There will be a gradual transition period for Iowa State students to the Workday management system, which will replace Access Plus in the coming year, according to William Graves, dean of the Graduate College.

Graves was one of three guest speakers from the Iowa State Graduate College programs that gave updates at the first Graduate and Professional Student Senate meeting of the school year Monday.

“This summer, and for quite a while, the university has been working diligently to move to a new student information system that will replace Access Plus […] it will really kick in early 2024,” Graves said.

Other changes coming this school year that were addressed by Graves include:

• A new minimum stipend for graduate assistantships for a full 12 months. This stipend has been increased to $26,323 in semi-monthly deposits, instead of the former, once a month.
• A new fee scholarship for graduate assistantships.
• A new one-credit graduate course will be offered under GRST 531X Thriving in Graduate School.
• More encouragement to use the student and major professor checklist.

There was a report shared about the Board of Regents survey concerning new legislation about the diversity, equity and inclusion resources for campus. GPSS President Christine Cain, a graduate student in education, said she wants to bring student opinions to the Board of Regents and continue to encourage them to listen to student voices.

The other speakers included:

• Heather Greenlee, associate dean of the Graduate College, wanted to take questions and said she wanted to make herself visible in her new position to the student body.
• Amanda Knief, university parliamentarian, who spoke about basic parliamentary procedures to help meetings run more smoothly using Robert’s Rules.
• Cain, who addressed her job as GPSS president on campus and the responsibilities of the senators during the year.
• Eddie Mahoney, a second-year graduate student in computer science, serves as vice president of the graduate and professional student senate. He talked about his priority of fostering the connection between the Student Government and GPSS.

Other members holding positions within the GPSS gave introductions to their positions and an update on what they will work on and the committees they work with.

GPSS events to be aware of include the 2024 GPSS Conference and the first substance free tailgate of the year.

“Tailgates are events that are usually heavily connected with drinking […] this will be an opportunity for you to experience that without being around drinking,” Wellness Officer Kimia Noroozi, a fourth-year doctoral student in chemical and biological engineering, said.

The tailgate event will be held on Sept. 2, around two hours before kickoff at the Iowa State Alumni Center.