Comments on: On School Woes http://littleowl.com/heidi/2009/11/28/on-school-woes/ Heidi's Hideaway (now with added class!) Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:52:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: viajera http://littleowl.com/heidi/2009/11/28/on-school-woes/comment-page-1/#comment-668 viajera Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:37:17 +0000 http://littleowl.com/heidi/?p=633#comment-668 Yep, I hear you on the insane bureaucracy in academia. I'm a PhD student and I've spent the last 1.5 years jumping through a hoop they call "candidacy". According to the guidelines on the department website, all you have to do is take 48 credits, 2 exams, defend your prospectus, turn in a short version to the dean, and fill out a form. Well, I did all that 1.5 years ago, but when I tried to apply for a grant that requires candidacy 6 months later, I was told - after spending a month working on the application - that they had lost all my paperwork and couldn't resolve it in time, so I couldn't apply. I was also living out of the country at this time, but returned briefly a month later and rushed around filling out every form and getting all the signatures they told me about. Flashforward another 5 months, and once again I'm preparing to apply for a grant for which I need candidacy. Oops, sorry - a class my advisor had promised me would count towards my credits doesn't count, so I'm 2 credits short and will have to take an independent study over the summer on top of my insane research and mentoring load. Three months later, I've moved back to University town and start nagging my advisor from day 1 to tell me what I need to do next - because I've long ago done everything I know to do, everything we're told, but I'm still not a candidate. Two months later, when another round of grants is only 1 month away, he starts moving. Sure enough, they've lost more paperwork, there's another half-dozen forms to be filled out (which there's no formal mention of), and the registrar keeps messing up my transcripts and taking a week to make each fix. Finally, 10 days before my first grant is due, the chair signs a departmental form confirming that I'm a candidate. A week later, I take 2 letters in for him to sign for 2 grants (together worth nearly $40,000) acknowledging that I'm a candidate. Guess what? He won't sign because he hasn't yet got a formal letter from the dean saying I'm a candidate - even though he's already told me I am a candidate!!! Worse, the dean's office isn't answering phone or email pleas from our awesome dept. secretary to send that letter over. I finally break down and plea with my advisor to pull some strings, and get that letter signed mere hours before I need to send it off for the first grant! The worst of this all is 1) these grants are both highly prestigious and well-funded - were I to win one it would look good for the department, not just me, and 2) every other department I know has had their chair sign off on letters confirming candidacy of students who haven't even remotely finished all the requirements, because these grants are competitive and they want their students to get practice early on and have multiple attempts. Yet in this case, the chair knew I had jumped through every single hoop, yet *still* wouldn't sign because on a stupid bureaucratic rule. Gah!!! Sorry to comment-hog. Just empathizing - and venting! Best of luck with the remainder of this course. Yep, I hear you on the insane bureaucracy in academia. I’m a PhD student and I’ve spent the last 1.5 years jumping through a hoop they call “candidacy”. According to the guidelines on the department website, all you have to do is take 48 credits, 2 exams, defend your prospectus, turn in a short version to the dean, and fill out a form. Well, I did all that 1.5 years ago, but when I tried to apply for a grant that requires candidacy 6 months later, I was told – after spending a month working on the application – that they had lost all my paperwork and couldn’t resolve it in time, so I couldn’t apply. I was also living out of the country at this time, but returned briefly a month later and rushed around filling out every form and getting all the signatures they told me about.

Flashforward another 5 months, and once again I’m preparing to apply for a grant for which I need candidacy. Oops, sorry – a class my advisor had promised me would count towards my credits doesn’t count, so I’m 2 credits short and will have to take an independent study over the summer on top of my insane research and mentoring load.

Three months later, I’ve moved back to University town and start nagging my advisor from day 1 to tell me what I need to do next – because I’ve long ago done everything I know to do, everything we’re told, but I’m still not a candidate. Two months later, when another round of grants is only 1 month away, he starts moving. Sure enough, they’ve lost more paperwork, there’s another half-dozen forms to be filled out (which there’s no formal mention of), and the registrar keeps messing up my transcripts and taking a week to make each fix. Finally, 10 days before my first grant is due, the chair signs a departmental form confirming that I’m a candidate.

A week later, I take 2 letters in for him to sign for 2 grants (together worth nearly $40,000) acknowledging that I’m a candidate. Guess what? He won’t sign because he hasn’t yet got a formal letter from the dean saying I’m a candidate – even though he’s already told me I am a candidate!!! Worse, the dean’s office isn’t answering phone or email pleas from our awesome dept. secretary to send that letter over. I finally break down and plea with my advisor to pull some strings, and get that letter signed mere hours before I need to send it off for the first grant!

The worst of this all is 1) these grants are both highly prestigious and well-funded – were I to win one it would look good for the department, not just me, and 2) every other department I know has had their chair sign off on letters confirming candidacy of students who haven’t even remotely finished all the requirements, because these grants are competitive and they want their students to get practice early on and have multiple attempts. Yet in this case, the chair knew I had jumped through every single hoop, yet *still* wouldn’t sign because on a stupid bureaucratic rule. Gah!!!

Sorry to comment-hog. Just empathizing – and venting! Best of luck with the remainder of this course.

]]> By: the fat nutritionist http://littleowl.com/heidi/2009/11/28/on-school-woes/comment-page-1/#comment-663 the fat nutritionist Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:36:20 +0000 http://littleowl.com/heidi/?p=633#comment-663 I absolutely hate school, and I'm still in undergrad. I absolutely hate school, and I’m still in undergrad.

]]> By: No Celery Please http://littleowl.com/heidi/2009/11/28/on-school-woes/comment-page-1/#comment-662 No Celery Please Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:21:57 +0000 http://littleowl.com/heidi/?p=633#comment-662 So many reminders of why I did not go into academia! So many reminders of why I did not go into academia!

]]> By: Cleric at Large http://littleowl.com/heidi/2009/11/28/on-school-woes/comment-page-1/#comment-661 Cleric at Large Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:47:53 +0000 http://littleowl.com/heidi/?p=633#comment-661 Illegitimi non carborundum Illegitimi non carborundum

]]> By: Trabb's Boy http://littleowl.com/heidi/2009/11/28/on-school-woes/comment-page-1/#comment-660 Trabb's Boy Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:53:05 +0000 http://littleowl.com/heidi/?p=633#comment-660 Lawful neutrals, man. The bane of everybody's existence. Lawful neutrals, man. The bane of everybody’s existence.

]]>