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Graduate Council Minutes

November 15, 2012

MEMBERS PRESENT

Voting: Professors T.P. Cronan, N.D. Dennis, A. J. Dowdle, A.E. Ellstrand, P.M. Hewitt, V.H. Hunt, M.D. Richardson, F.M. Scheide, T.G. Shields, J.D. Wiersma, A.M. Zajicek; Ms. J. Bailey; Mr. C. Stoudenmire

Non-Voting: Professors C.H. Adams, J. Ganson, P.R. Koski, M.T. Miller, A. O’Leary-Kelly; Ms. M. Harwood-Rom



MEMBERS ABSENT

Voting: Professors R.M. Costrell, P.R. Selvam

Non-Voting: Professor L.J. Robertson


GUESTS           Professors C. Murphy, L. Sparks, J. Wicks, C. Wissehr

SECRETARY        Ms. T. M. Fisher

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Chair Patricia Koski

  1. Professor Koski adjusted the agenda in two ways: a) a clarification of the proposal to modify the M.A. degree in English (6a.) was distributed by e-mail and added to the agenda; b) a discussion of teaching assistant assignments during the intersessions was added to the agenda (6n).
  2. Minutes for the October 18th, 2012, Graduate Council meeting stand approved, as no changes were suggested. (The minutes of the Graduate Council may be found at http://grad.uark.edu/dean/gradcouncil/minutes/).
  3. Professor Koski welcomed Judy Ganson, who is replacing Juana Young as the representative from Mullins Library. The Council asked Professor Ganson to convey to Professor Young our deep appreciation for her years of service and our best wishes for her retirement.
  4. Professor Koski announced that we now have a license for Turnitin.com for checking graduate papers and that information will soon be sent to everyone on how to access this.
  5. Reports for the Academic Appeals Committee and the Teaching Assistant Effectiveness Advisory Committee were distributed by e-mail prior to the meeting; there were no questions about these reports ( Attachment A).
  6. New Business:
    1. Professor L. Sparks presented a proposal to modify the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English (ENGLMA, ENGLPH). However, the Council expressed concerns about a portion of each proposal concerning the minimum grade point average for dismissal from the program, and asked that additional information be brought back. The proposals were tabled.
    2. Professor J. Wicks presented a proposal to create a five-year combined JOUR BA/MA program ( Attachment B). Following discussion, the proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    3. Professor A. Dowdle presented a proposal to change the name of the Master of Public Administration degree (MPA) to Master of Public Administration and Nonprofit Studies. The six digit code will remain the same (PADMMP) ( Attachments C and Attachment D). Following discussion, the proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate, Board of Trustees (BOT), and Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE)
    4. Professor A. Zajicek presented a proposal to modify the M.A. degree in Sociology (SOCIMA), criminology concentration, by moving Research in Criminology out of restricted electives and adding it to the list of required courses ( Attachment E). Following discussion, the proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    5. Professor K. Wissehr presented a proposal to modify the M.A.T. degree in Childhood Education (CHEDMA) by adding a new STEM concentration. The proposal was tabled until the next Council meeting.
    6. Professor C. Murphy presented a proposal to modify the Ed.S. degree in Curriculum and Instruction (CIEDES) in the ways described in Section V of Attachment F. Following discussion, the proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    7. Professor N. Dennis presented a proposal to modify the M.S. degrees in Computer Engineering (CENGMS) and Computer Science (CSCEMS) in the ways described in Section V of Attachment G and Attachment H. After discussion, the proposals were approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    8. Professor N. Dennis presented a proposal to eliminate the General Engineering concentration in the Ph.D. degree in Engineering (ENGRPH) ( Attachment I and Attachment J). Following discussion, this proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate, BOT, and ADHE.
    9. Professor Koski presented a proposal to modify the graduate certificate in Sustainability (SUSTGC) by adding one course (COMM 5513) to the list of acceptable electives and deleting one course (AGEC 4413) from the list ( Attachment K and Attachment L). Following discussion, the proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    10. Professor Koski presented a proposal to modify the M.S. degree in Microelectronics-Photonics (MEPHMS) (professional path) to require three or more of the MEPH Operations Management seminars instead of all four and to require that a syllabus for any individual study or special topics course be submitted to the Microelectronics-Photonics administration before the course can be used to meet degree requirements ( Attachment M). Following discussion, this proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    11. Professor Koski presented a proposal to modify the Ph.D. degree in Microelectronics-Photonics by adding the requirement that a student entering the program with a M.S. degree from another program must complete MEPH 5911 and MEPH 5383 prior to taking the written candidacy exam and to require that a syllabus for any individual study or special topics course be submitted to the Microelectronics-Photonics administration before the course can be used to meet degree requirements ( Attachment N). Following discussion, the proposal was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
    12. Professor Koski asked the Council whether it wished to define peer in the application for graduate faculty status and the Council members indicated that they do. After the meeting, Professor Koski distributed the e-mail contained in Attachment O for Council review.
    13. The Council agreed to eliminate the practice of allowing students who submit their dissertation by a certain date early in their semester of graduation to be exempt from enrollment. Thus, the Council agreed to enforce for all students the requirement that doctoral students be enrolled in their semester of graduation. This is effective with the Summer 2012 graduation semester.
    14. Professor Koski distributed a draft policy regarding teaching assistant assignments during the intersession. Following discussion, the proposed policy in Attachment P was approved and was sent to Provost Gaber.
  7. The course change report contained in Attachment Q was approved and will go next to the Faculty Senate.
  8. The graduate faculty recommendations contained in Attachment R were approved.

There being no other business, the Council adjourned at 3:40 p.m.


Submitted by: Patricia R. Koski, Chair

Approved by: Todd G. Shields, Dean