As the fall semester begins at Rutgers University, hundreds of graduate students are only now receiving their summer funding.
Last spring, 775 graduate students received award letters for the Professional Development Fund, a small stipend intended to assist those without teaching or research appointments during the summer months. However, the awardees just began receiving their checks in August.
While they waited, students have had to endure most of the summer without these funds, resulting in debt and financial hardship for many of Rutgers’ graduate students. President Robert Barchi and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration J. Michael Gower issued apology letters on August 31 explaining that the delay was the result of a transition to a new payroll software.
Some students waited until Monday for their checks. On Tuesday, 25 graduate students on the Newark campus gathered for a meeting with university administrators to start a dialogue about how this process can be improved.
“I made financial decisions based on the $1250 I was expecting,” said Nicole Dykstra, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Newark campus. “It’s disheartening to have the university not seemingly care that much about it.”
Dykstra received award letters for the Professional Development Fund, or PDF, for both the summers of 2016 and 2017. As of Sept. 13, she had not received either of the checks. She was told last year that the delay was caused by a change in the payroll system and that she would receive the entire amount for both years this summer. She added that the university stopped responding to her calls and emails this week.
As both a student and an employee of Rutgers, Dykstra feels less than appreciated.
