Staff:  Terrie Bruscino, Raymie McKerrow, and Katherine Tadlock.

Excused:  Harvey Ballard, Leona Cibrowski, Eddith Dashiell, Charles McWeeney, Roger Radcliff, Josep Rota, Edwin Rowland, Arvind Singhal, Ed Yost, and Julie Zimmerman.

Guests:  Ken Brown, Norma Humphreys (for Charles McWeeney), and Mark McMills.

Convened: 2:13 p.m.

1.0            Chair Report:  A motion was made and approved unanimously to approve the May minutes as written.

2.0              Associate Provost for Graduate Studies Report

2.1              Dr. McKerrow introduced Terrie Bruscino, the new ETD Coordinator and Jennifer Francone’s replacement in Graduate Appointments.

2.2              Dr. McKerrow has been working to complete a grant proposal for the McNair Scholarship, which targets undergraduate students from low-income families that are the first in their families to pursue graduate degrees.  Raymie reported that the proposal is due in the fall.  If the proposal is successful, $250,000 per year will be funded to hire a staff to implement the Scholarship process and to fund the scholarships. 

2.3              A handout was provided regarding the PerryHockingEducationalServicesCenter (tentative) Schedule of Courses.  This program does not lead to a Masters Degree (in Higher Education), but may become more than a certificate program over the next two years of its implementation.  [See handout]

2.4              An argument has been made stating that scholarships that are state funded should not be given to international students.  This issue is currently being discussed at Legislative levels.

2.5              A proposal has been submitted regarding a reduction in general fees.  It was suggested that the committee should examine the components of the general fees and form a sub-council in the fall with appropriate representation to resolve this issue.

2.6             Graduate Student Services/Appointments has hired a graduate student to serve as a web-master to update/upgrade the Graduate Student Web-Site.  The appropriate Graduate offices have been notified.  All updates and/or questions be directed to Linda McDonald in Graduate Student Services. 

3.0              Curriculum Committee

3.1              Scott Sparks, Ph.D. referred the committee to the handouts on the final reports for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Teacher Education, and Women’s Studies.  Dr. Sparks also reviewed the guidelines for the approval process prior to the presentation and vote. 

3.1.1       The Chemistry and Biochemistry report was reviewed and members of the Chem/Biochem department were available for discussion.  It was stated by the representatives that the check sheet for the report is unacceptable and should be revised.  Additionally, they felt that there was concern regarding time frames and evaluations of the undergraduate and graduate students together.  A recommendation was made not to accept the report.

3.1.1.1Following a brief discussion in response to the departments concerns, it was recommended that an amendment be made to the report to include the following:

3.1.1.1.1      “There appear to be inconsistencies in the rating sheet and report as found by the committee.”

3.1.1.2   A motion was made and approved unanimously to accept the report with the amendment. 

3.1.2      The Department of Teacher Education report was reviewed and discussed.  It was recommended that the Graduate Council accept the report.  A motion was made and approved unanimously to accept the report as written.

3.1.3      The Women’s Studies (Program) report was reviewed.  They are hoping that this certificate program will develop into its own degree program.  A motion was made and approved unanimously to accept the report as written.

4.0              Admission Requirements Committee

4.1              Katherine Tadlock, Ph.D.  distributed a conflict of Interest Review from the Admission Requirements Committee for discussion.  The Admission Requirements Committee felt that there was no conflict on this particular case.  The Graduate Council expressed one issue of concern that the student has dual status in a “non-degree” program with degree status.

4.1.1       The committee determined the recommendation to be acceptable.

4.2              In addition to Dr. McKerrow’s report on the website earlier, Dr. Tadlock added that our goal is to connect graduate students to as much information as possible. 

4.3            In response to issues encountered in the past Graduate Studies/Appointments and Graduate Student Services are in the process of organizing an orientation for graduate students in an effort to deal with questions students commonly have about contracts and payroll forms. 

4.3.1       Additionally, Graduate Council was reminded that all contracts should be processed in a timely manner to ensure student payment.

5.0          No New Business

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:13 p.m.

Next Meeting: TBA