Graduate Council – Minutes

East Tennessee State University

October 30, 2006 1:15pm

President’s Conference Room – Dossett Hall

 

Attending: Dr. David Arnall, Dr. Scott Champney, Dr. Wallace Dixon, Dr. Donald Hoover,

Dr. Jo-Ann Marrs, Dr. Cecilia McIntosh, Dr. Martha Pointer, Dr. Jeffrey Powers-Beck,

Dr. Jasmine Renner, Dr. Robert Sawyer, Dr. Philip Scheuerman, Dr. Marie Tedesco, Dr. Paul Trogen, Queen Brown – Dr. Mark Ellis excused per e-mail.

 

The committee approved the following items with the noted changes:

NEW COURSES:

1. PHIL 5077 - Contemporary Continental Philosophy

http://infosys.etsu.edu/cps/forms.aspx?DispType=OutputForms&NodeID=5_4a_1&FormID=6&Instance=616

 

Currently, PHIL 4027/5027 Contemporary Philosophy is a required course for the major. The course material is divided between twentieth century analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, and the course is taught jointly by two faculty members, one specializing in each area. However, there is too much material to be covered adequately in a single course, and it has been impossible for the department to staff this course annually since it requires two professors. Thus, it has been offered only every second year, which is too infrequent for a required course. We propose the creation of two new courses – Contemporary Continental Philosophy and Topics in Analytic Philosophy – to permit better treatment of the subject matter. We propose modifying the contemporary philosophy requirement so that it may be satisfied by taking one of these two courses.

 

A survey of the developments in European philosophy from the last 19 th century to the present. Topics may include phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, post-structuralism, critical theory, and philosophies of difference.

 

A. Remove the redundant “to” in the “Purpose and Goals” section of the Course Syllabus

B. Expand the “Course Description” on both the proposal form and the course syllabus

 

Action taken by council: Approved with recommended changes

 

2. PHIL 5087 - Topics in Analytic Philosophy

http://infosys.etsu.edu/cps/forms.aspx?DispType=OutputForms&NodeID=5_4a_1&FormID=6&Instance=615

 

The rationale for proposal as stated in PHIL 5077.

 

A survey of the developments in analytic philosophy from the late 19 th century to the present

Topics may include logical atomism, logical positivism, ordinary language philosophy, naturalism, conceptual analysis, analytic epistemology, analytic metaphysics, and meta-ethics.

 

A. Remove the redundant “to” in the “Purpose and Goals” sections of the Course Syllabus

B. Expand the “Course Description” on both the proposal form and the course syllabus

C. Add the page numbers to the readings listed in the “Required Readings” on the Course Syllabus

 

Action taken by council: Approved with recommended changes

 

3. CDIS 5290 – Advanced Adult Neurogenic Cognitive Communicative Disorders

http://infosys.etsu.edu/cps/forms.aspx?DispType=OutputForms&NodeID=5_4a_1&FormID=6&Instance=929

This course has been taught experimentally as an elective in the graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology.

An advanced seminar focusing on three topics: communicative and cognitive disorders following right hemisphere damage (RHBD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and dementing progressive neurological diseases. The course will emphasize in-depth understanding of the nature of the disorders and their neurological correlates, diagnostic tools for assessing the disorders, and critical review of treatment procedures used to remediate the disorders.

A. Correct the following typographical errors in the “Course Description” on the proposal form and in the “Catalog Description” in the Course Syllabus:

1. Change “focused” to “focusing.”

2. Correct the spelling of “traumatic”

3. Insert a space between “emphasize” and “in-depth,” and hyphenate “in-depth.”

B. Insert “Students should be able to:” before the bulleted items in the “Purpose and Goals” section of the Course Syllabus

C. Insert “be” before “prepared” in the last bulleted item in the “Purpose and Goals” section of the Course Syllabus

D. Insert a space between “model” and “of” in the third item of “Learning Outcomes” in the Course Syllabus

E. Add a “y” to the “appl” in the third item of “Learning Outcomes” in the Course Syllabus

F. Add a “-“ to the second grade of “A” in the “Grading Scale” on the Course Syllabus

 

Action taken by council: Approved with recommended changes

 

CURRICULUM CHANGE:

http://infosys.etsu.edu/cps/forms.aspx?DispType=OutputForms&NodeID=5_4a_6&FormID=17&Instance=769

 

The department voted to replace Seminar in Taxation (ACCT 5410) with Income Taxes II (ACCT 4427/5427). Most of our MACC students are attempting to get either their 150 hours required by most all states, or to earn the MACC designation. Without the Corporate Taxation course (ACCT 5427), the pass rate on the CPA exam has decreased. ACCT 4427/5427 is currently in the catalog. The undergraduate option will be retained for those having 150 hours, but needing this course to improve their understanding of corporate taxation. ACCT 5410 will be retained as an elective for MACC students. Additionally, with the change in content of BADM 5710, Strategic Management Process, (since changed to BADM 5500) in the Master of Business Administration program, it does meet the needs of MACC students. Currently, BADM 5500 is used as the first part of a sequence in which MBA students begin working with the clients they will consult with as part of BADM 5800, Strategic Experience. Since MACC students do not take BADM 5800, they should not take BADM 5500. In place of BADM 5500 (previously BADM 5710), MACC students should take a strategy course that fits with their professional interests. Courses from which MACC students may choose include the following: BADM 5170, Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation BADM 5320, Operations Strategy BADM 5340, Human Resource Strategy BADM 5400, Market Strategy MGMT 5590, Strategic Planning for Health Care

 

Changes in the CPA exam have increased the need for corporate tax to be a required part of the curriculum. In the revised exam, 40 or 60 percent of the Regulation part of the exam is corporate.

 

A. Correct the spelling of “department” in the “Summary of Actions.”

B. Add “to be able to qualify for taking the CPA exam” after “required by most all states” in the second sentence of the “Summary of Actions.”

C. Insert “not” the seventh sentence of the “Summary of Actions” so that the section will read “it does NOT meet the needs of MACC students….”

D. Add semi-colons between the names and course numbers of the courses listed in the last sentence of the “Summary of Actions.”

E. Correct the spelling of “biannually” in the “List ETSU courses to be deleted from the course inventory” section.

 

Action taken by council: Approved with recommended changes

 

 

No action taken: sub-committee did not meet

 

Action taken by council: Tabled

 

 

The President’s Council decision for changing the graduation ceremony included the decision to eliminate hooding of Doctoral students during the December and May graduation ceremonies. Dr. Nancy Dishner and Mr. Paul Hayes explained the alternate plans the ad hoc committee had formulated and what factors were considered in arriving at their recommendations. In brief, rationale for elimination of hooding included the length of the ceremony (recent ones being 3-4 hours), mixed signals to family (some doctoral students were hooded at graduation (note – traditionally here at ETSU, dissertation students had been hooded while others were not), the new fire marshal occupancy regulations, and researching of the situation; the conclusion was made to split the graduation ceremony into two sections. The first ceremony will be at 10:00 a.m. and the second at 2:00 p.m. Therefore, the time constraint for set-up between ceremonies was deemed an additional reason for elimination of hooding of doctoral students. A few individual colleges, for example nursing and education, will hood their graduate students in a separate ceremony. The formal procedure will be reviewed after December graduation and again after the May graduation ceremony.

 

As a result of the President’s Council decision, the Graduate Council members participated in a lively and informative discussion whether to send a statement to the President’s Council or to table the item until spring. The decision was made to compose a brief statement conveying the position that hooding is an important component of the culmination of many years of work toward the doctoral degree and asking that future reviews of the graduation ceremony include consideration of inclusion of hooding in some form. Ms. Queen Brown was asked to draft a statement based on the discussion and to route to members for their comment. The approved statement would then be conveyed to the president’s council.