Robust new online hub empowers WMU graduate students
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University graduate students have a new insider guide to help them navigate their way to success in graduate studies.
Centering on Mentorship, Professionalization and Student Success (COMPASS) is an expansive collection of online resources that supplies answers and advice on what is commonly known as the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school. Previously unwritten rules and expectations regarding such topics as mentorship, first-time teaching, funding, and applying for awards are now spelled out for master’s and Ph.D. students in an easy-to-read format.
“Graduate school is basically an apprenticeship, and that entails a lot more than taking classes and doing research,” says Dr. Christine Byrd-Jacobs, dean of the Graduate College. “There are practices students need to know, and professional skills to develop. For example, they have to learn how to publish, present at conferences and network. We wanted to coalesce all that information into an accessible resource for our students.”
Byrd-Jacobs enlisted Dr. Scott Slawinski, professor of English, as a faculty fellow in charge of developing the online initiative.
“Graduate students often begin their degrees at the master's and doctoral levels without knowing enough about the tremendous opportunities that their time in a graduate program offers them,” says Slawinski, whose experiences as a graduate advisor and graduate director helped him understand the information students need most to be successful both as academics and professionals. “Students need teaching support, to be shown how to engage with the scholarly and creative community, to learn how to maintain a strong work-life balance. COMPASS offers advice in numerous areas.”
Under Slawinski’s direction, the program’s resources expanded to include eight COMPASS points: mentorship, community engagement, professional development, career preparation, well-being, awards and scholarship, teaching resources, and academic support.
Streamlining resources for graduate students
Recent studies indicate American graduate students are experiencing high levels of stress. By taking an intentional and holistic approach to master’s and Ph.D. students’ well-being at the academic, professional and personal level, COMPASS provides wraparound support to put them in a position to thrive.
"I like the fact that everything I would need is in one central place,” says Alex Kasprzyk, B.S.’25, who is pursuing a master’s in higher education and student affairs and served as the 2024-25 student body president. “Having easily accessible resources available for graduate students is essential for student success. It can feel like we are on our own, but with COMPASS I feel like WMU understands the help that graduate students need.”
Academic advisors and mentors can help alleviate graduate school anxiety by answering questions, alerting students to professional opportunities and awards, helping advance proposals and even promoting articles for publication. COMPASS extends that support and offers another level of convenience.
"It’s also helpful for me in my role as an advisor. I can easily tell students where to look for resources rather than giving them multiple links that go to different places,” says Kasprzyk, who works as an advisor and graduate assistant for the Graduate Student Association.
Western’s Graduate College plans to continue expanding its COMPASS resources in the future. In November, graduate students across the disciplines will have access to a new COMPASS Individual Development Plan to help them set academic and career goals and track milestones. Other initiatives in the works include instructional videos and workshops built around each of the different COMPASS points.
“I’d like to see COMPASS become the professional development hub for our graduate students,” says Byrd-Jacobs. “We provide a Navigator Network to help our undergraduates succeed, and we provide our graduate students with a COMPASS for guidance.”
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