Pallavi Rao doesn’t want to withhold payment of mandatory student fees this semester, but she and other members of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition feel something must be done to spur administrators to take meaningful action.
“I hope they understand students are pushed to the wall,” she said.
So far, hundreds of Indiana University Bloomington graduate students have signed a pledge to withhold payment of mandatory student fees. According to the pledge, the fees have increased every year since 2011, while stipends for graduate students have largely remained the same, amounting to a pay cut.
A university spokesman said administrators have long been concerned about costs for graduate students and have made some progress in that area. But members of the coalition argue impactful changes have not been made despite repeated calls to do so, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the situation worse.
At IU and other higher education institutions, graduate students often work as teaching or research assistants while earning their degrees. Compensation for that work typically includes tuition remission and a stipend. Graduate students at IU, however, are still required to pay certain fees each semester that cover things such as technology and transportation provided by the Campus Bus Service.
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