September Minutes

September 17, 2015

MEMBERS PRESENT

Voting: Professors V. Anand, J.R. Chimka, N.D. Dennis, P.K. Dowe, V.H. Hunt, K.L. Needy, J.T. Scott, F. Spiegel; Ms. M.J. Pruitt Hansen

Non-Voting: Professors S. Adams, J. Ganson, P.R. Koski, Y. Murphy-Erby

MEMBERS ABSENT

Voting: Professors T.P. Cronan, K.S. Grover, D. Shirey, R. Warren; second representative from the Graduate Dean’s Student Advisory Board

Non-Voting: Professors M.T. Miller, A. O’Leary-Kelly, L.J. Robertson

SECRETARY: Ms. T. M. Fisher

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Chair Patricia Koski

  1. Minutes for the August 20th, 2015, Graduate Council meeting stand approved, as no changes were suggested. (Please review the Graduate Council Minutes).
  2. Professor Koski welcomed new members of the Council: Professor Ken Korth from the Bumpers College and Dr. Stephanie Adams from the Division of Student Affairs; Ms. Maggie Jo Pruitt Hansen from the Graduate Dean’s Student Advisory Board. Council members introduced themselves. Other new members of the Council are Professor Justin Chimka from the College of Engineering, Professor Pearl Dowe from Fulbright College, and Professor Debbie Shirey from the College of Education and Health Professions.
  3. Professor Koski reported that the Academic Appeals Committee did not meet this month and that the Teaching Assistant Effectiveness Advisory Committee met to review feedback about the TA Orientation held in August. There were no reports from the Calendar Committee and the Library Committee.
  4. There was no old business.
  5. Professor J. Chimka presented a proposal from the Department of Industrial Engineering, in the College of Engineering, asking the Council to approve two exceptions to Graduate Council rules for proposed shared work for the MSIE degree with the Universidad Popular Auotonoma De Estado De Puebla, in Puebla, Mexico:
    • Allow students in this exchange program to transfer up to three courses for a maximum of nine UA credit hours for pre-vetted courses in industrial engineering from the Universidad (exception to the rule that only six hours may be transferred into master’s programs)
    • Allow students to transfer course work from a foreign university (exception to the rule that discourages this).
    These two exceptions were approved unanimously and no additional approval is required.
  6. Discussion Items:
    1. The Council was asked to discuss the possibility of moving a number of committee assignments for graduate students from the Graduate Dean’s Student Advisory Board (an appointed committee) to the Graduate Student Congress (an elected body). As there was no opposition to this suggestion, a motion was made and unanimously approved to change these nominations. Committees affected are: the Graduate Council, the Academic Appeals Committee, the University Course and Programs Committee, the University Program Review Committee, the Parking, Transit and Traffic Committee, the Library Committee and the Health Advisory Committee. Other approvals will be sought where necessary to move these committee nominations.
    2. The Council was asked to discuss whether grades or a grade and a CR should show on the undergraduate/graduate transcripts, respectively, for those programs approved to double count courses for both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. Following reports from constituencies and discussion, this discussion was halted so that Council members could gather additional information from constituencies based the discussion.
    3. The Council was asked to discuss the possibility of allowing programs to double count up to six hours of course credit for both an undergraduate and a graduate degree. Council members reported from their constituencies and discussion followed. It was agreed that there is not enough support for this proposal for it to be pursued further.
  7. The graduate faculty recommendations contained in Attachment A were approved unanimously.

There being no other business, the Council adjourned at 2:55 p.m. The Council will meet next on Thursday, October 21st at 2:00 in Upchurch Conference Room of Bell Engineering.

Submitted by: Patricia R. Koski, Chair

Approved by: Kim Needy, Dean