Graduate Council – Minutes

East Tennessee State University

August 26, 2014 1:15pm

President’s Conference Room – Dossett Hall 206

 

Present:  Dr. Karin Bartoszuk, Dr. Stacy Brown, Ms. Queen H. E. Brown,

Dr. Wendy Doucette, Dr. William R. Duncan, Dr. Marsh M. Grube,

Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Marie Jones, Dr. Lori Marks, Dr. Brian Maxson,

Dr. Cecilia A. McIntosh, Dr. Martha M. Pointer, Dr. Nicole Prior,

Dr. Kathleen M. Rayman, Dr. Marie Tedesco, Dr. Michelle Lee,

Dr. Brittany Wilkins

 

Absent: Ms. Maria D. Costa, Dr. Wendy Doucette, Ms. LaDonna Hutchins, Dr. Karen King,

Ms. Billie Lancaster, Dr. Phillip Musich, Dr. Robert Pack, Dr. Evelyn Roach

Dr. Janna Scarborough, Dr. Florence M. Weierbach

 

Guests:  Dr. Megan Quinn, Ms. Emily Redd

 

Introductions of members:

 

The new and current graduate council members were introduced and stated their title and department.

 

Selection of Chair for 2014-15:

 

Dr. McIntosh opened the floor for chair nomination.  Dr. Lori Marks was named as nominee and unanimously selected as chair for 2014-15.

 

Approval of April 2014 Minutes: 

 

The motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the April 28, 2014 minutes.

 

Approval of June 2014 Minutes:

 

The approval of the June 16, 2014 minutes was tabled to the next meeting.

 

Subcommittee composition and chairs:

 

Dr. McIntosh reviewed1 the duties of the curriculum and the graduate faculty subcommittees.  The curriculum subcommittee meets the Monday before Graduate Council.  The motion was made, carried and voted to select Dr. Marie Tedesco, Dr. Phillip Musich, Dr. Martha M. Pointer, Dr. Kathleen Rayman (chair), Dr. Michelle Lee, Dr. Cecilia A. McIntosh, Dr. Wendy Doucette, and Dr. Karin Bartoszuk as the curriculum subcommittee members.   The motion was made, carried, and voted to select Dr. Lori Marks, Dr. Brian Maxson, Dr. Mitchell Robinson, Dr. Brittany Wilkins, Dr. Robert Pack, and Dr. Paul Trogen (chair) of the graduate faculty subcommittee members.  The graduate faculty subcommittee also meets the Monday before Graduate Council. 

 

 

Curriculum Subcommittee report – Dr. Marie Jones 

Each of the proposals below was considered using the following characteristics as an element of the appropriateness of the proposal:

Appropriate credit hour assignment

Appropriate discipline-specific best practices

Appropriate purpose and goals of the proposal

Appropriate intellectual/learning outcomes

Appropriate content and topics

Appropriate major assignments

Appropriate class level

Appropriate course type

Appropriate course delivery method

Conflict with other courses or programs

Articulation and transferability of credit to other institutions

 

I. Articulation Agreement: Biostatistics and Epidemiology - Creator: Megan Quinn

 

Allow 15 credits from Epidemiology Graduate Certificate to be applied to Master of Public Health with concentration in Epidemiology.

 

The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

 

·         Under item #4, change “See attached page” to “See Exhibit 1” and then label the articulation agreement at the end of the document as “Exhibit 1.”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with the recommendations

 

II. Articulation Agreement: Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies, MALS/Archives – Creator: Marie Tedesco

 

Allow 18 credits of the Archival Studies Certificate to be applied to the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, Archival Studies Concentration.

 

The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

 

·         Change implementation date (on cover page and executive summary) to fall 2015.

·         Under “type of program change” place information about articulation agreement into provided space for “other” at the end of the list of change types.

·         Indicate “no change” under #3 on TBR form.

·         Add instructions for catalog language under #4 on form: “Add the following language to the ETSU Graduate Catalog in the section on the archival studies graduate certificate and in the section on the Master of Liberal Studies, Archival Studies: ‘Students who have completed the Archival Studies Graduate Certificate may have up to 18 of the certificate credits applied toward the Master of Liberal Studies, Archival Concentration, as long as the courses fall within the matriculation limits.’ ”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with the recommendations

 

III. Modify curriculum: Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies, Archival Studies Certificate – Creator: Marie Tedesco

 

 Update elective portions of the curriculum to align with recommendations of the Society of American Archivists.

 

The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

 

·         Cover page: Formal degree abbreviation should be changed to C4, with title “Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies”

·         Last line of need statement edit to read: “Electives added are online courses that add to the choices of online students.”

·         #6: indicate n/a

·         #7: indicate no new costs

·         #8: First sentence, change “lists” to “list.”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with the recommendations

 

Graduate Faculty Subcommittee report and recommendations – Dr. Marks. 

 

Appointment

 

 

Applicant

Department

Recommendation

1.      Battista, Andrew

Political Science, International Affairs, and Public Administration

Member

2.      Becker, Lana

Accountancy

Member

3.      Greene, Dorothy

Social Work

Affiliate

4.      Lewallen, Jina

Social Work

Member

5.      White, Robert

Teaching and Learning

Member

 

Action taken by council:  approved

 

 

Reappointment

 

 

 

 

Applicant

Department

Present Status

Recommendation

1.      Harkness, Sarah

Professional Studies

Temporary

Affiliate

2.      Hoover, Donald

Biomedical Sciences

Full

Member

3.      Koterbay, Scott

Art & Design

Associate Member

Member

4.      Mead, Jim

Geosciences

Full

Senior Member

5.      Mitchell, Clifton

Counseling & Human Services

Full

Member

6.      Proctor-Williams, Kerry

Speech-Language Pathology

Associate Member

Member

7.      Renner, Jasmine

Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

Member

Member

 

 

Action taken by council:  approved

 

Report from Academic Council – Dr. Marks:

 

Dr. Marks reported several items discussed at the May Academic Council meeting.  Those items were the letter of intent for M. S. in Human Services, a M. S. in Sport Science and a planned letter of intent for a Ph. D. in Rehabilitative Sciences.  Ms. Heather Laurendeau, Director of Marketing for Online Programs, gave a presentation on the tracking system and analytics for the marketing strategy for online programs.  Those council members interested in the marketing and analytics should contact Ms. Laurendeau.  Dr. Jeff Howard reported on a new student sexual misconduct policy.  This information is located at www.etsu.edu/violencefree and is a campus wide campaign.  At the June Academic Council meeting, Ms. Linda Gibson presented information regarding issues of accessibility of Digital Curricula at all higher education institutions.  The Academic Council discussed options to comply with the accessibility issues.

 

Old Business:

 

Dr. McIntosh presented the Graduate Academic Fresh Start draft proposal to the council members for their review and approval. The ad hoc committee members are composed of Dr. Marie Tedesco, Dr. Robert Pack, Dr. Phillip Musich, Dr. Brian Maxson, and Dr. Cecilia McIntosh.  The committee worked diligently to incorporate Council suggestions from the June meeting and presented a proposal that included consideration of topics such as length of time, eligibility, financial aid impact, whether student may reapply, and transcript submission, essay length, person (s) that would make decisions of admission, and transferability of previous courses.  The council members recommended editing the form directions for the personal statement and other minor edits. The motion was made, second, and carried to accept the Graduate Academic Fresh Start proposal with the recommendations.

 

Dr. McIntosh requested continuing the discussion of the educational campaign to inform the campus community that the Thesis/Dissertation Reader is being discontinued after December 2014 as a result of budget cuts.  Ms. Emily Redd will continue to be the Thesis/Dissertation Coordinator.  The Council discussed ways to disseminate the announcement campus wide.  Discussion included input from the August Graduate Coordinator’s meeting and included creating a new submission form in order for committee chairs to affirm the correct (approved, file has been uploaded, requiring Turn-it-in report from committee chairs that thesis or dissertation meets expectations of best practice with respect to citations, meeting with CFAA to see what support might be made available to students such as an approved list of editors, departments or programs cost-sharing to continue hiring a Reader, what and who will announce information, and how to announce so that everyone will read.  The council voted to create a new submission form for committee chairs to affirm correct file upload, requiring Turn-it-in reports and affirmations from committee chairs, and meeting with CFAA to determine what is possible.  Dr. McIntosh will prepare a draft of a first email and send to Council members for input before distributing to the campus.  The motion was made, second, and approved.

 

 

New Business:

 

Dr. McIntosh requested suggestions of upcoming presentations.  Some of the previous presentations to graduate council have been Graduate Success, online learning, Illuminated magazine, and Boot camp.  The council members offered to think about future presentations and discuss at the next meeting.

                                               

Dr. McIntosh reminded the Council that, in response to their request last year, Dr. Noland committed to increasing the stipends of graduate assistantships across the board starting this year, however decreased enrollment and subsequent budget cuts delayed implementation.  Dr. Noland proposed increasing the stipend by $500 per year over a period of four years.  The last stipend increase was in the year 2000. Council members stated intention to work on a letter to Dr. Noland reminding him of this commitment.  This will be on the September Graduate Council agenda.

 

Other:

 

None

                     

Adjournment:

 

There was no further business to discuss; therefore, the meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.