Graduate Council Minutes - November 6, 2006


Members present: B. Baily, C. Blackinton, T. Cody (Chair), A. Ferree, A. Graves, R. Kelly, M. Maskarinec, M. Romano

Member absent: B. Cupples

Guests present: J. Albarracin, B. Gessner, R. Hardy, S. Martinelli-Fernandez, M. Mossman, J. Rallo, E. Ribbens, T. Spier, C. Sutton

Others present: G. Sullivan

I. Remarks by Dr. Joseph Rallo, Provost and Academic Vice President

Dr. Rallo was present to respond to questions from the Graduate Council. The Council asked if there are any new proposals for a doctoral program offering at WIU. Dr. Rallo indicated that he had not seen any recent proposals and that WIU would be limited to a maximum of three doctoral programs. When asked, he mentioned that a doctoral program with an environmental emphasis would be a good fit for WIU.

The Council asked for an update on the Quad Cities campus. He indicated that the Quad Cities campus had been looked at closely for reorganization and some changes have already been made. Also, currently they are reviewing programs offered in the QC and it is expected that some programs may no longer be offered there and that those dollars will be reallocated to assist the stronger programs at the QC. He indicated that the goal of the QC campus is to offer face-to-face classes. The Council asked if WIU would ever offer 100 and 200 level courses in the QC, however, Dr. Rallo responded that will most likely not happen as WIU would not want to disturb the good relations we have with the local community colleges.

Dr. Rallo was asked his position on the current discussion of the Council concerning full membership in the graduate faculty. He suggested that the Council first needs to determine the purpose of membership using this as a guide for membership criteria. He also suggested a five-year review once given full membership status.

The Council discussed with the Provost graduate student assessment and the current composition of the Graduate Council. Dr. Cody thanked him for visiting with the Council.

II. Graduate Curriculum

A. Biology

1. Requests to add graduate credit to a 400-level course

a. BIOL 452, Biological Applications of GIS, 3 s.h.

Drs. Gessner and Spier responded to questions. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

b. BIOL 458, Plant-Animal Interactions, 3 s.h.

Dr. Gessner responded to questions. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

c. BIOL 459, Biogeography, 3 s.h.

Dr. Gessner responded to questions. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

d. BIOL 479, Tropical Ecology, 3 s.h.

Dr. Ribbens responded to questions. He indicated current enrollment for the spring semester is nine with an anticipated enrollment of fifteen. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

B. Political Science

1. Request to add graduate credit to a 400-level course

a. POLS 400, Comparative Public Policy, 3 s.h.

Drs. Hardy and Albarracin presented the course request and responded to questions. A correction was noted under the justification of the course: omit “senior” and insert “graduate” in item a. Additionally, the Council suggested that the additional required assignments for graduate students and the grading standards used for graduate students should be more specific. A motion was made to approve the request pending clarification on the additional requirements for graduate students. MOTION CARRIED YES-5 NO-0 AB-2.

III. Graduate Faculty – Full Membership

A motion was made to approve the following requests:

C. Janna Deitz, Political Science, Assistant Professor

D. Scott Hemenover, Psychology, Assistant Professor

F. Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, Psychology, Assistant Professor

G. Penelope Kelsey, English and Journalism, Assistant Professor

H. Jeff Laurent, Psychology, Associate Professor

I. Jongho Lee, Political Science, Assistant Professor

J. Kasing Man, Information Management and Decision Sciences, Associate Professor

MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

The following requests were discussed individually:

A. Julia Albarracin, Political Science, Assistant Professor

Dr. Hardy was present to answer questions and offered his strong support of her capabilities. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

B. David Connelly, Political Science, Associate Professor

Dr. Hardy was present to answer questions and offered his strong support of Dr. Connelly’s capabilities. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-6 NO-0 AB-1.

E. Redina Herman, Geography, Assistant Professor

This item was tabled at the September 11, 2006 meeting. Dr. Sutton was present to answer questions. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-5 NO-0 AB-2.

K. Erika Wurth, English and Journalism, Assistant Professor

Dr. Mossman was present to answer questions. A motion was made to approve the request. MOTION CARRIED YES-5 NO-0 AB-2.

IV. Miscellaneous and Discussion

A. Revised application and guidelines for the Graduate Student Research and Professional Development Fund

The Council reviewed and discussed the revised forms. They suggested extending the length of the descriptions from two pages to four pages and adding a double-spaced requirement. Ms. Sullivan will make the suggested changes and online forms will be updated.

B. Dr. Kelly made a recommendation that the Council review the composition of the Graduate Council as it is stated in the Operating Paper for the School of Graduate Studies. She requested that information be provided at the next meeting concerning the composition of the Faculty Senate as well as a listing of graduate programs offered in each college including Fall 2006 enrollments. The Graduate School staff will prepare this information for the next meeting.

C. Dr. Cody made a recommendation that the Council set a special meeting date in January to attend to old business. Monday, January 22 was selected as the meeting day from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in the Mary Lou Kent Room in the Malpass Library.

D. Dr. Baily informed the Council that an undergraduate sociology class will be preparing a survey for graduate students in the spring and she has been asked by the instructor for suggested topics to include. She asked that any suggestions for questions related to the assessment of graduate assistantship be emailed directly to her.

V. Old Business

A. Criteria for full membership in the graduate faculty

1. Draft of Format for Vita

The Council discussed at length the wording of the draft of format for vita. Suggested wording changes will be made and sent to the Council electronically for a final review. Minor wording changes will be made to the Application/Nomination for Full Membership in the Graduate Faculty to note that a specific vita format is required. Once approved by the Council, the Graduate School will notify deans and department chairs of the new required format as well as add the information to the Graduate School website.

B. Benchmarking criteria for graduate programs

This item was tabled due to lack of time.

C. Assessment of graduate/research/teaching assistantships

This item was tabled due to lack of time.

Meeting adjourned: 5:15 p.m.