The Graduate School of Art and Sciences Graduate Student Council met yesterday for the first time this semester.

Adam Fagen, council president and fifth-year student, said that the council aims to expand its programs this semester.

"We're trying to do less social things and do more on meeting [resources] needs," Fagen said.

Fagen said that the graduate student advising system will be a key focus of the council's work.

"In some departments, graduate students often feel disconnected, that they don't have a lot of support, said Carlos Lopez, council member, former council president and seventh-year graduate student.

Council officers will meet with President Neil L. Rudenstine, Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 and GSAS administration on April 13 to discuss ways to improve the system.

The council publicized its Teaching Fellow Referral Office, a program to assist graduate students in securing teaching fellow positions.

The council's FAS Information Technology Committee will offer small grants for graduate students creating Web sites for the courses they teach.

The council will sell 71 monthly MBTA T passes at an 11 percent discount in an effort to help graduate students who live off-campus.

This semester, the council will host the Northeast Regional National Association of Graduate-Professional Students' (NAGPS) annual conference in conjunction with Tufts University and MIT. The conference is scheduled for March 13 to 15 in Dudley House.

The focus issues of NAGPS include legislative advocacy for graduate-professional students, job opportunities and financial aid.