The University of Iowa is informing graduate students that it “can no longer guarantee financial support” for them. Grad students in the university’s English Department received an email from their department executive officer (DEO) on Wednesday night informing them of the change. It’s unclear how many other departments have sent out their own emails, but reaction to it on social media suggests that many grad students had not yet received notice of the change.
According to a copy of the email shared with Little Village, “n response to uncertainty around federal research funding, the college has been directed to make some changes to our offers of graduate admission and employment, which are contingent on available funding.”
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The email states that “prospective graduate students who have already been admitted — whether they have accepted — are going to have their current offer rescinded and will receive updated terms.”
Last week, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that some Iowa State University graduate programs had “started rescinding offers to prospective students as departments scramble to respond to funding uncertainties.” UI is not doing that, according to the email. No one’s acceptance is being rescinded, only the guarantee that they will receive funding from the university while in their graduate program.
That funding comes in the form of stipends provided by fellowships and assistantships for grad students to conduct research and teach classes as they pursue their degrees. The university relies on grad students, both for research work and as instructors for most of UI’s undergraduate classes. In other words, the funding is the pay for the work performed by the grad students — work that is essential to UI being able to function as a university. Almost every grad student relies on that funding, and very few would be able to pursue their degree without it.
The email says currently enrolled grad students “will receive updated terms of their offer, clarifying that while their admission is guaranteed, funding is not.”
“We were recently reassured by our DEO that English is in a privileged position because we don’t rely on NIH or NSF grants,” Jennie Sekanics told Little Village.
Sekanics is a Ph.D. student in the English Department. Originally from New Jersey, she came to Iowa specifically for graduate study. The email landed in her inbox at 8:18 p.m. on Wednesday night.
“Two days before Spring Break,” she noted.
“We are not changing the terms of employment, nor are we rescinding employment contracts,” according to the email. “This changes the promise of funding that students were given upon admission to the institution.”
Sekanics saw the email almost immediately, because she’s “been checking email more than ever” as news of the Trump administration’s arbitrary and chaotic cuts continues. Even though Sekanics anticipated bad or unexpected news, the email was still a blow when it arrived.
“My stomach turned,” she said. “I felt like I wanted to cry and punch something at the same time.”
In her three years at UI, she worked as a teaching assistant for various undergraduate courses in English and rhetoric. Sekanics is currently a research assistant at the Magid Center for Writing, and is also the head teaching assistant for the Foundation of the English Major course, a fundamental course for English grad students.
As COGS, UI’s grad student workers union, has been pointing out during its ongoing negotiations with the university for its next contract (Sekanics is a member of COGS, but has not been involved in any union activities lately), UI ranks 16th out of the 18 universities in the Big 10 in terms of grad student pay. Only Nebraska and Purdue pay their grad student workers less.
Sekanics pointed out that any disruption to the work being done by grad students will have an impact on more than just those students.
“I think it’s really important that undergraduate students understand how this will affect their education as well,” she said.
The email states that eliminating the existing guarantees of funding “is not a sign that employment contracts are not being honored.”
In a statement issued on Friday morning, COGS said, “While the university claims this ‘is not a sign that employment contracts are not being honored,’ it is hard to see how this isn’t a breach of contract.”
The union said it “is exploring all available options for recourse, including legal options that force the university to honor its contracts. Without guarantees of funding, graduate research and teaching is simply untenable.”
The University of Iowa has not yet made any public statements about ending funding guarantees for grad students. On Thursday afternoon, Little Village sent the university a series of questions about Wednesday night’s email. LV received a response on Friday afternoon that downplayed the significance of the contents of the email, saying, “Many graduate programs already communicate” that funding for grad students is not guaranteed “in their admissions and employment letters.”
“Given the current uncertainties in the funding environment, the university believes it is important to ensure that all prospective and admitted graduate students are fully aware of the contingencies that come with financial support,” the response from the Office of Strategic Communication (OSC) said.
“To promote consistency and transparency, the university has encouraged all departments and colleges to clearly outline the contingencies that come with financial support in their admissions and employment offers – both for prospective and current graduate students.”
According to a copy of the email shared with Little Village, “n response to uncertainty around federal research funding, the college has been directed to make some changes to our offers of graduate admission and employment, which are contingent on available funding.”
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The email states that “prospective graduate students who have already been admitted — whether they have accepted — are going to have their current offer rescinded and will receive updated terms.”
Last week, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that some Iowa State University graduate programs had “started rescinding offers to prospective students as departments scramble to respond to funding uncertainties.” UI is not doing that, according to the email. No one’s acceptance is being rescinded, only the guarantee that they will receive funding from the university while in their graduate program.
That funding comes in the form of stipends provided by fellowships and assistantships for grad students to conduct research and teach classes as they pursue their degrees. The university relies on grad students, both for research work and as instructors for most of UI’s undergraduate classes. In other words, the funding is the pay for the work performed by the grad students — work that is essential to UI being able to function as a university. Almost every grad student relies on that funding, and very few would be able to pursue their degree without it.
The email says currently enrolled grad students “will receive updated terms of their offer, clarifying that while their admission is guaranteed, funding is not.”
“We were recently reassured by our DEO that English is in a privileged position because we don’t rely on NIH or NSF grants,” Jennie Sekanics told Little Village.
Sekanics is a Ph.D. student in the English Department. Originally from New Jersey, she came to Iowa specifically for graduate study. The email landed in her inbox at 8:18 p.m. on Wednesday night.
“Two days before Spring Break,” she noted.
“We are not changing the terms of employment, nor are we rescinding employment contracts,” according to the email. “This changes the promise of funding that students were given upon admission to the institution.”
Sekanics saw the email almost immediately, because she’s “been checking email more than ever” as news of the Trump administration’s arbitrary and chaotic cuts continues. Even though Sekanics anticipated bad or unexpected news, the email was still a blow when it arrived.
“My stomach turned,” she said. “I felt like I wanted to cry and punch something at the same time.”
In her three years at UI, she worked as a teaching assistant for various undergraduate courses in English and rhetoric. Sekanics is currently a research assistant at the Magid Center for Writing, and is also the head teaching assistant for the Foundation of the English Major course, a fundamental course for English grad students.
As COGS, UI’s grad student workers union, has been pointing out during its ongoing negotiations with the university for its next contract (Sekanics is a member of COGS, but has not been involved in any union activities lately), UI ranks 16th out of the 18 universities in the Big 10 in terms of grad student pay. Only Nebraska and Purdue pay their grad student workers less.
Sekanics pointed out that any disruption to the work being done by grad students will have an impact on more than just those students.
“I think it’s really important that undergraduate students understand how this will affect their education as well,” she said.
The email states that eliminating the existing guarantees of funding “is not a sign that employment contracts are not being honored.”
In a statement issued on Friday morning, COGS said, “While the university claims this ‘is not a sign that employment contracts are not being honored,’ it is hard to see how this isn’t a breach of contract.”
The union said it “is exploring all available options for recourse, including legal options that force the university to honor its contracts. Without guarantees of funding, graduate research and teaching is simply untenable.”
The University of Iowa has not yet made any public statements about ending funding guarantees for grad students. On Thursday afternoon, Little Village sent the university a series of questions about Wednesday night’s email. LV received a response on Friday afternoon that downplayed the significance of the contents of the email, saying, “Many graduate programs already communicate” that funding for grad students is not guaranteed “in their admissions and employment letters.”
“Given the current uncertainties in the funding environment, the university believes it is important to ensure that all prospective and admitted graduate students are fully aware of the contingencies that come with financial support,” the response from the Office of Strategic Communication (OSC) said.
“To promote consistency and transparency, the university has encouraged all departments and colleges to clearly outline the contingencies that come with financial support in their admissions and employment offers – both for prospective and current graduate students.”
University of Iowa sends email to grad students saying it will 'no longer guarantee financial support' for them - Little Village
The University of Iowa is informing graduate students that it “can no longer guarantee financial support” for them. Grad students in the university’s English Department received an email from their […]
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