March 9, 2005

 

The March meeting of the Graduate Council was called to order by Dean David Wittrock, at 8:30 a.m., March 9, 2005, in the Plains Room in the Memorial Union.

In Attendance: Mark Aune, Canan Bilen-Green, Joe Brennan, Amanda Dillard, Charlene Wolf-Hall, Harlene Hatterman-Valenti, Robert Hearne, Qun Huo, Ayanava Majumdar, Judy Pearson, Donna Terbizan, Rodney Traub.

The minutes for the March 2, 2005 meeting were considered, Judy Pearson made a motion to approve the minutes, and Rodney Traub provided the second. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

• Denver Tolliver presented the revisions to the proposal for the Military Logistics program. The course numbers have been changed to 700 level courses. He broadened the potential for collaboration to Operations Research, Emergency Management, and Computer Science. Ken Nygard, Computer Science, supports the program and has agreed to team teach and work with the program in regarding to the Information Technology aspects. Kathleen Slobin, Sociology, is excited about the opportunities, but right now their department is overbooked. She expressed there is a possibility for guest lecturers and more involvement as the program evolves.
  
  John Elder said the College of Business Curriculum Committee has approved this proposal. According to Dean Wittrock, the College of Math and Science Curriculum Committee will review the proposal.
  
  Judy Pearson said she spoke with Kathleen Slobin who intends to send a letter of support for the program. Denver Tolliver said he also spoke with Kevin Thompson who plans to send a letter of support.
  
  Joe Brennan asked if this is a Plan C program. If so, is the test the Plan C? Dean Wittrock said we do not formally have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. However, if those are put in to place, Plan C would be coursework only and this program would fall under that category. Rodney Traub said there would be a capstone course, but that has not been formalized.
  
  Dean Wittrock addressed Mark Aune's previous concern about library resources. Dean Wittrock said unlike most new programs, this program has resources attached to it. It is not clear at this point how the dollars will be distributed but he has confidence that the resources will be dedicated to the program. There should also be an assurance of the number of students participating and the period of time over which the program will run.
  
  Mark Aune suggested the proposal should include language be added to address concerns. For example, if money doesn't flow back to the departments involved, are they responsible for the costs of new faculty. Dean Wittrock asked the group if an agreement should be developed between departments and the program to address these issues in case it becomes an issue at the State Board of Higher Education level. Judy Pearson pointed out that classroom space might also be a state board issue.
  Joe Brennan motioned to approve the proposal for the Master of Military Logistics program. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti provided the second.
  
  Dean Wittrock asked the group how they would like to see the issues addressed. Joe Brennan asked what is required for the State Board of Higher Education. Dean Wittrock said the issues may be more relevant to the presidents and provost meeting held prior to the state board meeting. Joe Brennan said he would like to see more information about the department cooperation, but agreed with approving the proposal with the promise that these items would be included. Judy Pearson said she is impressed with the work done since the meeting last week she is confident the other issues will be addressed. Motion carried.
  
  
• Dr. Dale Sullivan presented a proposal for the Doctoral Program in Rhetoric, Writing and Culture. Dean Wittrock said it was his understanding that the Graduate Council has already approved this program. Dr. Sullivan said the original proposal for a Ph.D. program was started in 2002. There was objection from the University of North Dakota over the similarities of the proposed program and their Ph.D. program. In 2004, consultants were hired to look at the curriculum and the proposal was revised. Provost Schnell is ready to move forward with the proposal with President Chapman's approval. Rodney Traub said he had a number of suggestions for the proposal and would like to meet with Dr. Sullivan. He also recommended Dr. Sullivan think about what issues UND has not raised that they may raise at this time. Dr. Sullivan said he feels they have pre-empted any more resistance.
  
  Joe Brennan motioned to approve the Doctoral Program in Rhetoric, Writing and Culture. Judy Pearson provided the second. Motion carried.
  
  
• Dean Wittrock presented the group with information regarding the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as an alternative to the TOEFL. Joe Brennan asked if the Dean saw a downside to using this score. Dean Wittrock said he felt by using this score it would broaden the pool of applicants. Joe Brennan motioned that the Dean formulate a policy regarding usage of IELTS scores. Donna Terbizan provided the second. Dean Wittrock said the equivalencies don't exactly match our current TOEFL requirements and asked the group if the cut off should be 6 for admission and 7 for teaching or 5.5 for admission and 7. Joe Brennan said 5.5 and 7, but to also send the information to departments if they wish to have stricter requirements. Motion carried.
  
  
• Dean Wittrock presented a report he prepared regarding undergraduate students taking graduate courses. This reports is the result of a request from Program Review partial to find if there are accreditation implications. Rodney Traub said he felt the problem was overstated. For example, he has 2 PharmD seniors taking one of his MBA courses because they are dual majors. He has also had people who have already graduated take an MBA course, but they are still classified as seniors.
  
  Joe Brennan asked why undergraduates take 600 level courses if there is a 400 level option. Rodney Traub said an instructor submitting a course proposal years ago said some students felt it was easier to get a good grade at the 600 level. Joe Brennan asked if PeopleSoft would correct this issue. Dean Wittrock said no because PeopleSoft allows students to have dual careers. Currently, undergraduates taking graduate courses pay undergraduate courses. Should we ask them to pay graduate tuition, which would be like admitting them to graduate school? The pitfall is that if we do this, they will not be able to use these credits toward their bachelor's degree.
  
  Judy Pearson said the first question we need to answer is do we allow undergraduate students to take graduate courses. Mark Aune said we should let an advanced undergraduate do advanced work at the undergraduate rate. Donna Terbizan said high school seniors are allowed to take undergraduate courses and they run out of courses to take because they have brought so many in to the program with them. Maybe the number of courses they can take should be capped.
  
  Dean Wittrock said if the graduate course were used toward a bachelor's degree, it would not be transferred into a graduate program. If courses were limited to 2, it would cover 85% of the students. Joe Brennan motioned that Dean Wittrock consult with the Registrar to develop a policy to regulate undergraduate students taking graduate courses. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti provided the second. Motion carried.
  
  
• Dean Wittrock said a department requested the application process for certificate programs be simplified. Currently, those seeking a certificate must submit the same application materials as those seeking a degree. Judy Pearson said she was a part of the committee that formulated the certificate programs. There were two models. One being stand-alone certificate programs, which we use. The other being a program that bundles certificate programs toward a degree. She agrees with simplifying the process.
  
  Joe Brennan asked if the idea was to remove the requirement for letters of recommendation. He feels the statement of purpose shows writing ability. Donna Terbizan said with the new on-line application system, submitted letters of recommendation is simplified. She said we need to know that applicant is at the graduate level, but she does not have a problem with them being admitted in a non-degree status.
  
  Judy Pearson made a motion that applicants to certificate programs submit an application form and transcripts. Robert Hearne provided the second.
  
  Dean Wittrock said this policy would not keep departments from asking for more materials. Charlene Wolf-Hall said her department offers a Food Protection Certificate. This certificate is directed toward industry people, but a recent inquirer said it is tedious to complete all of the application materials for a couple of courses.
  Robert Hearne proposed to amend the motion to include the statement of purpose. Donna Terbizan provided the second. Motion carried.
  
  Joe Brennan proposed to amend the motion to include letters of recommendation or an interview with the department. There was no second.
  The motion that applicants to certificate programs submit an application form, transcripts and a statement of purpose carried.
  
  Dean Wittrock said this policy should also be brought to the graduate faculty.

OLD BUSINESS

• Dean Wittrock brought forward the issue of continuous enrollment, originally discussed at the February meeting. At that meeting the policy was changed to say that a student must register for 1 credit for each semester missed for us to 4 semesters. After 4 semesters, a student would be asked to re-apply. Joe Brennan asked how many students this affects. Dean Wittrock said 6-7 a semester, not huge but not infrequent.
  
  Donna Terbizan asked how this affects the 7-year and 10-year policies. Dean Wittrock said if you request a leave of absence it does not change the policies. Judy Pearson said as the years pass the departments requirements may change and someone re-applying may not be accepted. Donna Terbizan asked if they could register for the continuation credit. Dean Wittrock said yes and this policy would apply no matter at which point the break is.
  
  Donna Terbizan said this is an issue in their department as many students receive coaching jobs and leave prior to finishing their papers. Once the 7-year mark is approaching, they contact the department to finish their degree. She is not against re-applying, but this policy may anger people.
  
  Joe Brennan motioned to allow retroactive leave be granted to those who are in active military service. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti asked if such a policy was needed since there is not a policy that says retroactive leaves will not be granted. Judy Pearson said the council should give this more thought, as there may be other situations where retroactive leave may be appropriate.
  
  Dean Wittrock tabled the item until the next meeting.
  

Dr. Wittrock adjourned the meeting at 9:55 a.m.

Submitted by,

Melissa Selders-Ortez, Student Services Associate