Minutes of the Meeting

August 23, 2002
 

The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Judith Walker de Felix. Members in attendance were: John Blake, Kathleen Sullivan Brown, Cody Ding, Ronald Dotzel, Yael Even, Tom Eyssell, Alice Hall, Sandra Lindquist, Carol Peck, Eduardo Silva, Zuleyma Tang-Martinez, Shiying Zhao. Member absent were: Clinton Greene, E. Terrence Jones. Dr. Andrew Glassberg is on leave of absence this year and will be replaced.
 

I. Dean's Report
Dr. Felix gave her vision statement to Council. There are some procedural changes that can be effected now without Graduate Council action. The oral defense announcements are now posted on the Graduate School web page and in the campus' Friday update. The Graduate School has started a database which lists all doctoral students and their progress in the program. The Registrars' office has been asked to provide a breakdown of applicants by department. The Graduate School staff is streamlining some forms. The G-11, G-12, G-13 forms are being combined into one form. The M-4 Master's graduation form is being revised. The suggestion to list the forms numerically and alphabetically on the web is already in place.
 

Items that cannot currently be handled without additional approval are:

· Students who receive the Master's along the way to the doctorate cannot have delayed grades on their transcripts when the Master's degree is awarded.

· Marketing of graduate programs. There is no budget in the Graduate School for marketing programs. We need to find ways to get faculty research in the news. Bob Samples' office said that basic faculty research would not be picked up by the news media. They are more interested in medical research. Dr. Sullivan Brown noted that Terry Jones is collecting research about St. Louis issues or anything with a St. Louis connection. Dr. Silva suggested publicizing any conferences that we have to help promote our visibility. The University is looking for bids for an ad company so it would help to share ideas about how each unit advertises.

· Enhance communication with International Studies. Joel Glassman has agreed to schedule a meeting with the International Studies staff and Graduate Program Directors, Chairs and Graduate Council. Some Graduate Program Directors have had problems with knowing when international students have applied. One suggestion is to handle these applications in-house.
 

Suggested Topics for Policy Reviews

· Review admissions policies to simplify process to admit "impulse shoppers" while they prepare documents for full admission (Chancellor's priority).

· Bring policies on application of undergraduate credit to graduate degrees in line with Curator's action.

· Review Graduate Equivalency Credit given current financial problems. Currently doctoral candidates can be given 8 equivalency hours when enrolled in 1 hour of dissertation credit. How does this affect the faculty workload credit? When is it appropriate? Council reaction ranged from making sure faculty are given workload credit to making sure students did not have to sign up for more hours than they needed. Some faculty thought 490 credit did not count toward faculty workload.

· Review policy of limiting dissertation hours to 4 hours before a dissertation proposal is approved (not enforced).

· Recommend changes in the composition of dissertation committees.

· Make residency requirements more appropriate for urban constituents (cf. UCLA).

· Which forms/decisions should be made at the department level and which should be made at the graduate dean level?

· Find ways to reduce paperwork and number of forms.
 

Suggested areas for feedback

· Discuss where the Graduate School money should be spent. Should it be used for marketing or for tuition remission?

· Given the national trend to prefer new faculty with preparation in teaching, how should the Graduate School interact with the Center for Teaching Excellence?
 

II. Election of a Secretary/Vice Chairperson

Dr. Carol Peck was nominated by Kathleen Sullivan Brown and seconded by Eduardo Silva. Council approved unanimously the nomination.
 

III. Election of Subcommittees

Council nominated the following faculty to fill open positions on the four Graduate Council subcommittees. Council agreed to forward names of nominees for those remaining open slots to the Graduate School office. The chair of each committee must be a member of the Graduate Council.

Admissions and Scholarship - (NEED A CHAIR)
(Vacant), Humanities
Godfrey Bourne, Math/Natural Sciences
(Vacant), Social Sciences
Kathleen Haywood, Education
Yael Even, Fine Arts
Rajiv Sabherwal, Business
Anne Fish, Nursing
Carol Peck, Optometry
 

Curriculum and Instruction - NEEDS A CHAIR
(Vacant), Humanities
John Blake, Biology
(Vacant), Social Sciences
Cody Ding, Education
Kathleen Sullivan-Brown, Education
Alice Hall, Fine Arts
(Vacant), Business
Teri Murray, Nursing
Carl Bassi, Optometry
 

Program Development - NEEDS A CHAIR
(Vacant), Humanities
Ronald Dotzel, Math/Natural Sciences
Peter Stevens, Math/Natural Sciences
Susan Kashubeck-West, Education
(Vacant), Fine Arts
Tom Eyssell, Business
Mary Jo Stralka, Nursing
Tim Wingert, Optometry
 

Rules and Regulations
(Vacant), Humanities
Zuleyma Tang-Martinez, Math/Natural Sciences
Ronald Dotzel, Math/Natural Sciences, CHAIR
(Vacant), Social Sciences
Matthew Keefer, Education
(Vacant), Fine Arts
(Vacant), Business
Peggy Ellis, Nursing
Howard McAlister, Optometry
 

Replacement of Andrew Glassberg.. Since Dr. Glassberg is on leave for this year, he will need to be replaced. Council suggested that George McCall or Jayne Stake should be approached as possible replacements.

III. Approval of the Minutes of the April 5, 2002 meeting
 

Cody Ding recommended approval and Kathleen Sullivan Brown seconded the motion to approve the April 5 minutes of the Graduate Council meeting.
 

There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 2:43 p.m.
 

Respectfully submitted,
 

Carol Peck
Secretary/Vice Chairperson

CP:meh