gradSERU
WHAT IS THE SERU GRADUATE SURVEY?
First launched in 2017, the gradSERU survey focuses on the post-baccalaureate experience and covers topics including: selection and admission, financial support, advising, teaching and research experience, program climate, career plans, student wellbeing, obstacles to completion, and overall satisfaction.
gradSERU Core Survey Modules
Overall Satisfaction
Selection & Admission
Financial Support
Advising
Research Experience
Teaching Experience
Program Climate
Health & Wellbeing
Obstacles to Completion
Career Plans
Demographics
gradSERU Optional Survey Modules
Incivility & Harassment
Professional Development
Health & Wellbeing
Time Use
International Student Experience
Wildcard
(Institution-specific questions)EXAMPLES OF REFORMS IN GRADUATE EDUCATION
Changes made at leading institutions as a result of gradSERU implementation:
More deliberately structured curricular requirements geared toward the array of professions the program is intended to serve.
Clearly stated skills students are to acquire and expectations on their academic performance – including competencies for collaborating and working in multidisciplinary and sometimes international teams.
Articulating the mentorship responsibilities of faculty.
Coordination with the professions and businesses to better match training with labor needs.
Collaboration with the private sector in providing internships as part of graduate training and integrating graduate students into faculty led university-industry research.
A focus on quality of life of graduate students and efforts to support their financial and social needs to make them productive members of the academic community.
Improved integration of graduate education into the larger purpose and operations of the university – including supporting the teaching, research, and public service engagement of first professional degree students.
More rigorous assessment of the graduate student experience via program review, faculty advancement criteria and processes, and accreditation where applicable.
Internationally, increased use of English in courses and for master’s theses and dissertations in programs attempting to attract and retain international talent, and for preparing future academics and business leaders whose professions are increasingly global in context.
See how one institution is using the gradSERU to improve the graduate education experience:
ISSUES ASSESSED THROUGH gradSERU
The survey explores the differences in the graduate/professional education experience of students both within and between institutions of higher education in the United States and abroad, and how the experiences may change over time.
It identifies demographic and individual characteristics associated with different patterns of enrollment in graduate/professional school.
Survey data document the changes graduate/professional students undergo while enrolled in graduate/professional school.
Survey data allow comparison of the experiences and development of graduate/professional students in different institutional contexts.
The survey identifies specific links between certain features of graduate/professional education (advising, financial support, research and teaching experiences, etc.) and graduate/professional student development.
The survey explores the impact of various institutional support systems (e.g., financial, research, career, etc.) on graduate/professional student educational outcomes.
The survey shows how program characteristics are related to graduate/professional student development.
The survey illuminates the relationship of contextual influences such as the effects of student engagement in relation to the quality of advising, the program environment, and campus context on outcomes such as: proficiency levels, career plans, and overall satisfaction.
The survey documents trends in graduate/professional student career plans/aspirations and employment outcomes and how they change over time.