazing things with all of this
Panel on revelation
Socio economic and economic inequality.
More literature panels.
artists and curators
More speakers from the CGU alumni pool. How they prepared themselves for the career
while in the school.
Anything connecting our faculty's work to current events
Academic job process, funding sources for graduate students (both pre- and during
dissertation writing).
Military Sexual Assault East Asian Topics in History
"Importance of the humanities in the modern world"
progressive theology
artist, musicians
I would like to see a panel of Ethnic-Racial scholars in Religion (other Humanities). What are
their particular challenges, advantages in the Academy, getting tenure, etc.
I'd like to see more talks on career options outside of academia. I feel that the SAH often
comes across as far too narrow-minded when it comes to our career options after CGU.
More associated with Big Data, and art history
Alt-academe careers.
Not sure
I'm paneled out and we don't really have funds for worthwhile speakers--we should just
piggyback with the Colleges more.
Asian American
I don't care about this. I need a job. That is the minimum acceptable assistance.
Transdisciplinary (philosophy and something else, such as psychology)
Music master class
A&H Student Survey Results– Spring 2015 35
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
metaphysics
Same as above.
Digital humanities
There is a good variety.
Literary or historical readings, more of those.
Do you have any other comments or questions?
Responses:
1. Thanks for putting out this survey.
2. Thanks for your interest in student opinion. That means a lot.
3. I would like to see the council give a shout out to Susan Hampson. Although everyone on the
staff works tirelessly for the students I feel Susan does an exceptional job.
4. Nope. Hope I win the raffle though! CGU is way too expensive with seemingly nothing in
return.
5. The librarians at Special Collections are terrific. The SAH staff is wonderful. Would love to
have a department's Reading Room and coffee house set up somewhere.
6. Yes, I would prefer that the instructor evaluations be administered in-class, using a paper
format. I often miss completing them, because my CGU email address is not the primary
email address that I use. Thank you!
7. Students with some social and intellectual maturity should be those who serve as officers for
the council.
8. Class registration should be prioritized for students in their area of study. It's unfortunate to
compete in registration with those outside our area of study esp. for required classes. Also
I've found class assignments to frequently be vague and faculty feedback on course work to
be limited.
9. So far I'm having a great experience and learning a lot. I feel confident that this degree will
help me get a better job. I wish that I had time to be more a part of the Arts Management
community outside of classes, but I just can't with my already busy schedule. However, I see
that it is a tight knit group that supports each other even after graduation.
10. I appreciate the students who volunteer their time. Especially Shelby.
11. Thanks.
12. CGU is the worst decision that I have made in my life. I am in debt, have no faculty in my
department, lack a full committee, and don't understand what I am paying for. I will regret
this choice forever.
13. Question is confused
14. To reiterate, every connection we can make the CUCs will be important, I feel. I would sit on
committees and offer "service" to CGU to that end. I don't love the pizza parties at the end
of the semester. For me, they are an insult to the paying student body, most of whom live at
very low income levels. Every pizza and box of beer represents, for me, the fact that I have to
take out loans to attend CGU.
15. Is there a way to opt out of/filter emails from other schools/disciplines that do not apply to
me? I feel overwhelmed by the deluge of emails from other schools or programs that do not
apply to me.