Graduate Council Meeting
Minutes
March 11, 2005 Meeting
Attendance: Catherine Axinn, Pat Beamish, Josephine Bloomfield, Duncan Brown, Carolyn Cardenas, Lee Cibrowski, Brooke Dagnan, Jesse Davis, John Day, David Drabold, Peter Johnson, David Juedes, Dina Lopez, Christine Mattley, Chuck McWeeny, Jerrel Mitchell, David Mould, Michael Mumper, Tootie Overby, Robert Roe, Josep Rota, Susan Sarnoff, Katherine Tadlock, Ginger Weade, Maureen Weissenrieder, Julia Zimmerman.
Excused: Scott Carson, Judith Edinger
Absent: Liz Miller
Convened: The meeting was convened at 2:05 pm . Packets with agenda were distributed and the sign-in sheet was passed around.
• Approval of Minutes :
The minutes for the February meeting were approved after some corrections and changes were suggested.
• Chair's Report (Dr. Duncan Brown):
• Resolution regarding funding for International Recruitment : The proposal that was made during the February 11 th meeting to continue base funding for international recruitment received overwhelming support from members of the Graduate Council. Duncan informed the Council that he sent letters to Dr. Krendl and Dr. McDavis to inform them about the decision (see attached letters and resolution). He also sent emails to Dr. Phyllis Bernt and Brooke Dagnan about the same.
• Conflict of Interest : Duncan informed the Council that he will attend the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday (March 14 th ) when the Professional Relations Committee will present the revised wording of the Conflict of Interest forms to Faculty Senate. He said that the revised wording which will appear in the Faculty handbook will be helpful to Graduate Council in making decisions about Conflict of Interest issues for staff and faculty of Ohio University . The Professional and Relations Committee has specifically outlined those persons who cannot pursue a terminal degree in their own department or college. Per an earlier discussion, Duncan reminded members that the Professional and Relations Committee borrowed language from the Penn State manual.
• Leave of Absence/Continuous Registration : Duncan told the Council that the Policy and Regulations Committee is working with Dr. Alan Boyd, Director International Student and Faculty Services to make sure that the new policy will work for international students. He added that he has adopted a first and second reading format for this to ensure time for feedback from all units. Also, he added, that makes it a formal process and gives us the opportunity to keep a record.
• Associate Provost for Graduate Studies (Dr. Michael Mumper):
• Graduate Applications Received : Michael informed Graduate Council that so far the Office of Graduate Studies has received 2007 applications for the next academic year. He added that this number is around the same like last year. The most noticeable change so far is that International applications are lower by 50 applications whereas domestic applications have increased by 150.
• Online Applications : Michael added that half of the applications received this year were online applications. Based on the graphic that he had from College Net, he said that the February 1 st deadline held significance for many potential students. Next year, he said all the applications will be run through the College Net system. Given the data tracking capabilities of the College Net system it can prove enormously helpful to the Dean's offices. Applications can be tracked by city, state, zip code and many other criteria. A communication plan to set up an automatic electronic response can also be initiated.
• Professional Development Workshops : Michael said that he will be putting together some Best Practices Seminars/Professional Development workshops for Graduate Chairs. These workshops, he added will also serve as a forum for a dialogue among then Graduate Chairs. He noted that OPIE issues can also be discussed in these seminars/workshops. If these workshops are successful this year, then a proposal can be made to the Provost to continue them in the future.
• TA orientation for fall quarter 2005 : Michael announced that the date for TA orientation for Fall of 2005 is August 30th.
• Director of Graduate Student Services (Dr. Katherine Tadlock):
• Policy Clarifications and Updates : Katie mentioned that some of the policy issues that are in practice should be in print and some matters that are in print need to be clarified. She referred to the document titled, List One, Policy Clarifications and Updates (Advise and Content) in the package and requested feedback in the next meeting. Katie noted that she has not found documentation about Transfer of Credit, (under the heading Academic Policies) in the above mentioned document (last page). She added that this issue might belong on List two, since it warrants discussion. Duncan added that this above mentioned document does not have controversial issues and that they would move to List two, Issues for Graduate Council Discussion/Action.
• TOEFL : Some discussion ensued about the requirement of TOEFL as the required test of proficiency in English for all international students. This was in response to the list of countries (mentioned on the document, List two in the package) exempt from TOEFL. Joe Rota noted that it does not make sense to require a TEOFL score from students whose native language is not English, but the medium of instruction is English in the schools and colleges they attended in their countries (particularly South Africa and India ). Katie responded that most institutions in the United States , including our peer institutions require a TOEFL score for students from the above mentioned countries. Jesse felt that Quebec should not be excluded from this list, because he noted that the residents of Quebec are bilingual. Duncan responded saying that technically they are bilingual but the northern part of the province is more Francophone, while the southern part of the province is more Anglophone. David Mould wondered if Bermuda could be on the list as well. Katie said that the list of countries is taken from the one used by the Masters in Public Health program (by OU and its partner institutions in the consortium offering this program).
• International English Language Testing System : It is proposed to accept either the IELTS or the TOEFL to demonstrate proficiency in English language.
• Non - degree admit status : There was discussion about the current policy on the non-degree status. Katie clarified that the policy states it is a six year and (not or ) 18 credit hour limit. Students in the College of Education run into this issue more commonly than students from other colleges. Ginger noted that if students are seeking licensure, then they should be admitted to a degree status. Pat indicated that it is not a requirement for counseling, students can register as non-degree if they are seeking licensure. Also, so far the assumption has been that this six year and 18 credit limit is renewable every six years.
• Readmission : Another area where policy clarification is required is regarding extension of program versus restarting the program.
• Early admission : Katie brought to everyone's notice that the policy on early admits to graduate program needs clarification as well. At this point in time, there is no catalog policy that states that students are required to complete a certain number of credits before their status can change from undergraduate to graduate. She added that it was probably not the intent of policy makers but it is possible for students to finish all their coursework requirements even for the master's degree while working on their bachelor's degree.
• Curriculum Committee:
The proposal to offer the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at the Lancaster and Ironton campuses was discussed. Ginger explained that this is going to be administered on a cohort model at the regional campuses. At this point in time they are seeking approval for the above mentioned two places. Later on it can offered at other branch campuses as well The program will be beneficial to teachers in helping them meet requirements for professional development and improve current practices. The coursework focuses on pedagogy and it is no different from the program offered at Athens . The faculty will teach it as an overload to their present assignments. That is why at this point, they can only offer it as a cohort at two places. And, the expansion of the program is contingent upon its demand. Ginger clarified that the state does not require all teachers to have a master's degree. But, to keep their teaching license they are required to take some professional development courses. Also, taking such courses extends the range of their teaching repertoire.
Duncan said that Scott had sent a one page summary of the above mentioned proposal and Graduate Council's Curriculum Committee's recommendation. Given the fact that it is an existing program on the main campus, it does not need to be approved by the University Curriculum Council. Michael added that he would like to receive the one page proposal so that he can forward it to RACGS. It is not so much for their approval as it is for the Board of Regents to be aware of this development. Jesse said that he is not familiar with the program, but he was concerned about the budgetary impact, stretching the faculty resources, and the option of offering it as a distance learning course. Ginger clarified that, since it is based on a cohort model, it is going to be face-to-face instruction. Also, this is an income generating program she added. These are fee paying students, either they are paying or their schools are paying on their behalf.
Graduate Council voted to approve the proposal to offer the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at the Lancaster and Ironton campuses.
• Planning and Strategy Committee:
Tootie informed the Council that about two years ago, the then Provost had addressed the Graduate Council and had initiated discussion about support for graduate education. The Provost also wanted to get a comprehensive idea of what graduate education looks like on this campus because departments are often not aware of what others are doing. Dr. Tymas-Jones headed the Dean's working groups which were formed to collect information. Surveys were sent out in November, 2004.
Michael said that there were 35-40 questions on the survey and the printouts in the package do not summarize the results, but present more of a broad overview. There were pages full of comments which have interesting and relevant information. He added that he will do similar tables for TA use. Tootie noted that the Associate Deans have been asked to respond to the survey results. This will inform the strategic planning process. The knowledge of the survey results can help the Associate Deans and Deans work through problems that faculty might have.
The most important strategic issue is to understand why graduate programs are required. John Day noted that the three main reasons to look for are how they support the research mission of the university, how do they help in marketing the university, and what are the financial implications of having graduate programs. Maureen mentioned that if we look at our peer institutions we realize that we do not have the mix that most of them have---the balance of undergraduate and graduate education. This took the discussion to the next issue, the mission and vision statement that came from the Provost's office.
David Mould said that The Athens News had an article summarizing these Core Values and there was no mention of international education on it. Joe Rota added that the handout lists only 16 points under the core values and that there was a 17 th point which was about international education. Tootie brought to notice that the vision statement has been amended, the word ‘research' has been deleted, and now it reads, ‘nationally prominent university'. There was some discussion about the omission of the word, research and that it was done to allay the fears of students who were not comfortable with the idea. Maureen said that this document is probably more about ‘image-making' and marketing, than anything else. Julia Zimmerman added that an undergraduate student expressed concern over the fact that if the focus of the university is on research, the quality of teaching might suffer. Jesse Davis said that all the nationally prominent universities, like UNC, Maryland , Virginia and so on have research in their vision statements. He added that the fear on part of the undergraduate students is more of a perceived one, rather than actually being grounded in reality. Everyone was of the opinion that we should focus on the mix of undergraduate education, graduate education, and research and not on one thing over the other.
Brooke informed the Council that she is on one of the subcommittees responsible for formulating the guiding principles of Ohio University . She requested input from all present so that she could take back that information with her. Ginger said that we should look at it in terms of a Venn diagram instead of a listing and that hopefully an iconic representation will get us out of a linear mode. She added that we describe ourselves by dividing ourselves. Jesse said that when you read the list, it goes in this order undergraduate, graduate, research---that implies a hierarchy of sorts. David Drabold responded saying that it is a tacit acknowledgement of who we are. We are primarily an undergraduate institution. Catherine said that everyone likes to see themself reflected in something like this. Labels facilitate that, they give such documents more of a human face.
Duncan said that he will get the most recent version of the document and circulate it electronically so that it can be discussed in the April meeting as well. David Mould added that he would share with everyone the condensed version of the document. He said that he deleted about a third of the words. Joe Rota said that if international education is not on the most recent version then Graduate Council should recommend it to the Provost to add it.
• Admissions Requirements Committee Report:
• Old Business : The following conflict of interest reviews were passed:
James McKean, and Shelley Ruff.
• New Business :
• I. The following conflict of interest reviews were passed:
Courtney Gould: with a change in the name of her degree from Early Childhood Development to Intervention Specialist.
Terrie Bruscino: Michael was asked if it would be possible for another employee at Graduate Studies to take care of ETD submissions of her colleagues from Art History.
• II. Everyone voted in favor of waiting till the next meeting for the following two reviews:
Ryan Clark and Elahu Gosney.
They are both employed in the college in which they want to graduate level courses. Faculty Senate is scheduled to meet on March 14 th , and will be passing a resolution regarding new policy about the above mentioned scenario.
• Policies and Regulations Committee:
• Leave of Absence Policy : David Drabold presented the Leave of Absence policy to Council.
• Continuous Registration : Maureen asked whether students register on time. Katie said that about 95 to 98 % register by the 15 th day of the quarter. The discussion centered around monitoring if a student is on campus or not and students using this option instead of registering for one credit hour. It will be cheaper for students to participate in this policy versus registering for one credit hour. Jerrel Mitchell noted that it is important to consider the revenue implications in such a situation. It is also impossible to monitor the service component on the part of faculty for students who are not present on campus. Katie added that she has spoken to Alan Boyd about the visa requirements for international students and that most of the changes suggested by him can be accomplished easily.
• New Ph.D. in Engineering:
Council was informed that the proposal for a Ph.D. in Engineering was withdrawn from the previous Trustees' meeting due to budgetary reasons.
Meeting Adjourned at 4:10 pm.
Next Meeting: April 8th , 2005 at 2 pm in the Governance Room, Walter Hall.
