November Agenda

Thursday, November 19th, 2015

2:00 p.m.

Upchurch Conference Room, Bell Engineering

  1. Minutes for the October 15th, 2015, Graduate Council meeting will stand approved if no corrections are received. (Please review the Graduate Council Minutes) before the meeting.
  2. Announcements
  3. Report from Committees:
    • Academic Appeals
    • Teaching Assistant Effectiveness Advisory Committee
    • Calendar
    • Library
  4. Old Business: None
  5. New Business, Fulbright College
    1. Department of Art, proposal to modify the MFA degree (ARTMFA) by requiring students to enroll in at least three hours in their concentration area every Fall and Spring semester, except the final semester; adding a requirement to submit regular thesis progress reports to the thesis chair and committee in the final year prior to graduation.
    2. Department of Communication, proposal to modify the MA degree (COMMMA) by changing the focus to Civic Engagement; increasing program requirements from 30 to 33 hours; adding different methods courses; adding an Introduction of Paradigms in Communication class (COMM 5163) as a requirement; and requiring a capstone course as an exit experience for students not writing a thesis.
    3. Program in Creative Writing, proposal to modify the MFA (CRWRMF) by requiring two specific requirements within advanced coursework, deleting different course work requirements for students in the translation concentration, and specifying that the comprehensive exam is oral, not written.
    4. Department of English, proposal to modify the MA degree (ENGLMA) to offer a generalist concentration and a specialist concentration, delete the concentration in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy, add an option for students to choose a portfolio track (in addition to the existing thesis track), and delete the exam track.
    5. Department of Journalism, proposal to modify the M.A. degree (JOURMA) by changing the number of hours required in journalism from 12 to 18 and reducing the number of hours taken in a second field from 12 to 6, and adding JOUR 5023 Journalism Theory as a required course. Total hours required for the degree remain the same at 30.
    6. Department of Music, proposal to modify the MM degree (MUSCMM), Instrumental Concentration and Music History Concentration, by deleting MUHS 5753, 5773, 5778, 5793 as program requirements and replacing them with MUHS 5903, Seminar in Musicology.
    7. Department of Philosophy, proposal to modify the MA degree (PHILMA) by removing the extra course requirement in history of philosophy and replacing it by changing the number of required graduate seminar hours from six to nine.
  6. New Business, College of Education and Health Professions, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, proposal to change the MAT degree in Secondary Education (SEEDMA) to Teacher Education (EDUCMA) and add two concentrations in Secondary Education and Multiple Level Education.
  7. New Business, College of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering
      1. Proposal to modify the M.S. degree (CVEGMS) by eliminating the report option and creating a course work-only option. Thirty hours will be required for the thesis option and 36 hours will be required for the course work-only option.
      2. Proposal to modify the Ph.D. degree in Engineering with a concentration in Civil Engineering (CVEGPH) by reducing the required hours from 48 to 36 and requiring that students take CVEG 5100, Graduate Seminar in Civil Engineering, for two semesters instead of one.
                Note: All program changes and program proposals may be viewed at 
    https://nextcatalog.uark.edu/programadmin
                . Program proposals are also listed in 
    Attachment A
              .
  8. Proposal from the Academic Appeals Committee: In accordance with ADHE rules, the Graduate Council:
    • Adheres to the rule that, for a master’s degree, at least 50% of the credits (whether coursework or research) presented for the degree must be at the 5000 level or above
    • Adheres to the rule that, for doctoral degrees, 100% of the final 42 credit hours presented for the degree must be at the 5000 level or above
    • Encourages departments/programs to eliminate the use of dual credit 4000-level classes and replace them with 4000/5000 level pairs
    • Reminds departments/programs that if they continue to use dual credit 4000-level classes, they must be vigilant to ensure that students have sufficient numbers of 5000-level or above credit hours to be able to graduate
    • New ADHE rules with regard to graduate course work will be effective with the 2016-17 Graduate Catalog.
  9. Course change reports from the University Course and Programs Committee (UCPC) (Attachment B).
  10. Graduate faculty recommendations for faculty: A preliminary list is attached (Attachment C). A complete list will be distributed at the meeting.
  11. Other Business