But the key ingredient of a successful graduate career each student must bring with him or her is a zest for the pursuit and expansion of understanding. Increasingly, motivation to engage in creative, independent scholarship is the prime determinant of success in graduate school and thereafter. Graduate students have the right to be informed in writing of the specific requirements for achieving an advanced degree. Graduate students have the right to an accurate description of financial support and an indication of the likelihood that they will receive it. Graduate students have the right to receive regularly a formal, written evaluation of their progress and to be informed of the criteria upon which such evaluations are based.
Graduate students have the right to reasonable confidentiality in their communications with faculty.
Graduate students have the right to appropriate recognition when they contribute significantly to research and publications. Graduate students have the right to be included in appropriate decision-making processes in their department, their program, or at the university level. Graduate students have the right not to be involved in situations that entail conflicts of interest. Because the rights stated in Section II can only be realized through the cooperation of faculty and students, the Graduate Student Senate believes that graduate student rights and faculty responsibilities may be fruitfully juxtaposed. The Graduate Student Senate offers to the graduate students suggestions for courses of action which may facilitate their academic and professional development.